The Britain’s Got Talent auditions are over for another year and after thousands auditioned, only 45 remain.
The chose 45 acts will perform in the live semi-finals in the hope of going all the way to final, where the winning act will bag £250,000 and a spot during the Royal Variety Performance.
There’s singers, dancers, a magician, a couple of impressionists, a rather bizarre painter and many more thrown into this year’s mix.
So without further ado, the 45 finalists are:
Bars and Melody
Age: 13 and 15
From: Wales/Bristol
They won the judges over with their own version of Twista track Hopeful, changing the lyrics to reflect their experiences of bullying. They were Simon Cowell’s Golden Buzzer act.
Christian Spridon
Age: 35
From: Romania/London
Christian divided the judges’ opinion with his performance of Tom Jones’ Sex Bomb. He was David Walliams’ Golden Buzzer act.
Paddy and Nico
Age: 79 and 39
From: Stourbridge/Spain
Paddy and Nico blew the judges away with their ambitious Acrobatic Salsa act. Amanda Holden pressed her Golden Buzzer for the pair, praising Paddy as ‘inspirational’.
REAformed
Age: 15-21
From: London/Oxford
Alesha pressed her Golden Buzzer for girl band REAformed, who have been together for six months. Their performance of Kiki Dee’s I Got The Music In Me was a hit. Alesha told the trio that seeing them reminded her of her days in Misteeq. ‘I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Misteeq’ she added.
Toju
Age: 40
From: London
Toju had the judges in stitches with his impressions of Cilla Black and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Ant and Dec in particular were bowled over and used their Golden Buzzer to send him through to the semis.
Allan Turner-Ward
Age: 37
From: Bournemouth
DJ Allan Turner-Ward has been a full time DJ for 20 years, and his expertise showed when he performed a self-composed song called Pose. He bagged three yeses from Alesha, David and Amanda, but Simon wasn’t convinced.
Andrew Derbyshire
Age: 31
From: London
Andrew has auditioned for Simon Cowell before, appearing on the first series of Pop Idol. During his audition, he wowed the audience with his performance of Joslin Brown’s Somebody Else’s Guy.
Bailey McConnell
Age: 14
From: London
Bailey performed a song he wrote called Dying Hole, about his experiences of bullying. The judges were impressed with his song writing ability.
BoldDog FMX Team
From: All over the UK
Freestyle motocross display team BoldDog put on a breath-taking audition outside with their extreme, daring and dangerous motocross tricks.
Brian Chan
Age: 25
From: Glasgow
Painter Brian Chan had an unusual audition which didn’t win Simon over at all, but with the support of the other three judges he got through.
Cartel
Age: 16-27
From: Northamptonshire
Cartel have been dancing together for 18 months. Their first audition caused a debate between the judges after Simon suggested they continue in BGT without one of Cartel’s members. David, Alesha and Amanda supported the group as a whole and put them through with three yeses.
Collabro
Age: 20-24
From: All over the UK
Collabro had only been together one month but their performance of Bring Him Home scored them yeses across the board. Simon was shocked by their talent, telling them ‘I thought it was going to be
awful’.
CountryVive
Age: 16-35
From: All over the UK
The 18 members of CountryVive got the judges on their feet dancing, and were rewarded four yeses and a standing ovation. They are hoping to make country dance contemporary and current. Amanda was amazed no one pushed the Golden Buzzer for them.
Crazy Rouge
Age: 21-26
From: All over the UK
Crazy Rouge impressed with their risqué yet artistic performance to Escala’s Feeling Good. Alesha described it as ‘gorgeous to watch’.
Darcy Oake
Age: 26
From: Canada
Professional magician Darcy wowed the judges and the audience by doing the seemingly impossible. The judges thought he was the best magician they’d ever seen on the show.
Ed Drewett
Age: 25
From: Essex
Ed has written hits for two of the biggest boybands in the UK but now wants to strike out on his own. The judges loved his song and performance.
Ellis Chick
Age: 12
From: Bristol
For someone so young, Ellis has a powerful voice and blew the judges away with You Make Me Feel So Young, scoring four yeses. David compared him to ‘a little version of him’.
Eva Iglesias
Age: 40
From: Southhampton
Her passionate rendition of Natural Woman made Amanda ‘proud to be a woman’. The judges added that Eva’s emotional connection with the song shone through in her performance.
Henrietta Adewole
Age: 18
From: Essex
Henrietta impressed the judges with her performance of Pasenger’s Let Her Go, with each judge seeing something they liked in Henrietta.
Innova Irish Dance Company
Age: 14-23
From: Northern Ireland
The Irish dancers were rewarded with four yeses for their contemporary spin on traditional Irish dancing.
Jack Pack
Age: 24-33
From: London
Alfie, Adam and Sean impressed the judges with their performance of Frank Sinatra song That’s Life. Alesha took a particular liking to Alfie, describing his voice as ‘the cream in the coffee’.
James Smith
Age: 14
From: Essex
He performed his own take on Nina Simone’s Feeling Good which wowed the audience and judges. He got more confident as he went on, and Simon described his audition as ‘one of my favourite auditions so far’.
Jenson Zhu
Age: 37
From: Bath
Jenson received mixed responses to his impressions. The crowd loved his attempt to impersonate the BeeGee and Marlon Brando, but Simon slammed him as the worst impressionist he’d ever seen. He got three yeses.
