Ten acts battle for 'Britain's Got Talent' title
Variety acts will battle it out tonight to be crowned the winner of 'Britain’s Got Talent'.
An 81-year-old chanteuse and 13-year-old drummer are among the hopefuls aiming for the chance to sing in front of royalty.
The winner will take home £100,000 and show off their skills at the Royal Variety Performance.
Last night, drum wonder Kieran Gaffney and teenage singer Liam McNally took the final two places in the final.
Thirteen-year-old Kieran wowed judges and audience alike behind a specially made kit that tipped forward to show off his stick skills. The performance saw him take the popular vote.
But Liam had a nervous wait before Simon Cowell gave the 14-year-old the deciding nod over dance trio A3 for the runner-up spot.
The acts complete a line-up of 10 acts.
More than £1m is expected to be wagered on the live final. Bookmaker Coral has acrobatic act Spelbound as 8-11 favourites.
Judges have praised the troupe in previous shows. Amanda Holden said after one show-stopping performance: “Absolutely faultless. Some of the stuff that was going on I didn’t think was humanly possible.”
Impressionist Paul Burling is second favourite. He took off Alan Carr, Harry Hill and Simon Cowell himself during his semi-final performance.
Octogenarian Janey Cutler is 8-1 fourth favourite. The Scottish singer has been dubbed this year’s Susan Boyle, gaining the moniker NuBo – as opposed to SuBo - in the process.
Here are the acts who have made it through to the final.
:: Spelbound
From Ashford, Middlesex.
The group of acrobatic gymnasts is the bookies’ favourite to win.
It is made up of Adam McAssey, 20, Adam Buckingham, 21, Alex Uttley, 24, Jonathan Stranks, 15, Douglas Fordyce, 19, Edward Upcott, 18, Nicholas Illingworth, 24, Katie Axten, 17, Leighanne Cowler, 18, Lauren Kemp, 17, Hollianne Wood, 13, Abigail Ralph, 15, and Amy Mackenzie, 12.
Most of the members have been training since the age of four.
Judge Simon Cowell said: “I have never seen anything like that in my life.”
Amanda Holden praised the group as “absolutely faultless. Some of the stuff that was going on I didn’t think was humanly possible.”
:: Tobias Mead
From London/Wiltshire.
The 22-year-old dancer had his first brush with performing when he auditioned for a school production of West Side Story as a “joke”.
He is now a full-time dancer, trained in ballet, tap, jazz, modern and acrobatics.
Cowell has described him as “super, super talented”.
Piers Morgan gave him a more cautious thumbs up, saying: “Very clever, I have seen stuff like it before though. I like it but you need to cover more ground on stage.”
:: Connected
From Manchester.
The young boyband is made up of Conor and Miles, twins of 13, Harry, 13, Max, 15, and Matt, 12.
The group, which has drawn comparisons with Take That, has been together for the last five months.
The boys gave Holden goosebumps with their singing.
Morgan told them: “I was the official biographer for Take That so I’m an expert in first stages of boyband and I think we’ve got something quite good here.”
:: Tina and Chandi
From Shrewsbury, Shropshire.
Tina, 37, is soulmates with her 12-year-old blue merle border collie Chandi.
She obtained Chandi from a dog pound when she was just a puppy and started teaching her tricks.
The pair have melted judges’ hearts with their dance routines, with Holden telling them: “It’s so lovely to see your relationship.”
Morgan described Chandi as “a canine version of Wayne Rooney”.
:: Christopher Stone
From North Rigton, Yorkshire.
The 28-year-old accountant has won over viewers with his singing.
He started singing lessons after performing a solo aged 15 for a Les Miserables medley in his school choir.
But his dream to become a professional singer never really took off and his career went down a different path.
Morgan told him: “As you got into it, I could see that you were like ’this is my moment and I’m having an amazing time’ and I enjoyed it with you.”
:: Paul Burling
From Bristol.
The 41-year-old impressionist discovered his talent to be able to be able to copy voices perfectly at primary school.
He can take off Harry Hill, David Dickinson, Alan Carr – and even Cowell.
Morgan described the hopeful as “the best impressionist we’ve ever seen on Britain’s Got Talent”.
:: Janey Cutler
From Wishaw, Scotland.
The 81-year-old singer has been hailed as this year’s Susan Boyle.
She started singing in the Salvation Army aged just six – but did not sing again until she was 50 when a friend made her get up on stage.
The pensioner has enjoyed entertaining punters on the local pub and club circuit.
Cowell gave her “three thousand and three yeses!”
Holden said she has “the lungs of a 20-year-old”.
:: Twist and Pulse
From London.
Dance act Glen Murphy, 19, and Ashley Glazebrooke, 18, are also best mates.
They have known each other for two years and Ashley started dancing six years ago, while Glen has been dancing for five years.
Holden described the pair’s unusual performances as “a glimpse of the future” and declared they are “just genius”.
:: Kieran Gaffney
From Kent.
The drumming 13-year-old first appeared on Britain’s Got Talent last year, but narrowly missed out on a semi-final place. In this year’s semi, Kieran used a tilting drum kit to show off his stick skills.
Holden said it was “absolutely fantastic”.
:: Liam McNally
From Manchester.
Fourteen-year-old Liam started singing when he was 10 when auditioning for a school play. His music teacher saw his potential and spurred him on to greater things.
Despite concerns from the judging panel that his voice might break before the final, the youngster won over the audience with renditions of Danny Boy and You Raise Me Up.
Morgan said of his semi-final effort: “That was a fantastic performance.”
