Britain's Got Talent - your 40 semi-finalists revealed

So, who made it through to the live shows after the judges' deliberations? Find out here.

23 May 2009


The acts have now been told who will be appearing on the Britain's Got Talent live shows. Here's the definitive list of who will be in the semi-finals:

Aidan Davis - street dancer Aged 11, from Birmingham. Aiden wowed the judges with his dancing despite never having had a dance lesson in his life. He is entirely self-taught and learnt his moves over the past six months through watching MTV and using the Internet. Aiden also plays football and rugby for his school. Simon Cowell told Aiden, “I think you’re better than any dancer on this show, you are super super, super talented.” Piers Morgan said that he was better than last year’s winner George Sampson.

Ben and Becky - ballroom dancers Brother and sister Ben Milan-Vega and Becky Milan-Vega are aged 18 and 16. Students from Essex, the pair have been dancing since they were four and have always danced together. Used to the limelight, they have represented England in competitions all over the world. They train every day and compete on a weekly basis. As well as winning the Britain’s Got Talent title, the couple would also like to show Britain that ballroom isn’t boring and can be fun.

Brit Chix - band Victoria Wilding, Maddy Wilding and Paisley McHugh are aged 23 to 26. Victoria and Maddy are sisters from Lincolnshire and recruited Paisley (from Aberdeen) through an advert in the paper. The band has been together for about six years, mainly working on the holiday circuit - they’ve compared it to Phoenix Nights.

Callum Francis - musical theatre performer Callum’s aged twelve and lives in Hertford. His love for performing began aged four when he went to a drama group for kids with special needs to try and improve his speech. He began dancing three years ago. He also attends the prestigious Sylvia Young Theatre School. He is extremely proud of his mixed race heritage and loves the fact he is both Jamaican and Scottish.

Darth Jackson - Michael Jackson and Darth Vader impersonator 37-year-old Philip is a postal worker from Birmingham. He has been dancing for 30 years, but BGT was his first real public performance. He is entirely self-taught and has dreamt of being a Michael Jackson impersonator since he was a child. The Darth Vader element was added to Philip’s act following a fancy dress party two years ago.

DCD Seniors - dance troupe 22 members, aged between 14 and 20, from Cardiff. The gang are from Debbie Chapman Dance’s school based in Cardiff. They perform lively jazz routines with quick costume changes. They are a very close knit group who train together twice a week, in what teacher Debbie describes as a Scout hut in Cardiff. The main reason they want to do well on the show is so they are able to get a space in which to rehearse.

Diversity - street dancers The troupe consists of ten boys aged between 12 and 25. From Essex, most of the group are brothers and have grown up together. They formed Diversity in 2007 and won the UK dance championships. Ashley, who is the group’s choreographer, tries to create a dance style that is eye catching and entertaining using films such as Transformers for inspiration. Piers Morgan said of them, “Genius. Right up there with the best of the dancers we have seen.”

DJ Talent - rapper Anthony Gosh is aged 30 and from London. He started rapping in the underground drum and base scene when he was 16. Since then he’s produced 20 records. Anthony is ‘fame hungry and ambitious’ and believes that his ‘bling’ (gold teeth that cost him £7,000 and gold chains) make him stand out.

The Dreambears - comedy dancers Luke Power, Justin Swift and Daniel Browne from London are aged 28 to 31. Between them, their day jobs are funeral arranger, hair stylist, coffee shop worker. They have been performing together for the last year and describe themselves to be like a bears version of Pans People. They entered BGT as they want to see how far they can take their act, whilst entertaining the crowd and enjoying themselves on stage.

Fabia - burlesque dancer Fabia Cerra is a 35-year-old homemaker, author, beauty therapist and dancer from Oxford. Her burlesque career began last year when she took a four-week course. A disco dancer when she was younger, Fabia loved burlesque and since the course has taught herself at home. Her aim on BGT is to show the world that big girls can be sexy.

Faces of Disco - comedy dancers Richard Hammond (not that one) and Liam Collins are aged 24 and 30 and are originally from Leicester and Newcastle, but now live in London. The pair are self taught dancers and have been dancing together for 4 years. They started busking together once they realised that they had a mutual love for 70s disco music. The boys bought a camper van and travelled around the UK busking, performing 10 to 15 shows a day in their white tuxedos and large cut out faces of celebrities.

Flawless - street dancers The troupe consists of ten guys aged 20 to 32. Formed four years ago by Marlon the choreographer and main dancer, they entered the competition to show that Britain does have talented dance groups that are better than the Americans. They want to inspire children from problem communities, such as their own in North London, to channel their aggression and energy into something positive. In 2005, they won the UK dance championships and in 2006 they won the World Championships.

