The Clairvoyants can read your mind: ‘America's Got Talent' duo brings mental magic to the global stage

Los Angeles Times

3 days ago

It all started with a cup of coffee … and a blindfolded clairvoyant.
As he sat beside me in a cafe booth, mentalist Thommy Ten asked me to take out some items from my bag at random.
Rummaging through pens and chargers, I wanted to find something that Amélie van Tass, his stage partner and wife, might struggle to predict as she faced away from us. I handed Ten my passport, my wallet and a bag of almonds.
Talking toward the wall, Van Tass said, 'It's an ID … is that a passport?' She was right. 'And it expires April 2033?' I didn't even know that — I checked and apparently, it does.
Van Tass quickly guessed the bag of nuts. It was when she started accurately rattling off my license and Visa card numbers that the phrase 'sixth sense' came to my mind.
The Clairvoyants perform mentalism, the branch of magic that encapsulates all things mind-reading, precognition and extrasensory perception. The duo's performances are theatrical and often break the fourth wall. They choose audience members at random and can accurately guess their birthdays, their hotel room numbers and the exact dollar amount they won after a night in Vegas. Many shows incorporate their dog, crowd favorite Mr. Koni Hundini. Of the trio, he messes up the most, but the people 'still love him,' said Ten.
Ten and Van Tass are best known for coming in second place on Season 11 of NBC's 'America's Got Talent' in 2016. They also appeared on two 'AGT' spinoffs. Since then, they've headlined tours and Vegas residencies, drawing international recognition in the magic world.
The couple took a brief break from performing in late 2024 to expand their family. 'It was always clear, we don't want to give up our job,' Van Tass said. 'They're just part of the whole circus. We love to call it a circus because now we have two dogs and one baby.'
Ten and Van Tass' 8-month-old baby boy joins the Clairvoyants in their travels, but not on the stage. 'We try to be as normal as possible when we're at home. We're just Mom and Dad and not the Clairvoyants,' Van Tass said. Ten added, 'Of course, we try to keep it comfortable for him, for the dogs and for us. We don't go crazy with seven shows in seven states a week. We limit it to weekends now.'
It's only fitting that the 'circus' headed to Vegas for the Clairvoyants' U.S. comeback. The duo recently joined 'AGT' champion magician Shin Lim in his Las Vegas residency with an act that merged their mental magic with Lim's sleight of hand. The Clairvoyants will hit the road once again in late October for a winter tour, which includes a Dec. 20 show in San Jacinto.
Beyond their innovative psychic acts, the Clairvoyants have always challenged stereotypes about magic shows. 'There's always this picture of a magician and the assistant bringing tables in and out,' Ten said. 'That's the basic understanding of a magician. Our thing was always that we wanted to be equal on stage.'
Ten and Van Tass, both 38, bring different talents to the act. 'You do more of the magic, magic stuff,' Van Tass said to Ten. 'And I'm more the mind reading and feeling and sensing things, which I think is a female thing too.'
The couple first crossed paths on a set in 2011 — they started brainstorming a two-person magic act the next day. Less than a year later, the duo performed their first show, 'Second Sight.' It was the first step in carving out their niche, the modern, theatrical mentalism that has since become their signature act.
The Clairvoyants soon began touring Europe, expanding their routine into a full-length show within the year. In 2014, they brought the tour to America, where they joined 'The Illusionists,' the world's largest traveling magic show. Two years later, they went even bigger: 'America's Got Talent.'
Over four months on 'AGT,' the Clairvoyants performed eight times and beat out more than 100,000 other contestants. The duo came in second, behind singer Grace VanderWaal. Every episode of their season of 'AGT' ranked No. 1 in its NBC time slot. 'Suddenly, our season was watched by 16, 17 million viewers,' said Ten. With so many people tuning in and voting from home, the Clairvoyants became a household name.
They also returned in 2019 for the spinoff 'America's Got Talent: The Champions' and in 2024 for 'America's Got Talent: Fantasy League.' They were eliminated in the preliminary round on both shows.
'In our genre, mentalism, mind-reading, it's normally very small. Like in a parlor setting or a face-to-face thing,' said Ten. 'Our dream was always to make it big so we can perform in front of thousands of people. It should still feel like everybody's part of it; everyone can be involved.'
While their 'AGT' appearance opened doors to Broadway and tours worldwide, they aspired for more. From 2021 to 2022, the Clairvoyants performed 500 shows in one year. After the birth of their son, they performed five to 10 shows a week in Vegas. Their upcoming U.S. tour will take them cross-country over the holidays.
The fanbase they built from 'AGT' added a layer of both excitement and pressure, but it isn't necessarily what keeps the Clairvoyants moving at such an impressive pace.
'We have performed in front of 20 people and were as excited as we would have been in front of 20,000 people,' Van Tass said. 'I'm most excited when I know that there are good friends and family in the audience.'
The Clairvoyants didn't just want a bigger audience, they needed one. Their spectacular stage performances couldn't have possibly worked in the parlor rooms of the past. Performance highlights include Van Tass showcasing her mental magic while submerged in 2,000 liters of water, using a flamethrower and even being suspended in the air, à la Cirque du Soleil.
The Clairvoyants strive to make their show special to each audience member, every night. 'They make it possible that we can do what we do. Every single person deserves the best version and 100%,' said Van Tass. Fans' experiences are the key to keeping the magic alive — and keeping it confidential. Of course, the Clairvoyants can't reveal their secrets, but that doesn't stop viewers from speculating. One theory suggests that audience members are paid participants. But when a blindfolded Van Tass predicts what you have in hand, and you know you aren't in on it, that theory falls apart.
Originally from Austria, the couple spends half the year performing in Europe and the other half in the U.S. — in Vegas or on tour. With German as their first language, English as their second and the 'tiny bit of Spanish' Van Tass speaks, the Clairvoyants are prepared to acclimate. 'It's important that at least we have a couple of words in different languages to adapt to people and to new countries,' Van Tass said.
Performing worldwide has earned the duo awards from across Europe and the U.S. In 2015 they were dubbed the World Champions of Mentalism by the FISM, one of the most respected international magic organizations. In 2017, the Academy of Magical Arts and the Magic Castle Hollywood voted Ten and Van Tass Stage Magicians of the Year. In 2020 they received the Mandrakes d'Or — France's 'Oscar of magic.'
From their pre-'AGT' tours to their Las Vegas residency, the Clairvoyants have a long streak of reading minds and blowing minds too. And the pair shows no signs of slowing down. Their ambitious winter tour aims to spread holiday magic from coast to coast.
'We just want to take people and bring them into our magical world,' said Van Tass. 'Just let them forget everything and feel like kids again.'