Brampton magician wows judges on Canada’s Got Talent

Brampton’s own Savio Joseph won over a high-profile panel of judges on Tuesday’s episode of Canada’s Got Talent.

The son of Indian parents, 21-year-old Joseph has been practising magic since he was 10 years old and says a career in magic isn’t the typical job choice.

Joseph said his mother and father “grew up thinking the way to be successful in life is to find a 9 to 5 job,” and said there aren’t as many people in his culture exploring the creative arts for work “especially in magic.”

Having just graduated university with a degree in computer science, Joseph said his performance would be a defining factor of whether he continued a career in magic.

“I have to choose right now – it’s either find a safe career or do I listen to that voice in my head that says ‘keep going, go pursue magic head on,” he said before taking the stage on Canada’s Got Talent.

The hometown magician started his performance by bringing a six pack of beer bottles down to the judge’s table before taking an autographed $100 bill from judge Howie Mandel and placing it in a small envelope.

The magician then mixed that envelope with three other identical envelopes, each containing a small note with different possible career paths written on them.

Joseph had judges each open one of the envelopes before lighting the last one on fire without opening it.

And just when it looked like Joseph miscalculated and lit Mandel’s bill on fire, he opened a beer bottle he had onstage revealing not just the signed bill but also predicting which envelope would be opened by each judge.

The illusion wowed the panel, with Joseph receiving unanimous approval and ‘yes’ votes from all four judges.

An emotional Joseph wiped away tears after getting the green light from the judges to move onto the next round of the competition.

“I’ve never had an opportunity like this before and it means a lot to be here,” he said while the crowd cheered.