Britain's Got Talent 2013 - Live Semi-Final 2

It's the second evening of the live Britain's Got Talent semi-finals! Looking at the trailer for the show they played, it doesn't seem like it's going to be that interesting. But by the looks of things, they have put a load of singers competing against each other, perhaps to knock as many of them out so there is a bigger variety in the final. Anyway, let's proceed!

First up this evening is dance partners Martin and Marielle. Once again, Martin is swinging Marielle like there is no tomorrow! It'd be very awkward for him if he was to drop her. Their acts seems to be dance combined with gymnastics and it looked pretty impressive. Perhaps they should have started the first semi-final with this act to make it look a bit more spectacular. The act proved to be a favourite with the judges, however Simon said he doesn't want as much throwing and wanted more dancing... but that would make their act boring! Perhaps he just wants to compete with Strictly Come Dancing!

Next up was Labrinth's younger brother, MckNasty. Essentially, he just stands there banging drums to some music. To me, it just sounded like they played a song and he enthusiastically jumped around throwing his arms about. However, he got a positive response from the judges who all loved it. I think Simon gave it praise due to Labrinth being signed to his own label, so he obviously does not want to upset a big money maker's brother. Perhaps all the judges have been briefed not to..?  Whatever their reasons for voting was, they proved popular with the judges and the audience, so this could be Britain's Got Talent's first ever successful drummer!

The third act of the evening is 13 and 15 year old, Jack and Cormac. Two little boys from Ireland who had the crowd on their feet during their first audition. Essentially, they have the cute factor, which people will vote for because of that. However, once they hit puberty that could be the end of their singing career. Once again, not as good as Ronan Parke (he will owe me a house by the end of this, free promotion!), but it was still good. Covering Taylor Swift's I Knew You Were Trouble, they were dubbed as a mini PJ and Duncan by David Walliams. I have my doubts that they will get through as I don't think they were a strong enough act, but who knows? I was wrong last night and I could be wrong again this evening!

Another singing act was next and it was Modupe Obasola taking her chances at wowing the idea. It was the first buzz of the evening and the second buzz of the semi-finals so far! Simon did not approve of the act. Going from an acoustic artist to a pop artist, covering a Justin Bieber song. She ditched the cutesy guitar for some naff backing dancers, and the results were not pretty. Amanda seemed to be the only one who liked the 'new' Modupe. Thankfully, we definitely will not be seeing her in the final. Had she done what she did in her audition and stripped it all back, just playing the guitar, she might have had a chance. 

Surprise surprise, another singing act. Meat Diva, who met at a karaoke, were the next act and it's another one I do not enjoy. Every time that woman puts on a wig, she looks about 10 year older than she actually is. The act started with Elton John and moving to Cher. Simon said the act looked cheap in the auditions and it still looks cheap to me. The singing is awful and the costumes are not much better. We then saw the bloke dressed as Meatloaf and singing on a motorbike, which ended with them both being dressed as Meatloaf and Cher singing Bat Out Of Hell. It's definitely something you'd see at a holiday camp and I don't want to see it again. To be fair to them though, they did give it 100%, it just wasn't for me.

Next up, was dance act, MD. A large dance troupe which did not impress Simon during their audition, as he preferred them when they previously auditioned in previous years. For me, it looked very messy with some of them being out of sync at points. Are we as the public not sick of dance acts now? Apparently not. The audience loved it and even Simon said it was better than their audition, but he thought that they needed to get rid of some of the members as there was a few weak members. Which I agree with. There's no room for weak members when you are trying to win a competition. Not even the sob story that there was injuries and they did all their costumes, hair and make up themselves could make them win me over. I hope it doesn't win anyone else over.

Back to the singers, it feels like we've only had five minutes away from them... Oh wait! It was Alice Fredenham next, who caused controversy after being nervous at her audition but seeming more confident at her Voice audition shown a week later. Simon described her voice as " liquid gold" during her audition and I can do nothing more but agree. She sounded somewhat like Amy Winehouse, it was a great song choice too. She made a small mistake in the song, but that was not enough to spoil her act in my opinion. Although she was beating herself up about the mistake and all the controversy going round in her head, she was trying to hold back the tears. Simon loved it so much, he went back on his liquid gold comment to say that her voice "was like liquid platinum gold." Can't be bad! Prediction number two! I think she will definitely go through without a shadow of a doubt and I genuinely hope she does.

The penultimate act was comedian Jack Carroll, whose act stems from making jokes about his disability. I have to say, he did pretty well to live up to his audition. His jokes were great and he had the judges in stitches! He got the first standing ovation of the evening, from the whole studio and it was definitely deserved! His sense of humour was wicked! He made a dig at Bruce Forsyth and Strictly, but also went for the jugular and ripped Simon to shreds! Will he get through? Of course he will! And the great thing is, people won't vote him due to the sympathy vote because of his disability, they will vote for him because he is a great comedian and is genuinely funny.

The final act was Gabz, who is still wearing a fucking onesie. Sadly, she chose to sing the same song as she did in her audition. As catchy as it was, it would have been nice to see a different song from her. She had about 20 backing singers as well which seemed to take the attention away from her slightly, but giving everyone in the audience was given a light to sway during the chorus, which made the act more interesting.  However, despite me being Mr Grump, the audience and judges loved it. She was branded as a "little pop star" by Simon and David suggested Cowell got it on iTunes straight away. Gabz says that she has written over 30 songs, why could she not sing one of them tonight? I feel as though she wanted to play safe this evening, but I also feel that she has washed away her chance of getting to the final. Perhaps she will be the wildcard act..?

