Britain's Got Talent? Definitely (Britain's Got Talent)

Member Name: midpikyrozziy

Product:	Britain's Got Talent
Date:	07/06/09 (72 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good entertaining show to watch if you've got an hour to spare

Disadvantages: Shameless input of manipulative producers

BRITAIN'S GOT TALENT 2009

(Note before you begin - This is a pretty long review as I wanted to cover all
BRITAIN'S GOT TALENT
(Originally written for Ciao - Britain's Got Talent.... or has it?)

(Note - before you begin, this is a pretty long review as I wanted to cover all of Britain's Got Talent, so by all means don't read all of this if it doesn't interest you, it's hopefully quite clearly subtitled so just skip to whatever bits interest you, if any)

Intro:
Talent in Britain is something that doesn't come around too often, especially if you're following the latest attempts of our various sports teams. But on this show, Britain proves just how talented it really is.

Britain's Got Talent is an immensely popular talent show devised by the person we all love to hate, the sparkly teethed Simon Cowell. The format is simple - contestants that can be anything from 5 year old singers to 80 year old break-dancers put their dignity on the line as they audition to try and impress the three judges: actress Amanda Holden, journalist Piers Morgan, and of course, Mr Simon Cowell.

The show is hosted by Ant and Dec on the main show on ITV1, and by Stephen Mulhern on the sister show Britain's Got More Talent, which is aired on ITV2, and shows more of the auditions that didn't make it onto the allotted time for the main show.

The weird and wonderful from all around Britain flock to regional auditions, and usually humiliate themselves in front of the judges and a live audience. But this humiliation isn't all for nothing, at the end of the competition, the winner receives a grand prize of £100 000, a slot on the Royal Variety show in front of the Queen, and all the fame they want, or as we may have found out this year, perhaps a bit too much fame.


A brief history of the show:
Following the success of his other talent shows such as Pop Idol and X Factor, Simon Cowell came up with the idea of Britain's Got Talent, and on 9th June 2007, the first episode of Britain's Got Talent was shown, immediately drawing a large audience and favourable reviews.

The first series went quickly and successfully, bringing many talented acts to the public eye, including 6 year old singer Connie Talbot, alternative juggling act Bar Wizards, and puppeteer Damon Scott. But none could come close to overall winner Paul Potts, Carphone Warehouse worker by day, opera singer by night. Stunning the audience with his rendition of Nessun Dorma, Paul Potts won the grand prize, and has since gone on to achieve worldwide fame and record a successful album.

The second series was equally high in ratings and success, highlighting more of the wacky talent of the country, including the Michael Jackson tribute act with a twist, Signature, child singers Andrew Johnstone and Faryl Smith, and string quartet Escala. The eventual winner was George Sampson, a 14 year old break-dancer. By this time the series had also franchised to many other countries, including America, and as the show hosts frequently like to tell us, it's the biggest talent show in the world.

Britain's Got Talent 2009 Overview:

The auditions:
On 11th April 2009, the third series of Britain's Got Talent got under way, and early viewing figures showed no surprises as the show was as popular as ever. The three judges, along with guest fourth judge Kelly Brook on occasions, judged the weird and wonderful acts of the country. I'll tell you about the spectacularly good a bit later, but let's not forget about the spectacularly bad.

There were many bad acts, all of whom can be found on YouTube, but if I had to pick the worst of the worst, it would be 51 year old singer David Watson, a previous pudding factory worker from Hull, who wowed the judges and audience alike with his somewhat alternative performance of 'In The Jungle'.

Semi-final 1:
The first live semi-final featured what were arguably the two most talented acts in the competition, and kicked off a week of Britain's Got Talent with a bang. Accompanying eccentric Scottish singer Susan Boyle was the street-dancing act Diversity, both acts that were incredibly talented, and looked certain to progress to the final. Alongside these were electric violinist Sue Son, young singer Natalie Okri, the Darth Vader/Michael Jackson impersonator 'Darth Jackson', belly dancer Julia Naidenko, stunt performer Nick Hell, and comedy dance act 'Faces of Disco'.

