After Slashing Seat at Radio City Music Hall, Newport's Mat Franco Lands in America's Got Talent Finals

Newporter and magician Mat Franco made it to the finals of America’s Got Talent Wednesday night after a mind blowing trick on Tuesday during which he apparently got Mel B so upset, she was about ready to punch his lights out.

In the trick, Franco took Mel B’s phone, snapped two pics of the former Scary Spice, dunked the phone in water rendering it inoperable, made it disappear with a hair dryer and then retrieved it seconds later by cutting it out of a seat cushion in the audience, seemingly transporting -- and fixing -- the phone through the air.

And that’s not the entire trick. Watch the video below for the full act.

Americans liked the trick and Franco’s act enough to keep him on the show. He now joins 11 other finalists competing for the grand prize of $1 million.

“I’ve been dedicating my whole life to magic and it’s unreal to see people be receptive to it like this,” Franco said on stage moments after it was announced he was moving on to the next step of the competition. “It’s beyond my craziest dreams.”

Mel B told Franco that she was “this close” to punching his lights out when she watched him plunk her iPhone in her drink cup.

But when she reached into that seat cushion and pulled out her working phone -- complete with the photo he just took at the judge’s table -- she lost the desire to give the magician a shiner.

“It helps that you’re pretty cute,” Mel B said.

“You are a very talented magician,” she said. “You captivate all of us.”

Franco is a graduate of the University of Rhode Island and has been performing for freshman orientation classes since he was a student.

Judges also said they were impressed by Franco’s work ethics, noting that he hit the road between rounds on AGT to perform in front of college crowds, including at URI just last week.

Franco has been obsessed with magic since his boyhood, studying magicians he watched on TV and recording shows for repeated study. By the age of 12, he was in Las Vegas to learn from the masters and in no time he was hired to perform at the Riviera Hotel and Casino, eventually winning awards in competition after competition.

Franco has tapped into college-aged audiences since the day he appeared on campus as a freshman. He has developed a wild and dazzling show that blends classic as well as innovative magic and illusion with a solid dose of college humor.

Franco is also the founder of Franco Talent, a speciality talent agency featuring a slate of top college performers.

Photo Courtesy: Mat Franco via Twitter.