Floral High notes - flower arranging and opera singing Ian Lloyd (flowers) and Helena Leonard (singing) are both 44 and from Cheshire. They have known each other since school and have been performing together for four years. Ian has been a full time florist his whole working life and has been voted one of the UK’s top 10 florists. Helena is a professional singer and has sung with the English, Welsh & Scottish Operas for years. Simon Cowell described their act as, “One of the maddest things I’ve seen in my life! Its like someone saying I’ll dance and then you eat fish and chips.”

Fred Bowers - break dancer Aged 73 (yes, 73) from Loughborough, Fred is retired. He has been ‘breaking it down’ for the past 5 years. He is properly hardcore, dancing the night away 7 days a week at clubs in town where the locals love him. He gets into all the clubs for free and jumps the queues. Fred first started break dancing after his girlfriend passed away 8 years ago, “I was very angry and one day threw myself down in a bit of a rage. I span around on my back and found I could breakdance.” He has taught himself all the moves and works on new ones in his garden.

Gareth Oliver - comedy impersonator The 28-year-old from Halifax has been performing for the last ten years. He has worked at caravan parks around the UK and abroad. Gareth feels that he has got to a stage in his career where he needs to progress to the next level and hopes the show will be the gateway to do this.

Good Evans - singers Estelle (38), Giles (42), Elliot (13), Georgia (7), Olivia (6) are all members of the Evans family from Coventry. There is never a quiet moment with this family, each of them a performer and not afraid to prove it. Parents Giles & Estelle have both been gigging with function bands for the last 15 years and the kids have always grown up with them singing. The singing bug’s rubbed off on all three who would individually all love to be professional singers.

Greg Pritchard - male soprano 24-year-old Greg, from Usk in South Wales, stunned the whole audience at his audition in Cardiff. Greg started singing when he was 13 in the car with his mum and aged 17 he joined his 6th form choir. This was because he sings with a very high voice and he wasn’t sure how people would perceive it. Two years ago Greg’s dad passed away so he put everything on hold to look after his mum. His idol is Sarah Brightman and he would to break into this genre of music. Simon Cowell described Greg’s audition performance as, “like a dog meowing.”

Harmony - musical theatre performers Demi Samantha Bennetts and Megan Elizabeth McKenna are aged 15 and 16 and come from Middlesex and Essex. The pair met 2 years ago at their school, which specialises in performing arts. They are best friends, both love singing and dancing and have been performing since they were young. They dream of being on stage and in particular starring as the lead in their favourite musical Wicked. The girls applied to the show because, “we want to see our names in lights.”

Hollie Steel - singer & dancer Ten-year-old Hollie from Lancashire was the auditioned who everyone thought would be ballet dancing, but ended up wowing everyone with her sophisticated singing voice. Hollie started dancing lessons when she was four and joined a theatre group aged six. Hollie loves to perform and be the centre of attention whilst on stage. She is always trying to better herself and extremely busy throughout the week either singing, dancing or playing the piano.

Hot Honeyz - dancers A troupe of ten dancers aged between 17 and 25 from Maidstone. Hot Honeyz have been dancing together for one year. They decided to enter by themselves as they wanted to showcase that they are not only capable of dancing to any style but they can sing and act as well. The group think they are extremely marketable because they are stylish, classy and sexy.

Jackie Prescott and Tippy Toes - doggie dancing Jackie is a dog and cat groomer and she and Tippy Toes come from Oxford. She has been dancing with Tippy Toes for 2 years. Jackie saw Tippy Toes being born at Battersea Dogs Home and knew she had found her dancing partner. Tippy is a Staffordshire Bull terrier - a breed with a pretty bad reputation - and Jackie chose her was so that she could prove that really they are very loving and eager to learn. Jackie and Tippy are out in the park every morning and night practising. Can they follow in the footsteps of Kate and Gin?

Jamie Pugh - singer 37-year-old Jamie, a pizza delivery driver and warehouse worker from Gwent always knew that he had a voice but wasn’t sure what to do with it or how to develop it. He has been dealing with nerves his whole life and when he started singing he would only sing warm up notes to his music teacher. Jamie finally overcame his nerves for the BGT auditions in Cardiff and had the entire audience on their feet when he sang a number from Les Miserables.

Julia Naidenko - belly dancer Orginally from Latvia, 24-year-old Julia now lives in London. She has been dancing for 15 years and after attending latin and ballroom lessons in Latvia she went to study at the Shao Ballet school in Russia. She began belly dancing by accident after happening on a lesson one day and fell in love with it. When she moved to Britain 4 years ago, Julia concentrated on her belly dancing and now performs regularly at clubs around London.