Despite having made it through to the semis, the acts were not safe from the judges, and there were buzzers galore. Nick Hell failed to further improve his grotesque stunt act, and received all three buzzers, and Darth Jackson inevitably got a buzz from Simon who said about him, "If he wins, I resign." You would have thought that would be motivation enough for the British public to vote for him, but alas it wasn't to be.

Faces of Disco also failed to impress as they received two buzzes from Simon and Piers as they donned masks of celebrities and danced comically to the tune of 'In the Navy'. Julia Naidenko also got a buzz from Amanda, although when it came to justifying it she didn't have a real reason, and the male judges, who seemed to enjoy the act much more, apologized for Amanda's 'jealousy' and 'bitchiness'.

Sue Son performed pretty well but could only manage 4th place, and Susan Boyle, who had stunned the world and drawn over 100 million YouTube views after her rendition of 'I dreamed the dream' from Les Miserables, won comfortably with her performance of 'Memory' from Cats.

That left Natalie Okri and Diversity to anxiously wait for the judge's decision on who would be put through to the final round. Amanda put Natalie through, but it was clear that on the night she had picked the wrong song, and Piers and Simon chose to put Diversity through.

Semi-final 2:
The second semi couldn't quite live up to the first, but still featured a wide array of talent, showing charismatic rapper DJ Talent, escapologist Merlin Cadogan, singer Jamie Pugh, dance act Hot Honeyz, drag act Peter Coghlan, ventriloquist Gareth Oliver, singer Shaun Smith, and dance group Flawless.

There were more buzzers, with two each going to Peter Coghlan and Hot Honeyz. Surprisingly, Jamie Pugh also got a buzz from Amanda, despite having impressed immensely in his auditions and becoming an early favourite. Gareth Oliver also got buzzed by Simon, although this was pretty harsh, and he still made it through to the judges vote.

DJ Talent impressed all, mainly because everyone wondered how such a bad rap was so successful and surprisingly entertaining. Merlin Cadogan also produced quite a good act, but only made 6th place. Flawless nicked the public vote and went straight through to the final, and the judges were left to debate between Shaun Smith and Gareth Oliver. Only Piers went for Gareth, and Shaun's performance of 'With or Without You' was enough to get him into the final.

Semi-final 3:
The third semi featured singing duo Harmony, human saxophone Kay Oresanya, ballroom dancers Ben and Becky, young singer Shaheen Jafargholi, wheelbarrow dancers 'The Barrow Boys', dancers MD Showgroup, Greek/Irish dancers Stavros Flatley, and the somewhat strange combination of opera singing and flower arranging from Floral High Notes.

The Barrow Boys received buzzers from Simon and Piers for failing to improve on their audition, Floral High Notes got a buzz from Simon, as did Kay Oresanya who sang as if he was playing the saxophone (?), the latter two acts too ridiculous for the judge.

'Ben and Becky' and Harmony both did well, but failed to make the judges' vote. The incredibly lovable Stavros Flatley went straight into the final with over half of the votes, and the judges had to pick between MD Showgroup and Shaheen Jafargholi for the final. Simon went for MD Showgroup, but the other two preferred Shaheen, and he became the latest to make it into the final.

Semi-final 4:
The penultimate semi-final saw dancers Sugar Free, dog act Jackie Prescott and Tippy Toes, musical performer Callum Francis, 73-year old break-dancer Fred Bowers, all-girl rock band Brit Chix, saxophonist Julian Smith, granddad and granddaughter singing act 2 Grand, and burlesque dancer Fabia Cerra.
Brit Chix were the second act of the semi-finals to be buzzed by all three judges after their poor rendition of Spice Girls' 'Wannabe'. However the judges were in a fairly lenient mood and the only other buzz of the night went to Jackie Prescott and Tippy Toes from Piers.

Sugar Free weren't the greatest on the night, and finished far from the final places. Fabia Cerra,Jackie Prescott and Tippy Toes, and Brit Chix also didn't do enough to secure a place. Fred Bowers (who it was later discovered was claiming disability money!) impressed the audience with his break-dancing skills, but also didn't make it.

Julian Smith, the incredibly cool 39-year old saxophonist, went through to the final with the majority of the public vote. 2 Grand and Callum Francis went through to the judges' vote, and whilst Piers went for Callum, Simon and Amanda picked 2 Grand, who went through to the final.

