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Flawless Semi Final Performance on Britain’s Got Talent 2009

I must admit that I wasn’t all that happy to see another dance group as a finalist on Britain’s Got Talent. Don’t get me wrong, Flawless was pretty good. They were precise and did some ok tricks. However, their tricks weren’t over the top special. Diversity wasn’t all that much better than Flawless, but Diversity was much more entertaining than Flawless.

Either way, Flawless and Diversity are both in the finals and they’ll both be fun to watch. Maybe they should just do one really cool dance off where they battle to see who wins. All of that said, I’d be surprised if either of these dance groups wins the show. One of the singers is going to probably get all the votes and win.

From what I can tell, it seems like Flawless used the following music as part of their BGT semi final performance: Beggin’ by Mad’con Madcon - Beggin' - Single - Beggin', The A – Team Tune Various Artists - 100 Greatest TV Themes (Re-Recorded Versions) - The A-Team

May 25, 2009 I Written By

Gareth Oliver the Ventriloquist on BGT 2009

Fair or not, when I watched Gareth Oliver on Britain’s Got Talent I couldn’t help but compare him to America’s Got Talent winner, Terry Fator. In making that comparison, Gareth is super talented, but not even close to the talent that Terry Fator has. I really think that Gareth could get to the level of Terry Fator, but he’s not there yet.

Yes, I know I’m talking about a ventriloquist. I felt the same way about Terry on America’s Got Talent. He really seemed like a one trick pony. However, once I saw Terry Fator’s 2 hour show live and laughed the whole time I decided to change my opinion. With all of that said, I think that Gareth Oliver has a really bright future. The ability to throw your voice like he did is a great talent to have.

Check out Gareth Oliver’s BGT semi final audition singing the song “‘O Sole Mio” Luciano Pavarotti - Romantica: The Very Best of Luciano Pavarotti - O sole mio by Luciano Pavarotti (and every other Italian artist known to man)

Watching that performance. I think that the judges were right to not make him a Britain’s Got Talent finalist.

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Susan Boyle Performance Video on Britain’s Got Talent Semi Finals

I must admit that the first time I saw Susan Boyle I really enjoyed her story. I was a little disappointed when I found out some background information on Susan Boyle. However, the story of Susan Boyle is still really fantastic even if a bit doctored.

What is really disappointing to me is Susan Boyle’s semi final performance on Britain’s Got Talent. You can see it for yourself. Here’s Susan Boyle singing “Memory” Andrew Lloyd Webber & Cats Original Broadway Cast Recording - Cats (Original Broadway Cast Recording) - Memory from Lloyd Webber’s Cats

Simon Cowell was right about not wanting to be in Susan Boyle’s shoes. Susan did pick it up a little about half way through her performance, but the beginning of her performance was awful. If it was anyone but Susan, Piers and Simon would have both buzzed her off the stage. I think the problem is when the song goes high, Susan isn’t very good.

I’m not really upset with Susan. She is living the dream and many people have been inspired thanks to her. That’s a wonderful thing. I just can’t believe that Simon Cowell would give her a standing ovation after that performance. Maybe the standing ovation was for Susan’s media tour and not for her singing.

Now that I’ve sounded like a downer, I loved this episode of BGT. Almost every single act was incredibly entertaining to watch.

May 24, 2009 I Written By

Britain’s Got Talent List of Semi Finalists

I thought it might be worthwhile showing a list of semi finalists with a few of my favorites in bold. Lots of great talent in Britain!! Some of them haven’t really been featured, so it’s hard to say, but I’ll do what I can.

Aidan Davis – Dancer
Ben and Becky – Ballroom Dancers
Brit Chix – Rock Band
Callum Francis – Musical Theatre
Darth Jackson – Michael Jackson/ Darth Vader Impersonator
DCD Seniors – Dance Troupe
Diversity – Street Dancers
DJ Talent – Rapper
Dream Bears – Comedy Dancers
Fabia Cerra – Burlesque Dancer
Faces of Disco – Comedy Dancers
Flawless – Street Dancers
Floral High Notes – Flower Arranging and Opera Singing
Fred Bowers – Breakdancer
Gareth Oliver – Comedy Impersonator
Good Evans – Family Singing Group
Greg Pritchard – Male Soprano
Harmony – Musical Theatre
Hollie Steel – Singer/ Dancer
Hot Honeyz – Dancers
Jackie Prescott and Tippy Toes – Dog Act
Jamie Pugh – Singer
Julia Naidenko – Belly Dancer (yes, this is a completely bias choice on my part)
Julian Smith – Saxophonist
Kay Oresanya – The Living Saxophone
Luke Clements – Juggler/ Street Performer
Mama Trish – Drag Act
Martin Machum – Guitarist
MD Showgroup – Dancers
Merlin Cadogan – Physical Performer
Natalie Okri – Singer
Nick Hell – Street Performer
Shaheen Jafargholi – Singer
Shaun Smith – Singer
Stavros Flatly – Comedy Dancers
Sue Son – Violinist
Sugarfree – Street Dancers
Susan Boyle – Singer (She might be a favorite, but she’s not really my favorite)
The Barrow Boys – Wheelbarrow Dancing
2 Grand – Singers

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Is Susan Boyle of BGT Authentic?

