History
The show's format was created by The X Factor creator, Pop Idol/American Idol judge and Sony Music Entertainment A&R Executive Simon Cowell, who has created a Got Talent series across the globe. On 12 February 2007, it was announced by ITV the judges would be Simon Cowell, Piers Morgan (who had also judged America's Got Talent) and Amanda Holden (a late replacement for Cheryl Cole, who later became a judge on The X Factor). Originally the judge line-up was to have been Simon Cowell, Cheryl Cole and David Hasselhoff, from America's Got Talent. In a similar fashion to The X Factor, the show has an ITV2 counterpart called Britain's Got More Talent, presented by the magician and former CITV presenter Stephen Mulhern.
It was originally planned that the show would be aired in 2005 (before America's Got Talent) and would be presented by Paul O'Grady. However, after Paul O'Grady's defection to Channel 4 for The Paul O'Grady Show, he refused to appear in another ITV show, so the series was put on hold after just one rehearsal show.
The Got Talent format has been adopted in a number of other countries, however, the original British version has not been broadcast in any other country (except Ireland) due to unsolved rights issues. Television stations in the Scandinavian countries have expressed an interest in showing the UK version but not been able to acquire the rights.
]Format
Britain's Got Talent episodes
The auditions take place in front of the judges and a live audience at a different city across Britain. At any time during the audition, the judges may show disapproval to the act by pressing a buzzer which lights a large red X on the stage. If all the judges press their buzzers, the act must end immediately. To advance to the second round, auditionees must get at least two yes votes (three votes were required at the Manchester Auditions during the third series) or they would be sent home.
After the auditions, the judges have to whittle almost 200 successful acts down to just 24 in series 1 or 40 in series 2–3. All of the performers are called back to discover if they have progressed to the live semi-finals.
The semi-final and final shows are broadcast live from Fountain Studios in Wembley (which is also used for Britain's Got Talent's sister show, The X Factor), with a varying number of semi-finals, followed by the one live final split into two episodes over one night. The remaining acts perform across a number of semi-finals, with the two most popular acts from each semi-finals winning a position in the final. Unlike the American version, judges may still end a performance early with three Xs. The judges are again asked to express their views on each act's performance.
After all acts have performed, phone lines open for a short time, while the public vote for the act they think were the best. After the votes have been counted, the act that has polled the highest number of public votes is automatically placed in the final. The judges then choose between the second and third most popular acts, with the winner of that vote also gaining a place in the final. All other acts are then eliminated from the competition.
The show's secondary theme song is "Lux Aeterna" (originally from the movie Requiem for a Dream), which is used to create tension. It is also used for the judges "walk-in" at the beginning of every live show.
Britain's Got Talent has been criticised by psychologist Glenn Wilson who referred to it as a "freak show". He states that "[contestants'] deficiencies and shortcomings are as important as their talent. We enjoy the stress we are putting these people under – will they or will they not survive?"
The treatment of contestants at the audition stage was heavily criticised by the Daily Mail, which described applicants being kept waiting for over 10 hours with no food or drink provided, with no certainty of being allowed to perform more than a few seconds of their act. It also detailed how staff intentionally built up the hopes of low-quality performers in order to maximise the dramatic effect of the judges' put-downs, and the fine points of the contracts performers must sign, which gives the show infinite freedom to "modify" the footage for their own purposes, and to use the footage indefinitely for whatever purpose they choose.
