DUSTIN TAVELLA
The Virginia Beach magician has won the America's Got Talent Season 16 top prize!
Dustin follows in the footsteps of two other magicians who won the AGT competition.
Mat Franco was the Season 9 winner, and Shin Lim won Season 13.
Dustin not only performed some entertaining magic, but he also inspired viewers to vote for him with his heartwarming stories about his wife and his love for his adopted sons Xander and Sylas.
AGT judge and celebrity Heidi Klum agreed, telling Parade.com that he won in big part because he invited us into his life.
“We got to know his wife, his two boys. He even talked about his mom and dad. I think inviting us in like that, I think that people fell in love with him. He pulled on a lot of heartstrings. Obviously, he was a really good magician, but it was different. It was interactive with the audience. In combination with him being super sweet, he seems kind, and also because he was a little nervous, too. You could see that he’s a normal guy and he is trying to do his best. For me, that was also part of his charm.”
One of his tricks incorporated his two young adopted sons – who are biological siblings – on stage, accompanied by his wife, Kari.
In recent years he and his wife have been involved in homeless ministry and a crisis pregnancy ministry.
Watch all of Dustin Tavella's AGT performances on YouTube.