And that is all for now! An interesting show to say the least, but once again I feel as though we're lacking something during the live shows this year. Perhaps tomorrow will bring a wider variety. I'll be back soon for the results show with your update of who got trough!

UPDATE:  Tonight's results show saw Jenifer Lopez perform a UK exclusive of her latest song. It's a shame the judges can't buzz her off. Quite frankly, she wasn't very good. now she is getting older she needs think about putting an end to it as her voice isn't quite so good any more. But thankfully we didn't have to endure that for too long. The acts going through are listed below.

1. Jack Carroll (Phone vote)

2. Gabz (Saved by David, Alesha and Amanda)

(Simon did not get to vote as Gabz had won before he could make his decision)

Britain's Got Talent 2012 - Live Semi-Final 2

It's semi final number two and we are still being subjected to the new and short gold title sequence! For some reason both female judges have gone for a weird look. Alesha has decided for a dress which has black stripes and it most certainly does not look good and Amanda has curled her hair, but then put it up and it's not doing her any favours.

First up tonight it's Cascade. A martial arts dance group whose audition put Bruce Lee to shame! The martial arts section was all a bit too much for me. There was action on one side of the stage, more action on the other and action in the middle so I didn't know where to look. However the dance section was somewhat comical and for the ladies, to men taking their shirts off was probably a highlight. Nevertheless, it was a good start to the show.

 

The second act of the evening was year old Paige Turley, a singer whose audition song was 'Skinny Love'. Tonight she sang Bruno Mars' 'It Will Rain'. A great performance from Paige who's choice of song didn't go down too well with Amanda and Alesha. I agree with them, the song did not show off Paige's voice too well and a better song choice would of helped her. Simon and David on the other hand both enjoyed it - It seems that this year it's boys vs girls, with both genders disagreeing over acts! However, I do think she could get through to the final three of the evening.

 

The third act was dance act Karizma Krew. An interesting act, it was visually pleasing but it wasn't anything new really. There was some nice beats such as dancing to Chas n Dave, but apart from that it wasn't really anything new. Simon said that the older member of the group shouldn't be there and was even challenged to get up on stage and prove him wrong - to which he stayed sat down.

Act number four was David's favourites, The Showbears. A group of five camp men who for their audition sang their own version of 'It's Raining Men'. First buzz of the show was Simon who clearly has a hate for this group. David was first to respond saying they were a much 'prettier camp One Direction', he even got up on the judging panel to show his appreciation. Simon's response was the one direction they are heading is home. The group have a variety act which you would expect to see at a holiday camp so this could be a good sign of them getting through.

It's Fish on Percussion next! A bongo drummer! It was a great sounding act, but there was too much on stage. Amanda said it was ''too Ibiza'' for her and she needed a couple of glow sticks. If you was to strip all the strobes and all the dancers the act would seem boring, but with all this stuff going on around him you once again do not know where to look. I have high doubts that Fish will get to the finals.

Act six this evening is Graham Blackledge, an organ player whose first audition left the audience loving his personality that showed us he wasn't too clever. He dropped down from the ceiling to sing a cover of Outkast's 'Hey Ya'. It was a very short performance and Amanda even said he was ''like Wallace and Gromit's love child'. However the judges didn't really like the performance with Simon saying it was excruciating, David had a problem with his organ (cue innuendos) and Alesha believed he didn't need to play the organ and just should of talked.

The seventh act was Kai and Natalia a ballroom dance act. In rehearsal Kai accidentally kicked Natalia in the head and she was feared to have concussions, will this affect the them? Definitely not! The passion was electrifying and the energy was at an all time high. Of course, Simon loved the act - definitely something to do with a BBC show that one of the judges used to be a judge on - and even David made a joke about it! Simon said that he could see them being winners, I definitely can see them in the final.

Tonight's penultimate act was Four Corners. A dance act featuring one girl surrounded by sixteen guys. Simon who fancies the girl loved the act and said it was the definition of girl power. He believes it was 'by far the best of the evening... there is a really far chance you will make it to the final". Walliams said the act was sexier than The Showbears this evening and that they are one to watch in the competition. Alesha likened the girl to a superhero and even went as far to say they were the best dance act in the competition. A definite cert to be in the final three of the evening!

The final act of the evening was Jonathan and Charlotte, a singing duo who not only stunned the audience, but stunned the judges as well with their opera singing. Jonathan has been likened to Susan Boyle in the news with his singing being a contrast in to what people thought of him when they saw him. By far one of the best acts of the evening! Jonathan has a strong powerful voice that quite honestly over powers Charlotte's but she definitely stepped it up this evening - even Simon thought so. No matter what happens in the competition, he will go far! All four judges and the audience enjoyed the act so much they were given a standing ovation. Simon even said it was one of his favourite ever Britain's Got Talent acts.

That's another nine acts performed for the evening! A really good show this evening filled to the brim with talent!

Below are the two acts that went through.

Johnathan and Charlotte

Kai and Natalia - (Voted through by Simon, Amanda and Alesha)

Paige Turley - Sadly went out due to only David voting her through.