America’s Got Talent: Everything To Know About Runner-Up Aidan Bryant

Amongst the many America’s Got Talent season 16 acts that fans saw was Aidan Bryant, and here is everything to know about the performer. Recently, he was named the runner-up of the season, right behind magician Dustin Tavella, who was crowned the winner. While Aidan didn’t win, he had a memorable season as a young and gifted competitor.

16-year-old Aidan first tried out for the show via Zoom, and then fulfilled his dream of auditioning for the America’s Got Talent judges. He came to the show and told the judges that he is a self-taught aerialist. He performed an aerial hoop routine that earned him a standing ovation and a “yes” from each judge. The judges were stunned to discover that he had only been training for two years. Sofia Vergara told him that it seemed as though he’d been practicing for ages. Aidan made it through to the live shows and excelled in each round. Simon called him the best live performance they’d had. He thought Aidan was a star in the making and a potential Las Vegas act. During his final performance, the typically hard-to-please Simon Cowell was so blown away that he stood upon the judging table to clap for him, saying a standing ovation just wasn’t enough.

This Prince George, Virginia native was inspired to try aerial silks after seeing a clip of a Pink concert when he was 14. In fact, the first time he attempted an aerial trick, he used a bedsheet tied to his grandmother’s tree. “I went into my grandma’s closet, found a sheet, put two straps on it, got a ladder, and hung it up in a tree in the garden,” he said in an interview with Richmond Times-Dispatch. For Christmas, his mother gifted him a set of real aerial silks, and practicing tricks helped him overcome his fear of heights. “When he started doing it, I’m like, ‘What are you doing?’” his mother told the AGT cameras, adding: “But then he loved doing that stuff so I said, ‘Do your thing, as long as you’re careful.” He initially used a lawnmower to help himself get higher up on his aerial rig, but eventually relied on a golf cart. The show-stopping AGT performer would tie part of his rope onto the back of the cart. His mother would put the cart into drive, allowing him to suspend himself 20 feet in the air.

His mother described him as entrepreneurial, rather than an athlete. He is definitely a crafty guy and he made rainbow loom bracelets to sell at farmers’ markets, as well as infinity lights to sell at craft shows. On AGT, she said that he’s an amateur, but she can’t wait to tell people he’s a professional. This multitalented performer does so many things well, and his future is looking extremely bright.

During the finale, Aidan performed a mashup routine along with his competitors World Taekwondo Demonstration and Olympic gymnasts Jordan Chiles and MyKayla Skinner. Later on, he went up against the martial arts team and was ultimately the one to make it to the top 10. When he earned second place, Aidan became the third-youngest runner-up, after season 5’s Jackie Evancho and season 12’s Angelica Hale. He is also the second aerial act to be first runner-up, after Duo Transcend, who finished in second on AGT: The Champions season 2. Aidan was gifted with a new car, even without winning America’s Got Talent. He made such an impact on judges and viewers.

Sources: Aidan Bryant/Instagram, Richmond Times-Dispatch

About The Author

JM Hughes
(88 Articles Published)

JM Hughes is an SCSU Class of 2020 graduate. She previously worked for the Southern News as a reporter and a copy editor, and majored in journalism with a minor in communications.
Currently she is a writer for Screen Rant, YouTuber, dog lover, romance book reader, and Broadway show seer.

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