Britain's Got Talent : The Good, The Bad and The Why Are They Here?

So the first of five live semi finals will begin tonight as the fifth series of Britain’s Got Talent reaches climax in a week full of 40 acts battling it out for £100,000 and a chance to play at the Royal Variety.

I picked out some of the auditions from the semi finalists that I thought were good, bad and that I can’t believe have made it this far. Enjoy.

The Good

Michael Collings – Singer, Guitarist.   |   Audition Video

Not sure what I was expecting from the pre-audition video but as soon as he started playing and singing it didn’t matter what I thought, this guy is very good. Nice guy, great guitarist and a nice voice.

Razy Gogonea – Dancer   |   Audition Video

We have had some good solo dance acts in the past and even a winner in George Sampson, but Razy Gogonea took body popping to a whole new level in his first audition. An amazing Matrix themed routine saw him run on his knees, lift himself off the ground from a lying position and of course the famous Matrix lean back, all performed perfectly. A bit harsh that only one of him and french dancer Michael Moral could go through because both dancers are fantastic, but Razy made the cut ahead of Michael and I can’t wait for him to prove to us why.

Ronan Parke – Singer   |   Audition Video

This 12-year old had the audience thinking two things with his performance. One was “he must be gay”, but the other was “WOW”. An absolutely faultless first audition that brought goosebumps on the back of my neck and the audience and judges to their feet. A star is well and truely born no matter what happens the rest of the show.

The Circus of Horrors – Acrobatics, Stunts, Horror   |   Audition Video

This group of freaks who look like they all met in a mental institution are actually all really really talented and performed a variety of different stunts and acrobatics which all happening together at once just made you not know where to look. Mix some sword swallowing, extreme roller blading and a woman swinging by her hair and you have an act full to the brim of talent for the Queen. Well, maybe …

David and Karen – Magic   |   Audition Video

It’s strange that we haven’t seen any very good magic acts on Britain’s Got Talent. None that spring to mind anyway, but David and Karen could prove to be the best magic act the show has had, and if their next tricks are as good as their audition then we could be in for seeing something special.

The Bad

Steven Hall – Dancer   |   Audition Video

Anyone who has seen The Evolution of Dance on YouTube  or any other rip offs of the Evolution of Dance videos on YouTube will understand that this guy has just copied that first original guy who did it. For that reason, Steven Hall goes in the Bad section, although I will be looking forward to seeing what moves he busts out this time.

Ted and Grace – Singers   |   Audition Video

Aww this is sweet and grandfather and  granddaughter singing together. Oh wait a second, acts like this are always much more boring second time round and even the first time round I didn’t find them that entertaining. So in other words, I think these guys have no hope in this competition.

Angela and Teddy – Dog Act   |   Audition Video

There is something brilliant about acts with animals, but unfortunately there are already so many dog acts in the 40 semi finalists and although they may be the oldest, they are not the greatest.

Up & Over It – Hand Dancers   |   Audition Video N/A but this is basically it Click Here

They can’t be so bad that there is no audition video of them anywhere can they? Well they are not terrible, as nearly seven and a half million views of their We No Speak Americano hand dance video on YouTube proves, but it isn’t the most entertaining act in the competition. In fact at first I thought ok this is cool, and literally 5 seconds later I’d had enough and wanted it to end. Not sure what else they could do to liven it up either really.

Stuart Arnold – Impersonator   |   Audition Video

So, it’s the Entertainernator. Sent back in time to entertain us with impersonations of some of the greatest singing talent in the world. Oh dear.

Why Are They Here?

Antonio ‘Popeye’ Francis – Eye Popping Dancer   |   Audition Video

Although I have described him as an eye popping dancer, this doesn’t mean that his dancing will wow you, it literally means it’s a guy dancing, whilst popping his eyes out freakishly too much. Saw this guy on Guinness World Records back in the day and once you have seen it once theres not much else to see.

Herbie Armstrong – Singer, Guitarist   |   Audition Video

This guy is actually has a great voice and is a fantastic guitarist, but I’m afraid it isn’t the 1950’s and no matter how good he is or how much sympathy he’ll get if Amanda is mean to him again, I don’t think he is entertaining enough and I can’t see him doing well in the contest.

Nathan Wyburn – Artist   |   Audition Video

This act may as well be called, “Build Suspense with music and making a puzzle of someone whilst the audience guesses who it is.” I suppose Nathan Wyburn is less of a mouthful, but although it is talented that this young man can make people’s faces using bread and marmite, is it really entertaining? The finished picture is good, but why do we want to be kept waiting to see it and then call that an act fit for the queen?

Lorna Bliss – Singer   |   Audition Video

First of all, this is a Britney Spears impersonator singing act and she can’t really sing, secondly she spent the whole song singing practically naked in a Toxic style outfit and thirdly she got three buzzes from the judges. Yet somehow Lorna Bliss has made it through to the semi finals. I wonder if we will see her in Britney’s school girl outfit next?

Mexican Mayhem – Dog Act   |   Audition Video

Ok I mentioned before about too many dog acts and that Angella and Teddy were not as good as the rest, well Mexican Mayhem is worse than that. Mayhem is exactly what their audition was, with the dogs refusing to follow any commands properly and it was just a mess. After all of that however, they are somehow in the semi-finals over some of the other great acts left out such as The Highway Men and Michael Moral. Shocking.

Others To Watch Out For

Some of the other acts I think you should keep your eye out for in the semi finals are:

• Donelda Guy – Dog Act   |   Audition Video
  • Best dog act in the competition in my opinion.
• Edward Reid – Singer   |   Audition Video
  • Very unique singing act.
• Out Of The Blue – Acapella Group   |   Audition Video
  • Oxford students who sing with no backing track or instruments.
• Two and a Half Men – Dancers   |   Audition Video
  • Three cheeky great dancers.
• Abyss – Dancers   |   Audition Video
  • Another Diversity style dance act, but they’re always good to watch.