How Steven Brundage Redefined Magic on America’s Got Talent
In the vast, ever-evolving landscape of televised talent competitions, magic acts often fall into predictable categories: the grand illusionist, the mentalist, or the classic sleight-of-hand card shark. However, every few seasons, a performer emerges who takes a ubiquitous, everyday object and transforms it into a vessel for the impossible. On the stage of America’s Got Talent, Steven Brundage did exactly that, leaving the notoriously skeptical Simon Cowell and a global audience in a state of collective disbelief using nothing more than a Rubik’s Cube.
A Specialist in the Impossible
Steven Brundage introduced himself with a bold claim: he is the only person in the world who performs his specific brand of “Rubik’s Cube Magic”. While the Rubik’s Cube is traditionally viewed as a test of mathematical speed and algorithmic memory, Brundage treats it as a piece of kinetic art. The stakes of his performance are rooted in the sheer complexity of the object itself; as he reminded the judges, there are over 43 quintillion different ways to scramble a Rubik’s Cube.
The brilliance of Brundage’s act lies in his ability to bridge the gap between human skill and supernatural occurrence. He began his audition by stepping down from the stage to get “up close and personal” with the judges, a move that immediately heightened the tension. If there were any trickery—hidden pockets, mirrors, or trap doors—it would surely be spotted at such a short distance.
Defying Logic in a Paper Bag
The performance kicked off with a feat of speed and “blind” manipulation. After mixing a cube on all six sides, Brundage tossed it into a simple brown paper bag. With a single-handed shake and mere seconds of movement, he pulled the cube out, completely solved. Anticipating the judges’ skepticism, he immediately invited Simon to inspect the bag, proving it was empty and devoid of any secondary “solved” cubes.
However, this was merely the “appetizer” to what Brundage described as something never before seen on television. He handed a cube to Simon Cowell, asking him to scramble it as much as he liked. This shifted the power dynamic of the trick; the “permutation” was now entirely out of the magician’s hands and in the hands of the most critical judge on the panel.
The “Match” That Stunned the World
The climax of the act moved beyond the standard “solve.” After Simon thoroughly scrambled his cube, Brundage took a second, separate cube and made a startling declaration: he had found a “different solution” to the Rubik’s Cube. In a blur of motion, he manipulated the second cube and held it up alongside Simon’s.
The result was a perfect, side-by-side match. It wasn’t just that the second cube was solved; it was that every single one of the 43 quintillion possible color configurations on Simon’s cube was mirrored exactly on Brundage’s cube—across all six sides. This moment of realization drew an audible gasp from the auditorium. The probability of matching a randomly scrambled cube by chance is effectively zero, yet Brundage achieved it in seconds.
The Aftermath: A Wizard Among Men
The judges’ reactions were a testament to the impact of the performance. Simon Cowell, often the first to look for the “seam” in a trick, was visibly shaken, calling Brundage a “wizard” and stating there was no other logical explanation for what he had witnessed. Mel B echoed this sentiment, noting that the performance made her “fall in love with magic even more”.
Steven Brundage’s audition serves as a masterclass in modern magic. By taking a toy that most people have struggled with in their own living rooms and performing feats that bypass the laws of probability, he created a sense of genuine wonder. He walked away with four “Yes” votes and a place in AGT history, proving that sometimes, the most mind-bending magic is the kind that happens right before your eyes, with an object you thought you understood.
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