Jodi Bird
Age: 15
From: Wales
After an unsteady start, Jodi won the judges over with her rendition of Don’t Rain On My Parade. Simon was initially impressed with her choice of song though, but with the support of the other judges – and a bit of showmanship – she was sent through.
Jon Clegg
Age: 43
From: Brighton
Jon’s hilarious impressions, which included Louis Walsh, Marge Simpson and Simon Cowell saw him sent through to the semis. His father, a past impersonator, was watching on from the audience.
Kieran and Sarah
Age: 26 and 28
From: Birmingham
Kieran and Sarah have been singing together for 4 years and believe they are soul mates. Their personalities coupled with their performance of Love Changes Everything scored four yeses.
Kieran Lai
Age: 17
From: Essex
Kieran hopes to be on the big stage one day, and he’s one step closer thanks to his incredible tin-man dance routine. Simon described him as ‘real genius’ while David thought his audition was ‘faultless’.
Kings and Queens
Age: 18-29
From: All over the UK
Kings and Queens are made up of several Latin dancing couples, who joined forced to create a supergroup. Amanda said their style of dancing was ‘a glimpse into the future of how this should be’.
Kitty and Rosie
Age: 25 and 48
From: London
Mother and daughter, Kitty and Rosie, sang for the first time together in public on the BGT stage. Their strong vocals and connection on stage was what made the judges decide to put them through.
Kony Puppets
Age: 32
From: Poland
Puppeteer Kony auditioned with an unusual but clever Beyonce performance, with the help of his puppet friend. Simon reckoned the 32-year-old should stay invisible throughout the performance so it doesn’t ruin the effect, but Alesha disagreed, saying it was ‘brilliant’. David said that Kony could step in if Beyonce was ever late for one of her gigs.
La Voix and the London Gay Big Band
Age: 26-52
From: London
La Voix has been a drag act for 9 years, and along with the London Gay Big Band, she wowed the judges with her rendition of New York, New York. Amanda praised her as ‘perfect for Great Britain and the queen’.
Lauren and Terrell
Age: 12
From: Essex
Dancers Lauren and Terrell first met on the stage and have been best friends ever since. Their slick, timely dance routine wowed the judges and scored 4 yeses. Simon’s only criticism was that he wanted more personality from Terrell. Can he deliver in the live shows?
Lettice Rowbotham
Age: 24
From: Surrey
Violinist Lettice decided she wanted to play the violin at the age of three, and she had gone on to become a full time musician. Her confident performance of a mix of contemporary tracks on her electric violin left Simon and co stunned. They gave her 4 yeses.
Light Balance
Age: 19-33
From: Ukraine
Lightbalance are a collection of dancers and computer programmers – hence the incredible light trickery on display in their audition. Their performance was like nothing that had been seen before on BGT. David said he ‘could see it all over again instantly’.
Lucy Kay
Age: 24
From: Glasgow
Lucy had to leave school due to bullying, and the judges felt this emotional experience inspired her extraordinary performance. Simon acknowledged her troubled past, saying ‘some of the best singers, sing through pain’.
Micky Dumoulin
Age: 26
From: Essex
Check-out worker Mickey gave an incredible performance of Bring Him Home. Simon compared the charisma he was getting from Mickey to the first time he saw X Factor contestant Olly Murs. The judges positive response, and the 4 yeses that followed, moved the 26-year-old to tears.
Mini Moves
Age: 11-12
From: Glasgow
The dance troupe received mixed responses for their routine to Move by Little Mix. Alesha loved their look, but Amanda felt they were ‘cooler than that’. Simon was the only judge to say no.
Patsy May
Age: Unknown
From: USA
Patsy sand Dream a Little Dream and invited hosts Ant and Dec onto the stage to be serenaded. Her comic anecdotes went down well with the judges, and Simon joked that he could see Patsy taking Amanda’s job next year. Amanda said she wanted to ‘see the dark side’ of Patsy. Will she let it show in the semi-finals?
Peat Loaf and Elaine
Age: 52 and 36
From: Northern Ireland/Scotland
Pete ‘Peat Loaf’ and Elaine first formed at a club in Benidorm and have been performing together ever since. Their performance of Anything For Love managed to impress all the judges except one. Three guesses which one.
Pyroterra
Age: 19-26
From: Czech Republic
Pyroterra’s performance excited the audience, but Simon said he felt the ending was ‘weak’. That didn’t stop him awarding the variety troupe a yes, though.
Ricky K
Age: 33
From: Sheffield
Ricky K has been performing comedy for 14 years. His routine was based on the story of when he met his girlfriend at a nightclub 2 years ago. This personal connection with the routine shone through in his performance, and despite admitting that he had been ‘dreading it’, Amanda said it was an ‘innovative act’.
Sam Jones
Age: 21
From: Sussex
Ventriloquist, entertainer and magician Sam won the judges over with the family friendly quality of his act.
SweetChix
Age: 14-15
From: Essex
SweetChix have been dancing together since the age of four and describe themselves as very ‘Essex’. The judges loved their strong harmonies and sent the girls through to the semis with 4 yeses.
The Addict Initiative
Age: 17-31
From: Leicester
The Addict Initiative performed a fusion of theatrical and commercial dance that left the audience and the judges in awe. All the judges were bowled over by the intensity of their performance.
Yanis Marshall, Arnaud and Mehdi
Age: 24-26
From: Paris
The trip met at Yanis’ dance classes in Paris and have been friends ever since. They impressed the judges with their energetic and slick dance routine – in heels – to a medley of Spice Girls hits.