Ah, the Britain’s Got Talent live shows. From Monday 29th to Sunday 4th, prepare to enjoy the annual singing-magic-weirdo spectacular on ITV from 7.30 every night, drinks and snacks in hand. Most acts attend a heart-pounding reveal event to learn their fates – but not these 5, who wowed the judges (or Ant and Dec) so much they’ve already been catapulted onto the Elstree Studios lineup. Let’s meet them.
Sarah Ikumu
15 year-old Milton Keynes-ian Sarah won perhaps the most coveted buzzer of them all. Her song choice (talent show favourite And I Am Telling You) raised some eyebrows, and her stunning voice raised boss Simon Cowell’s hand into the middle of the desk to send her flying into the semis. The music mogul likened her to “becoming possessed halfway through” and Amanda called it “mindblowing”.
Odds to win (Ladbrokes): 4/1, making her the second-favourite at the time of writing. A lot of pressure – but also a huge amount of support.
Just Us
Alesha rooted for teenage dancers Just Us, hailing from the Wirral. One member Julia admitted this could be her last chance to perform on a big stage, needing surgery for Scoliosis that will leave her unable to dance again. This, combined with the group’s athletic and skillful routine, convinced Alesha to give them the coveted ticket to the semis – saying that the audition “touched” her.
Odds to win (Ladbrokes): 20/1. Another touching routine could put a spot in the final well within reach for these girls.
Daliso Chaponda
Malawian Daliso is the second comedian to strike gold since the twist was introduced in 2014. Amanda backed him after expressing her support for comedy this year, enjoying his takes on anything from the economic crisis to being single. Simon then described him as “an undiscovered star”. Oh, and his dad wants to ban farting in Malawi, so there you go.
Odds to win (Ladbrokes): 14/1. If he delivers such a strong set of gags again, then he could be a contender – a comedian has never won the show. Stand-up comedy is a very hard genre to pull off though, particularly live – can he deliver?
Matt Edwards
34 year-old Matt’s fusion of magic and comedy was one of the wackiest golden buzzers we’ve ever seen and we loved it. So did Ant and Dec, evidently – who wanted to give him the break he’d been after for years. He effortlessly commanded the stage with his style of humour and kept the audience intrigued as to what he’d pull of next. A superb choice, we reckon.
Odds to win (Ladbrokes): 18/1. His lovable personality could get him incredibly far – particularly if he has some great magic tricks up his sleeve.
Kyle Tomlinson
15 year-old Kyle is David Walliams’ first ever serious pick – and it’s a good one. Kyle is a returnee, having audition when he was 12 and being told by David to take some singing lessons. Not to be deterred, Kyle came back stronger with Alesha calling him “brilliant”. His audition has already notched up over 3 million YouTube views in just 2 days.
Odds to win (Ladbrokes): 10/1. He’s a real contender for the final, and even the top 5 – if he sings the right songs, that is.
So there we have it. A golden buzzer has never gone all the way and emerged victorious before – could this be the year? The BGT live shows start on Bank Holiday Monday on ITV – and the final auditions episode (with the semi-finalists reveal) airs this Saturday.
Who are you rooting for this year? Share your thoughts at @CelebMix!