I know this is a little late, but it was too interesting not to post about it. I’ve previously called out Donald Braswell from America’s Got Talent for not being a real underdog story. I just explained that Donald had been singing as the three tenors in San Antonio before going on America’s Got Talent and after his surgery. That didn’t seem quite right for me. I was blaming the producers as much as I was Donald, but that didn’t stop Donald Braswell fans from going on about how great Donald was. Turns out I love those fans, because they bring a nice bit of traffic to my site;-)

Well, in a little bit different way, I guess Susan Boyle, of Britain’s Got Talent fame, has been called out by BuddyTV as well. Here’s what they uncovered/implied about Susan Boyle:

  • Britain’s Got Talent found Susan, not Susan finding BGT
  • Simon Cowell new about Susan Boyle well before she was on stage and so his reaction was disingenuous
  • Susan Boyle has been kissed (I added this one from an interview I saw Susan Boyle do)

At the end of the day, Susan Boyle has inspired millions. Certainly it was well contrived on the part of Britain’s Got Talent. Now that I’ve seen the audition process up close on this blog, I can see how there’s no way Simon Cowell didn’t know about Susan before he saw her. I guess we can say that Simon is a great actor. He sold it.

At the end of the day, it rubs off a little of the shine that was on Susan before, but it’s still amazing that “frumpy” Susan Boyle can sing like that. Should be fun to see her in the next rounds after being so famous.

May 6, 2009 I Written By

Julian Smith on Britain’s Got Talent

I came across this really interesting video of Julian Smith from Britain’s Got Talent. Let me know what you think:

Ok, if you haven’t figured it out already, this was just a parody video but it was awesome. I loved how he integrated the video from Julian Smith and put his own performance to it. I can think of a ton of other amazing parodies that could be done like this. I’d love to see more stuff like this.

April 27, 2009 I Written By

Britain’s Got Talent Episode 2 – Julian Smith, Shaheen Jafargholi, Singing Souls and DCD Seniors

I know I’m a little late in actually posting this, but I needed to post a few comments about the second episode of Britain’s Got Talent. Basically, call this the cliff notes version of the second episode of Britain’s Got Talent. I’ll embed videos of these various talents (and not so talents) where possible.

I’ll be listing possible contenders on this season of Britain’s Got Talent, the joke acts that were highly entertaining and what I think was highly overrated by the judges.

Contenders:
Julian Smith – The nice part of this act is that it provides something other than a great singer. The show I’m sure is looking for more variety acts to compete with the singers on the show. So, this fits the bill. Kind of a bit like Kenny G, but with a look that’s 100 times better. I have a feeling the judges will like Julian a lot and so will much of Britain. See the BGT video on YouTube.

Shaheen Jafargholi – This was the closest we came to getting a Susan Boyle like act in Britain’s Got Talent episode 2. I felt like the 2 song thing was far too staged, but Shaheen was dead on in the second song and really was talented. There’s something about a cute little kid with a big voice that people love on these talent shows. Assuming he makes good song choices he’ll do quite well on Britain’s Got Talent. See BGT video on YouTube.

Jokes:
Singing Souls – This act was absolutely horrific. However, the interaction with Simon Cowell was awesome. My favorite line is when Simon says “you should be the mouthpiece.” Super funny. Check out their video on YouTube.

Overrated:
DCD Seniors – I’m pretty sure that DCD Seniors are going to have a few people that were entertained. It was pretty entertaining, but it didn’t really fit into the category of talent in my book. There wasn’t anything special about their act and that will absolutely catch up with them on this show. Check out the video of DCD Seniors and you’ll see what I mean.

Here’s a link to see the full Britain’s Got Talent episode 2 video. It was quite entertaining. The judges on it are so much better than Sharon and the Hoff. I do still like Piers, but Sharon and the Hoff are horrible on America’s Got Talent.

April 26, 2009 I Written By

Susan Boyle on Britain’s Got Talent Shocks Simon Cowell and Piers

I’d been planning to cover more of Britain’s Got Talent and just haven’t had the time. After watching the following video of Susan Boyle shocking Simon Cowell and Piers with her rendition of I Dreamed a Dream Les Misérables Original London Cast - Les Miserables (The Original London Cast) - I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserables, I think I might have to start making time. Check out the video of Susan Boyle on Britain’s Got Talent to see what I mean:

UPDATE: BGT has had all of the videos taken down.

From a never been kissed, awkward 47 year old to a singer that Simon Cowell actually really enjoyed. That’s what Britain’s Got Talent is all about.

April 15, 2009 I Written By