Multiple performers have heavily critised the structure of the show in the slant towards dancers or singers citing that 'if you're not a dancer or singer you have no chance, some of the more honest guys tell you that backstage' Several members of the support crew of a performer named 'Preacher' in the 2010 auditions filmed backstage staff sabotaging his equipment both before and during his show by disconnecting pyrotechics, moving props from their key places and cutting the power to powered pieces of equipment at key moments of the show. Afterwards Preacher revealed that his was repeatedly asked by the producers to appear on the show and allowed to skip the inital auditions, contradiciting BGT policy, and that he agreed only as a test case for all professional sideshow and circus performers. He was quoted as saying 'I knew I was going to lose before I arrived, simon didn't even watch my performance. I work with a lot of the top performers in the country and several of us were asked to audition. I was asked to go and to give feedback to the community, I'll recommend none apply, it really is a waste of time unless you're a singer or a dancer or something very commercial.' In a later interview he remarked 'Well it's not actually a talent show most of the crew will tell you that backstage. If they like you or take pity on you they will take you aside and tell you. I was told 'If simon can't make money from you you won't win, even if his glove puppets (simon and amanda) vote you through they are told how to remark later on. There were 5 of us in a row who got slated by simon critising every inch of our show and he didn't see any of us, at least he isn't pretending to care so got to give him props for that'
Other performers complained of bias and sabotage up to the finals. 'Dr Gore' was made to change his music and assistants for his semi final show at the last minute then heavily critised on air for doing so. Dr gore also claimed that his props were sabotaged during rehersals (resulting in the injury of one assistant) and several props were missing from his kit when he walked on stage stating 'All I knew is I gave all my stuff to the producers to set it up and it was ready to go but when I got onstage in front of the whole nation all the fake blood was drained from the props and half my equipment was missing. If they didn't want me to perform then why make me jump through hoops for 3 months?'
BGT is rumoured to be 'Blacklisted' by most professional circus and sideshow performers, apparently (but unconfirmed) by strong recommendation by 'Preacher Muad'dib' and other performers who have auditioned.
Judges and presenters
Presenters
Years Presenter Series Show
2007–present Ant & Dec 1– Main programme on ITV1
2007–present Stephen Mulhern 1– "Britain's Got More Talent" on ITV2
2008–present Stephen Mulhern N/A "Britain's Got Talent: The Live Tour"
Judges
Years Judge Series
2007–present Simon Cowell 1–
2007–present Amanda Holden 1–
2007–present Piers Morgan 1–
Guests
Years Judge Series Notes
2009 Kelly Brook 3 Manchester Auditions
2010 Louis Walsh 4 Birmingham Auditions
Series One
Britain's Got Talent (series 1)
Series one of Britain's Got Talent began on 9 June 2007 and ended on 17 June 2007. The first five shows covered the audition stages and the final three shows were the live semi-finals and final. Altogether, 24 (26) acts performed in the semi-finals, eight acts in each episode, with a further two acts disqualified from the competition before the semi-finals were aired. The series was eventually won by opera singer Paul Potts.
Series Two
Britain's Got Talent (series 2)
The 2008 series of Britain's Got Talent included notable differences from the 2007 series, including the fact that the auditions visited Scotland and that there were 40 in the live semi-finals. The series also ran for longer, this time airing for seven weeks instead of one. The series was won by street-dancer George Sampson, with dual dance group Signature coming in second and singer Andrew Johnston third. Other acts in the final included martial arts duo Strike, dance troupe Nemesis, 12-year-old mezzo-soprano Faryl Smith, junior dance couple Cheeky Monkeys.
Series Three
Britain's Got Talent (series 3)
As announced at the end of Series 2, Britain's Got Talent returned on 11 April 2009.Ant & Dec returned as the hosts of the show. Sister-show Britain's Got More Talent with Stephen Mulhern has also returned, as announced in the last episode of the second series.
The 2009 panel of judges consists of Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan. Kelly Brook was originally announced as a new fourth judge, reportedly being offered £200,000 for the role, but was fired after just six days, having acted as a judge in Manchester only, just one of the five audition venues.According to Cowell, the reason given for sacking Brook was because the producers decided the format was "too complicated" with four judges.
The application process took place throughout January and February 2009 with auditions being held in five of Britain's major cities: Manchester for three days, where the judges saw a total of 120 auditionees; Glasgow for one day, viewing a total of 40 auditionees; Birmingham for three days, watching a further 120 auditionees; London for three days, seeing 128 acts; and Cardiff for one day, where they saw 40 auditionees.
The "First Round Call-Backs" took place in London on Saturday 7 February, where 40 acts were made aware that they would be competing in the live semi-finals in May.
Britain's Got Talent 2009 started on the 11 April and there were five semi-final shows taking place beginning from the 24th of May, until the final on the 30th of May.
