In a competition filled with extraordinary talent, one Star Search performer by the name of TJ Salta turned mystery into mastery and walked away with the $500,000 grand prize.
Salta captivated the crowd week after week, ensuring that every act felt bigger than the last with his mind-bending illusions and shocking reveals. Fans tuned in to see who would reign triumphant after Salta, Harry Merlin Piper, Duo Vespertilio and Steven “Spud” Howard made it to the top four following intense head-to-head competitions in the first round, which narrowed down the top eight. The judges shared their reactions, but the audience had the power to vote.
“I was shocked, and I was grateful,” Salta told Netflix’s Tudum after he was crowned the winner on the live finale, which aired on February 17, 2026. “Just being here from day one and doing five rounds live — without a lot of time in between — it felt like it paid off immediately.”
Us Weekly is breaking down everything to know about the Star Search winner:
TJ Salta Revealed How He Got His Start in Magic
TJ Salta, a former varsity athlete, got a hip injury playing lacrosse in high school and was immobilized. “I had extra time, and I could move my hands, so I worked on magic,” he shared with Quinnipiac Today in 2022.
While on Star Search, he told judges Jelly Roll, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Chrissy Teigen how he learned tricks of the trade.
Jelly Roll, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Chrissy Teigen. Getty Images (3)
“I want to take us back to the first trick I ever learned. It was actually from my grandfather. And he used his wedding ring,” he said ahead of his final performance. Salta borrowed Jelly Roll’s ring and made it appear that it “jumped” from finger to finger, revealing the trick was changing the fingers he displayed so it gave viewers that illusion.
He then borrowed Sarah Michelle Gellar’s ring and made it link with the ring he got from Jelly Roll. Salta completed his set by taking it up a notch, making Gellar’s jewelry vanish and reappear, courtesy of his high-flying hawk, Messiah.
TJ Salta Has a Background in Cirque du Soleil
Not only is TJ Salta a magician and mentalist, but he spent a year performing in Cirque du Soleil’s Mad Apple production in Sin City, which is a “cocktail of high-flying acrobatics, music, dance, comedy and magic celebrating the city that never sleeps.”
According to his Netflix bio, he made a name for himself by blending “street-style charisma with close-up sleight of hand and real-time mind reading.”
TJ Salta Shared His Hope for the Future After Winning ‘Star Search’
Prior to his big win, TJ Salta said on February 4 that he had a strategy for each round, noting the first was to do a “mental” trick, the second being magic with a “message” and the third act was an illusion that “pushed my limits.” For the finale, he decided to include something more personal with the ring trick.
“I want to ride this wave and give people the magic they want,” the season 1 victor shared with Tudum. “I’m ready to give the world a magic experience. That’s my dream.”
Salta said his appearance on the 2026 reboot of Star Search is a “first step in that.”