Let’s face it people. This year’s Britain’s Got Talent final is pretty much The X Factor lite.
Out of the ten finalists through to the grand final, six of them are singers in some form of another. Only two have been voted for by the British public, whereas the other four were put through by the judges. I’m not planning to throw any ideas with this article, but given that Simon Cowell’s other television phenomenon is under ratings scrutiny, it wouldn’t be surprising to subtly use BGT as a vehicle to find his next singing sensation. I mean, this was the show that made Susan Boyle an overnight sensation after all.
The hot favourite is young comedian Jack Carroll, a wheelchair bound school pupil with a good eye for comedy. Good enough to make him popular with the public, and the judges table. While I don’t find Carroll laugh-out-loud funny, he certainly has the chops to become better in the coming years.
Impressionist Francine Lewis has also made the cut, with strong impressions of famous celebs such as Cheryl Cole & Katie Price. Nothing new and by no means the best on the show, but it’s good to have at least one impressionist in the final, instead of it being flat on comedic talent.
Something that also surprises me is the lack of dancing groups this year. Out of the potential ten in the semis, only one managed to squeeze a place in the grand final, that being the youngest of the lot: Pre Skool. A dance troupe full of toddlers with a remarkable talent that will instantly pull the cute and emotional strings of the voting public. Whether they have the potential to go all the way to the top is another story.
We then finally land on Attraction, a shadow theatre group who have truly brought something new to the BGT table. Unlike the other acts, Attraction offer a fresh new act to the show with its clever use of shadow puppetry, one act that the public and judges have eaten up massively.
Back to the singers, and the fact that only a handful of them really stand out as different in terms of personalities and vocal talent. Luminites are the strongest singing act in the final, in terms of personality and likability factor with the audience. But don’t rule out the younger contestants such as Arisxandra & Asandra Jezile, who both have strong support as well as vocals going into this final.
Richard & Adam can separate themselves entirely, given that they are opera singers. But I’ve preferred to mash them together in the singing category given that it is still singing, despite it being opera. That being said, they themselves have a strong chance at winning the show too, with their vocal power and correspondence with the voting public.
The final ace yet to be played is the wildcard, chosen exclusively by the judges. One hopes not to see another singer thrown in, and would opt for another dancing act, given that Pre Skool seem to be the only ones voted in by the public. There are a lot of far stronger acts in the competition that failed to make it past the semis. Acts like Jordan Hall or Youth Creation, who both pulled in strong performances, only to be let down by the judges during results.
With the final not until next Saturday, it’s a test to see whether ITV can hold interest for another seven days, and pull in some strong ratings before the dry months of summer roll in, bleeding TVs dry across the nation. With no major sporting event on, this may be ITV’s last chance before The X Factor kicks in, for some real ratings winners.
