WINNIPEG – Even notoriously tough judge Simon Cowell was on his feet after Winnipeg’s Darcy Oake performed his sleight-of-hand tricks with doves at the Britain’s Got Talent auditions.
The performance, which aired Saturday, was the kind of break Oake was hoping for when he flew to the United Kingdom to take part in the auditions.
“If it goes well, it can change the game,” he said Monday about the popular televised talent competition.
And it did go well. Not only did all four judges rise to their feet with the crowd following Oake’s performance, in which doves appeared from seemingly nowhere, Cowell dished out high praise and joined the other judges in approving of the performance.
“You are without question the best magician we’ve ever had on the show,” Cowell said after Oake performed April 19. “I think that we’ve uncovered a star with you. I really do.”
The YouTube video of Oake’s performance, posted Saturday, had 4.6 million views by Tuesday morning. Oake, the son of Hockey Night in Canada announcer Scott Oake, has been inundated by people’s responses, receiving everything from congratulations to potential bookings to queries about jobs working for him.
“It was hard to really grasp it at the time, but now that it’s come out and kind of gone viral — it’s crazy,” he said. “It’s insane. I still don’t really know what to … I mean, it’s awesome. It makes me feel amazing, but yeah, it’s just so overwhelming, you know.”
While Oake got four approvals from the judges, that’s not a guarantee that he’ll go on to the live show, where competitors perform for the judges and audiences in a series of elimination rounds.
He’s supposed to find out in mid-May or the end of May, he said.
While the judges’ response made him optimistic about moving on, “I don’t want to put the cart before the horse,” he said.
He loves the attention he’s getting, but what’s most important to him is being able to work at what he loves, he said.
“I just, I’m grateful to be working doing what I love to do,” he said. “As long as I can constantly keep working, I’m happy.”
WATCH: Winnipeg magician Darcy Oake talks about how a trick done by his dad — Hockey Night in Canada’s Scott Oake — inspired his career.
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