Semi-final 5:
The final, and most controversial, semi-final featured comic dancers Dreambears, family singing group Good Evans, juggler Luke Clements, 11-year old singer Hollie Steel, singer and guitarist Martin Matcham, young street dancer Aidan Davis, dancers DCD seniors, and high-pitched singer Greg Pritchard.

The judges were in a harsh mood, with buzzers galore. Luke Clements got all three buzzers as he failed to do anything significantly different to his original act, despite promising to juggle and eat melons. The Dreambears, Martin Matcham and Greg Pritchard got buzzed by Simon, and Piers buzzed Good Evans.

The controversy came when, on live air, Hollie Steel broke down halfway through her performance and started crying heavily. She asked if she could perform again, and when Ant and Dec informed her that the producers said there wasn't enough time, she tantrummed even harder. However, Simon intervened and said they'd allow her to have another go, it is his show after all.

This caused controversy for two reasons. Firstly, the question was raised again, is it right to have children on the show when they clearly can't deal with the pressure? Secondly, many people were outraged that she was allowed another go, it's outside the rules of the show, and the other performers wouldn't have had the same opportunity.

However, she was allowed another go, and gave a performance that saw her beating Greg Pritchard in the judges' vote, with all three judges voting for her. Aidan Davis had already won the first ticket to the final with his street-dancing act.

The Grand Final:
(Listed 10th to 1st)
2 Grand - Probably the weakest act in the final, and a deserved 10th. They chose to sing 'A Whole New World' from Aladdin, and even though 75-year old John forgot to sing his first lines in the song, they still gave a very heartfelt, touching performance, and 12 year old Sally impressed with her range of vocals. Not the most talented act in the competition, but still pretty good and a deserved finalist.

Shaun Smith - The rugby-playing 17 year old returned to the song he sung at the auditions, 'Ain't No Sunshine', which suited his voice much more than 'With Or Without You'. He sung very well, but once more there were more talented acts in the competition.

Flawless - The street-dancing group from London were surprisingly lower than most people expected, as they were hotly tipped for the win. They gave a very good performance in the final, an impressively choreographed routine to a Michael Jackson medley, but were ultimately just worse than Diversity, so I suppose most people who were going to go for a dance group went for Diversity, which is why these were quite low down.

Shaheen Jafargholi - Shaheen impressed with this final performance, singing 'Who's Lovin' You' in a voice much stronger than one would expect of a 12 year old, with his performance even leading Simon to insist that Shaheen is the best singer on the whole show. Probably deserved a bit higher than 7th.

Hollie Steel - In a much more composed performance, Hollie impressed judges and audience alike with a performance of 'Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again' from The Phantom of the Opera. If you listen to just the audio you won't be able to believe this voice is coming from an 11-year old girl, it's pretty incredible. A deserved 6th.

Aidan Davis - A similar act to George Sampson of last year, in that he's a pretty incredible child break-dancer. In the final he utilised lots of technology to bolster his act, and gave a great dancing performance to 'Low' by Florida feat. T Pain. Last year he would have challenged George Sampson, but in a much more talent-filled year I might have actually put him a bit lower than 5th.

Stavros Flatley - A strange act, because what is essentially a fat guy running around stage with his pudgy son is also incredibly entertaining, which is what the whole talent business is all about. Bringing their meditteranean dance moves to the stage, as well as their incredibly friendly personalities, Stavros Flatley managed to build up a huge fan base. By far the least talented of the finalists, but on entertainment value alone, a well-deserved 4th.

Julian Smith - Smith played 'Somewhere' from West Side Story brilliantly in the final, but I was slightly dubious about 4th place for him. I'm no expert on saxophonists by all means, but I didn't think he was particularly spectacular, and I'm sure there are better saxophonists out there. However, that's just my opinion, and it was still a great performance.

Susan Boyle - This small, eccentric 47 year old from Scotland had a lot of pressure to live up to. Immediately after her amazing audition she raced away to 100 million views on YouTube and worldwide press attention, which made it seem like the final result was inevitable. Then, after her semi-final performance and some unfavourable spats with the media, the press turned on her and it seemed she would leave the show. But in the final she returned to 'I Dreamed The Dream' and sung it even better than before, with a stunning performance. I would have picked her for the win, but a second place is still a result to be proud of.

