Remember when you were little and learned you could make shadow puppets on the wall from the bathroom light that peeked through your bedroom? Most people learned how to make a fairly realistic-looking frog or rabbit, but that’s about where the talent ended for most. Shadow Ace, an “America’s Got Talent” alum, took that childhood skill and never stopped honing it.
The shadow artist first appeared on Season 18 of the iconic show, coming in 3rd place after charming the crowd with his shadow routine. But he still had more up his sleeve when he returned for “America’s Got Talent: Fantasy League” where he’s competing on Howie Mandel’s team. It’s a good thing too, because it’s Mandel’s head that’s used as his stage for his shadow act that will have you wanting to bust a move.
Shadow Ace starts off strong with the famous Sir Mix-a-Lot song, “Baby Got Back,” and yes, he was somehow able to make his hands look like a person shaking their derrière.
Immediately, the judges still seated at the table start freaking out. Mandel’s role in this whole performance is just to sit quietly with his famous shiny bald head still while Shadow Ace (real name Philip Jose P. Galit) makes all dancing shadows. The recently released video is part of the early release footage from the new Fantasy League edition of AGT, which premiered on January 1.
There’s no mistaking the talent that Shadow Ace brings to the stage as he moves his hands through a series of shapes to reflect each new song that plays. There were points in the act when Mandel’s head doubled as a DJ’s turntable and a drum that sent the audience into laughing fits. The song selection is top tier, but you have to check out his moves below to get the full effect of the performance.
