‘America’s Got Talent’ winner Kenichi Ebina surprised as anyone to come out on top

So just how surprised was Kenichi Ebina to win “America’s Got Talent“? Based on what he said after the fact today, he did not even imagine that he would make it into the top two on the night after Mel B was not particularly thrilled with his final performance. (Clearly, we and most of America disagreed with her, and his collective body of work alsohelped him take home the prize.)

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly about this victory, the dancer suggested that in his mind, Taylor Williamson really was going to be the one to take home the grand prize and all of the accolades that go along with it:

“[Comedian] Taylor [Williamson] did a fantastic job during the finals, and my performance wasn’t that impressive, so I was surprised when I remained as a top two [finalist]. Everybody kind of thought it would be Taylor. So after that, I kind of thought, ‘Am I going to win?’”

As for what Ebina wants to do now following his win, his answer seems to be to simply continue to do what he loves in performing; however, he also understands that he has a talent for direction and creating the sort of spectacles that drew so much attention his way:

“This AGT experience — it wasn’t to win the competition, it was more for promotion. I’m going to perform as long as I can, entertain people. I’m thinking my strength is direction; how I put a show together. I wanted to showcase different aspects of me.”

Now that this season is over, the only questions that remain are for the future of the judges. You can read more about this subject at the link here, and we’ll have more news later this fall.

Photo: NBC