Julian Smith - saxophone player The 39-year-old from Birmingham is a private music teacher and freelance musician. Julian has been playing the tenor sax since he was 14. He had a couple of lessons at school to learn the basics before teaching himself from there. Julian has been working for years to become successful and has performed at pubs and restaurants in and around Birmingham. His main influence is Kenny G and would love to be as well known.

Kayode Oresanya - human saxophone The 31-year-old student from Glasgow is originally from Nigeria. He discovered his “gift” in 1997 after he asked a University friend for Saxophone lessons. His friend never got round to giving Kayode any lessons, so he started playing an imaginary sax instead. He would hear a sound and then try to mimic it, four months later he had practiced so much that he had become self proclaimed “The Living Sax.” He left Nigeria and came to the UK because he didn’t want to be a local champion, he wants to be a global champion.

Luke Clements - juggler and street performer Aged 36 and from Cornwall, Luke is a street entertainer and carpenter. He learned to juggle as a kid, intrigued after witnessing weird and wonderful street performers juggling when his family would visit Covent Garden and Paris on trips. For the past ten years, Luke has also taken part in teaching circus skills to schools and special needs children.

Mama Trish - drag act Peter Coghlan is 48 years old and 20 stone. He has been an entertainer for 26 years. Peter was bullied at school for always being camp and having a high voice which never broke due to the shock of his mum dying when he was six. So at his sister’s pub he decided to put on a frock and grace the stage as Mama Trish. Peter is now a self employed drag queen and has performed in Europe and the UK. He entered BGT as he wants to make people laugh and bring old camp back to variety television.

Martin Macham - guitar player 36-year-old Martin is from Kent. His love for the guitar began when he was nine years old after his dad taught him to play. He started his first band when he was 14 and was forced to sing as nobody else wanted to. He has never had singing lessons but says his voice just matured. He now plays in a covers band called M3 with his dad and friend who play in local pubs and clubs. Martin’s favourite guitar, which he believes makes him unique, has 240 LED lights.

MD Show Group - street dancers The 34-strong dance troupe’s members are aged between 10 and 18 and are all students from Liverpool. They formed 18 months ago and want to promote a positive message. Group leader Miguel set up his company 8 years ago to help local kids tackle different problems by creating dances that highlight the issues. MD Show Group entered BGT because they want to show other people from a disadvantaged background that they turn their lives around and achieve something.

Merlin - escapologist Merlin Cadogan is a physical performer from Devon. Aged 35, he has been performing since he was 18 and has travelled the country busking and picking up tricks on the way. He took to juggling and fire handling in particular and developed a variety act that he performed at holiday parks and aboard cruises. He applied to BGT as he loves to make people laugh and he really wants to perform for the Queen.

Natalie Okri - singer Ten year old Natalie from London is in Year 5 at primary school. She began singing Natasha Bedingfield’s song These Words when she was 4. According to her mother, Tabitha, she sings non-stop and always entertains people with her singing. Everyone kept telling Tabitha that Natalie should be entered into a talent competition as she was so good. So this year, Natalie insisted and persuaded her mum to enter her into BGT.

Nick Hell - street performer Nick McQuillen and Sharren Welsh are call centre workers aged 26 and 34 from Sunderland. Nick has been experimenting with the ‘weird and wonderful’ for about 4 years. He started by teaching himself to hammer nails up his nose when he got bored in his dad’s garage, and then his mate taught him how to eat fire. He is fascinated by Victorian style sideshow acts and wants to show people the talent involved. He made a pact to learn something new every 2 months, hence why he started lifting objects with his ears. He began with a toaster and then progressed to a kettle. Over time they stretched so that he can now lift and swing a dustbin.

Shaheen - singer Shaheen Jafargholi is a twelve-year-old schoolboy from Swansea. He has been singing all his life. His mum took him to his first singing lesson when he was seven and has never looked back. Shaheen attends stage school every Saturday which he has been doing since he was five. He loves the stage and performs regularly as part of his stage school and also at local charity shows and school plays.

Shaun Smith - singer Shaun is a 17-year-old student from Lichfield. He has been performing on stage since the age of 12 but he has always been a performer and was doing Elvis impressions when he was four. Shaun wants to be known for having a good voice and would love to perform at the Carling Academy in Birmingham. He just wants to make people happy through his singing. Shaun’s other big love is rugby which he plays three times a week.

Stavros Flatly - comedy dancers Demetrios and Michalakis Andreas (aka Lagi) Demetriou are father and son aged 41 and 12 from Enfield, North London. They describe their act as two fat versions of Michael Flatly with a Greek element. This act originates from when Demetrios owned a Greek restaurant and would provide entertainment to his customers after their meal.