Diversity - This dance group, which comprises of three sets of brothers and four of their friends, ranging in age from 13 to 25, were head and shoulders above the other dance acts in this competition. Choreographer Jordan Banjo devised a spectacular dance for the final, which as well as being incredibly high-paced and entertaining, also incorporated the buzzing of Britain's Got Talent Judge into their acts. It was brilliantly creative and, as a dance act, pretty much perfect. It was a close call between them and Boyle, but overall they were very talented performers, and no one could begrudge them the victory.

Conclusion:

The good points:
--> Britain's Got Talent is great to watch purely for entertainment factor. On any show you can be guaranteed of either watching some very good talent acts, or some very bad talent acts, both equally entertaining. Ant and Dec do a good job of bringing everything together with some bad jokes and funny comments, and the judges responses are usually pretty funny too. It's one of those programs you can watch if you've ever got an hour to spare, and you turn on the TV for something to watch.

--> Helps to spot talent. How hard would it have been for people like Paul Potts to make it into the competitive world of entertainment without a show like this to give them their break? He's undoubtedly one of the best operatic singers we've got in Britain, but without Britain's Got Talent there's a high chance he would have gone unnoticed. Other acts that have released successful albums since leaving the show, like Escala and Faryl Smith for example, can also attribute their success down to getting a break on this show.

--> Nail-biting climaxes. OK, so there are bound to be tenser moments in one's life than the Britain's Got Talent final results, but on the TV scale this ranks pretty high for tension, especially in a final like this year's, where 7 or 8 of the final 10 could have won it.

Bad points:
--> Too much media attention and pressure. For example, I bring up the case of Susan Boyle. Susan comes on to stage after announcing to Ant and Dec that she's 47, even though she looks about 60, and that she's never been kissed. She's got a thick Scottish accent and looks generally rather strange. She seems destined to fail. But then she opens her mouth, and the audience immediately turn, she is a quite incredible singer. She gets hundreds of millions hits on YouTube, and the whole world starts talking about her. Then it all goes wrong. The media turns and there are many reports of her swearing and outbursts, and stories that she'll be leaving the show. After the final, it was confirmed that Susan Boyle had broken down, and was admitted to a private psychiatric clinic in London. The pressures of the show were clearly too much, and the media has to take responsibility for this.

--> Sob stories. It's clear that a lot of the acts have been through a lot in some way or another, but the way that the producers utilize these stories to boost the popularity is downright shameful. If a performer has lost somebody close to them, then you can guarantee they'll be asked about it in every interview, at the end of each performance, and in the end it's just farcical and extra publicity. It's brilliantly parodied in Peter Kay's 'Britain's Got The Pop Factor And Possibly A New Celebrity Jesus Christ Soapstar Superstar Strictly On Ice', where performer R Wayne is initially rejected from the final three on the grounds that his story isn't sad enough, but allowed in when his gran tragically dies.

--> Audience reactions and the producer's part in this. OK, so the audience should be allowed to have their own voice and opinions, but when an act who is clearly 'not altogether there' is being booed and jeered from all corners of the room, it goes too far. I'm probably making it out to be worse than it is, but there are many times when you really feel sorry for the performers. An example of this is Michael Machell who appeared on Series 2. He was clearly rather untalented, but the producers/judges decided he should go through to the semi-finals ahead of some more deserving acts, and then it was revealed that the producers actively encouraged the audience to boo him when he went on, which they did. Overall, it's just a shame what the producers are reduced to doing in order to get more views.

--> Soundtrack repeated too much. The main theme from the show gets annoying, as does their secondary theme 'Lux Aeterna', a brilliant track when used properly. Also, in the audition phases of the show, popular tracks are overused when showing the auditions.
--> Amanda Holden. No offence to her, but I can't stand her.

So does Britain have talent?:
Oh yes, I seemed to have strayed off the point a bit there. Overall, I would have to say that, yes, Britain does have talent. Much more talent than America seemingly, having watched their winners on YouTube. Beating the USA is always nice.

Summary: One of the best reality TV shows, just with questionable morals