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Susan Boyle says Diversity was deserving
Singer performed well, but high-stepping dance troupe earned her praise
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Susan Boyle wows the world Scottish singing sensation captures attention around the globe and deals with the pressures of instant fame. more photos |
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According to Susan Boyle, the best act did indeed win "Britain's Got Talent," even though that act wasn't Boyle herself.
The singing Scot claimed second place on the show, with first place going to Diversity, an imaginatively choreographed, brilliantly high-stepping, leaping and lunging dance group. The ten-person troupe from in and around London is composed of friends and brothers, ranging in age from 12-25.
“The best people won. They are very entertaining lads. Lads, I wish you all the best,” said Boyle, who before ceding center stage characteristically wiggled her hips and raised her long blue dress to flash some leg.
In a post-performance interview, she said she still “hopes to get an album out,” but as to the immediate future, “Who knows? I’ll play it by ear.”
Asked by hosts Ant and Dec to sum up the whole experience, she said “Unbelievable. Very humbling. And a thank you to everyone.”
Judge Simon Cowell said “I’m gutted for Susan … I think we’ve never had a runner-up like Susan Boyle. She’s won over lots of fans, not just for her singing ability but by her personality. She’s a really sweet person.”
Diversity, however, earned the £100,000 first prize and will perform their act in December in front of Queen Elizabeth II at the Royal Variety Show. But another royal already wants to see them. Cowell reported he’s received a call from Prince Albert of Monaco hoping they might be available to perform at the Red Cross Charity Ball in Monte Carlo. Looking even further ahead, Cowell thought the group might make an ideal opening act when the Olympic Games come to London in 2012.
“I’m genuinely shocked. I can’t believe it,” said Ashley Banjo, Diversity’s hugely talented choreographer, thanking everyone who voted because “you changed our lives.”
Show was a ratings bonanza
This year’s version of the popular competition, open to all ages and all talents, brought huge ratings to ITV, generated worldwide interest because of Boyle, and the finale raised over £1 million for the Royal Variety Club charity from call-in votes from the public.
Some of the acts reprised their successful audition performances, others showed innovation. But by general agreement, all 10 acts proved pleasing and appealing, making it harder than the oddsmakers had anticipated to decide the winner.
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Next up was the 12-year-old Welsh singer, Shaheen Jafargholi, whom hosts Ant and Dec claim “could one day be bigger than Tom Jones.”
He belted out his audition song, “Who’s Lovin’ You.” There has been controversy about whether kids should be put under the pressure of competitive live performances like this. (The issue really grabbed the headlines when 10-year-old Hollie Steel froze during her semifinal song on Friday night, and only got through to the finale after being given a second chance.) But Jafargholi was clearly unfazed by the limelight, and in judge Simon Cowell’s words, “coped with this with real maturity.”
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Ho / AFP - Getty Images Susan Boyle's appearance earned snickers when she showed up to audition, but those laughs quickly turned to gasps and cheers. |
Less able to take the pressure was another young boy, Aidan Davis, a self-taught hip hop dancer who had body-popped to victory in the last semifinal the previous night.
No doubt he was tired. Holden and third judge Piers Morgan enthused about his multi-mirrored performance of “Low,” but Cowell told him, “To be honest with you it wasn’t as good as last night … I didn’t quite feel the impact I had last night.”
Next up was one of the sentimental acts, 2 Grand, a singing duo composed of 76-year-old John Neill and his granddaughter, 12 year-old Sallie Lax. They performed “A Whole New World,” from "Aladdin." She can sing. He can’t. However, Neill knows how to tug the public heartstrings, noting that performing with Sallie has made him feel happy for the first time in the 16 months since his wife died.
Hollie Steel, the little girl with a really big voice, was “officially the bravest girl in the world” according to Morgan, having triumphed through her nerves and tears on Friday night. This time she showed none of the panic of that semifinal appearance, earning a standing ovation for her performance of "Somehow Here Again" from "Phantom of the Opera.”
Cowell commented, “It’s only fair that I talk to you like an adult, taking everything into account: You were fantastic. Really good little singer, chose a really, really tough song … handled big notes … and put yourself back in the competition, not through pity but through talent.”
Whatever the odd talent of the Greek father/son act Stavros Flatley, they make viewers beam and grin. The “two little podgy fellas,” as Demetrios Demetriou described himself and his 12 year old son Mikalakis, performed another riotous version of Irish dancing. Backed up by a troupe of girls performing Irish dance as it should be done, the blonde-wigged duo, their tubby bellies bare, clearly had “the time of our life.”
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