Sue Son - violinist Sue is a 24-year-old student from London. She has been playing the violin since she was six years old. She came over from South Korea when she was nine to study at the Purcell School of Music and is still studying music now at Guildhall, specialising in the violin. Sue first auditioned with her friend, a pianist, but was persuaded to go solo by the judges.

Sugarfree - street dancers A group of seven girls aged between 16 and 25 from Essex, they first met 10 years ago when they danced together in ballet, tap, modern and jazz at Goodmans Dance School. They became interested in hip hop and so decided to start their own group. The girls danced together for fun for a few years before they decided to start competing locally and nationally. In 2008, they entered The World Hip Hop Championships in Germany and were crowned 3rd in the World.

Susan Boyle - singer 48-year-old Susan really needs no introduction. Since her audition in Glasgow when she wowed the audience with her rendition of I Dream a Dream from Les Miserables, the church volunteer has become world famous. Susan has been singing since she was 12 years old.

The Barrow Boys - wheelbarrow dancers Farmers Samuel Parris, Bobby Barns, Lyle Burrough are aged 18 to 27. They are best mates and have known each other for about four years since meeting at the Young Farmers Association. The lads started performing their act last year and, after performing it at an agricultural show, people said they should enter BGT. The Barrow Boys are the first act to get two buzzers from the judges, and then have them reversed.

2 Grand - singers John Neill and Sallie Lax from Doncaster are a family duo aged 76 and 12. They have been singing together for two and a half years. John is part of a male voice choir, and Sallie has performed with the choir on a couple of occasions. John was a former club and performed all over the country and even worked for two summer seasons in Blackpool. Sallie and her mum entered John and Sallie without John knowing.

source:
http://entertainment.stv.tv/home/98324- ... finalists/

Britain's Got Talent: the judges speak out!

23/05/2009

The judges on Britain's Got Talent have been sharing their thoughts on this year's finalists, after they were revealed on Saturday night.

And unsurprisingly series favourite Susan Boyle was one of the hot topics - although Piers warned the 48-year-old singing sensation that she might not necessarily win the series.

"As she admits herself, she hasn't won anything yet and could still lose," he said. "There are some brilliant contestants this year, and it all depends how they perform on the live shows."

"Everyone thinks the singers will win this year, but the judges have always thought a dance act might nick it," he added, describing finalists Flawless and Diversity as "world class".

Amanda, meanwhile, said that Susan was a "worldwide phenomenon".

"She has an amazingly chocolatey voice with great depth," she admitted, "Also despite the sheltered life she has had she has a very good sense of humour and is very gutsy, something I greatly admire and something that will hold her in good stead for her future career. I don't believe she is as naive as we all think!"

However she revealed that father-son comedy dance duo Stavros Flatley were her favourite act of the series.

They are my favourites for fun and unique ability," she said. "I really thought the Dad was quite serious when he first came on stage and had no clue what was about to come."

Simon, meanwhile, praised the programme for its "positivity".

"What I noticed before the show launched this season was there was even greater anticipation and eagerness for its return," he said, "not simply from audiences but also the media. I think perhaps they were fedup with miserable news day in, day out."

"This year more than ever you could feel anticipation of its return and yes I'm sure there is an aspect of it being an antidote to what's going on at the moment," Cowell added. People say to me the show is such great escapism and maybe that's what they are needing at the moment."

Saturday night's show saw the judges select the final 40 acts for the live finals which will begin on Sunday.

Susan Boyle is among the acts who will perform live on Sunday's show, along with comedy dance duo Faces Of Disco, Darth Vader/Michael Jackson impersonator Darth Jackson, dance troupe Diversity, violinist Sue Son, belly dancer Julia Naidenko, street performer Nick Hell and 10-year-old R&B singer Natalie Okri.


source:
http://www.whatsontv.co.uk/reality/brit ... k-out/5909

ornitho-max a écrit : on peut tu skippier la saison pis déclarer susan boyle la gagnante tout suite??

je trouve ça presque dommage pour les autres de concurrir contre elle. Perso, je la trouve bonne mais pas mal overated

je suis très decu que sue son soit éliminé. elle est une violoniste extraordinaire

MayClo a écrit : Moi je la trouve ordinaire.. Rien de si extraordinaire à mon avis... je m'attendais à plus...

1976 a écrit : [...]


Ordinaire ? Ouf ! Je ne suis pas d'accord avec toi du tout. Sue Son est une violoniste extrêmement talentueuse. Le seul hic - dans l'allure et dans le style- c'est qu'elle est une copie quasi conforme de la grande violoniste Vanessa Mae. Je crains que ça ait joué à son désavantage.

Vanessa Mae.

PS: À partir de 2:20 pour les moins patients.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsCFHBYp-eA&feature=related[/youtube]