One of the most notable performances for the series was by Susan Boyle, a 48-year-old Scottish woman. Boyle sang “I Dreamed a Dream” from the musical Les Misérables. The performance earned a unanimous "yes" vote and resounding astonishment from the judges. Her performance helped lift the show to a launch record of 11.2 million viewers. Within five days of her initial appearance, YouTube recordings of the event had collectively generated more than 100 million views. Boyle also attracted widespread international media coverage. It is highly thought that this media coverage led to Susan Boyle being admitted to the psychiatric clinic The Priory
However, other people in the final included; Aidan Davis, Stavros Flatley, Flawless, Hollie Steel, Diversity, Shaun Smith, Shaheen Jafargholi, the grandfather and granddaughter singing duo "2 Grand" and Julian Smith who played the soprano saxophone. The top three finishers were Julian Smith, Diversity and Susan Boyle, with Diversity coming out as the winners, Susan Boyle finishing second and Julian Smith third.
Bookmakers are said to have made a fortune because of the unexpected result. "We are in shock and have made a six figure sum in what has been the biggest surprise in reality TV history. Susan was a certainty," said William Hill's spokesman Rupert Adams. William Hill estimate that over £3m was bet on the show in the final hour.
Series Four
Britain's Got Talent (series 4)
As announced at the end of series three, Britain's Got Talent will return for another series. The 2010 panel of judges will remain the same as series 3 with Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan who all returned for the start of the televised auditions on 18 January at the Clyde Auditorium in Glasgow,although Cowell has said that this will be his last year doing the auditions. Auditions were then held in Manchester at the Manchester Opera House, Cardiff's Wales Millennium Centre. Newcastle's The Journal Tyne Theatre, Birmingham's Birmingham Hippodrome and ended on 10 February at the HMV Hammersmith Apollo in London. Due to illness, Simon was unable to attend the filming of the Birmingham auditions and Louis Walsh stood in for him at the last minute, the first time that Cowell has missed an audition show in his entire career. The first programme of Series 4 aired on 17 April 2010 at 20:00 on ITV1.
Awards and Nominations
Britain's Got Talent has been nominated for two 'National Television Awards' in the category of 'Most Popular Talent Show' in 2007 and 2008, losing to its sister show The X-Factor and Strictly Come Dancing respectively. Its shows presenters have won the award for 'Most Popular Entertainment Presenters' at the same awards in 2007 and 2008. It has also been nominated for two BAFTA Awards in 2008, but failed to win any awards. In 2007 and 2008, the show was nominated at the TV Quick and Choice Awards in the 'Best Talent Show' category, losing out to The X-Factor and Strictly Come Dancing respectively.
In 2008, it was a recipient of a RTS Award for its technical achievements. It has also won four Nickelodeon UK Kids Choice Awards from five nominations. In 2009, it won its first ever Digital Spy Reality Award for Escala for Favourite Reality Contestant. It was further nominated in the Reality Show category, but lost to The X-Factor in the Reality TV Presenter category for Ant and Dec and 2 nominations in the Reality TV Judge category for Simon Cowell and Piers Morgan, but lost to Cheryl Cole from The X-Factor.
Awards Table
Year Group Award Nominee Result
2007 National Television Awards Most Popular Talent Show Nominated
National Television Awards Most Popular Entertainment Presenter Ant and Dec Won
Nickelodeon UK Kids Choice Awards Best Reality Show Nominated
Nickelodeon UK Kids Choice Awards Best TV Presenters Ant and Dec Won
TV Quick and Choice Awards Best Talent Show Nominated
2008 National Television Awards Most Popular Talent Show Nominated
Nickelodeon UK Kids Choice Awards Favourite Winner George Sampson Won
National Television Awards Most Popular Entertainment Presenter Ant and Dec Won
BAFTA Awards Lew Grade Award Nominated
BAFTA Awards Audience Award Nominated
Royal Television Society Awards Best Production Design-Entertainment Dominic Tolfts Won
Nickelodeon UK Kids Choice Awards Best TV Presenters Ant and Dec Won
Nickelodeon UK Kids Choice Awards Best Family TV Show Won
Nickelodeon UK Kids Choice Awards Best TV Baddie Simon Cowell Won
2009 TV Quick and Choice Awards Best Talent Show Nominated
Digital Spy Reality TV Awards 2009 Favourite TV Reality Nominated
Digital Spy Reality TV Awards Favourite TV Reality Judge Simon Cowell Nominated
Digital Spy Reality TV Awards Favourite TV Reality Judge Piers Morgan Nominated
Digital Spy Reality TV Awards Favourite TV Reality Presenters Ant and Dec Nominated
Digital Spy Reality TV Awards Favourite Reality Contestant George Sampson Won
2010 National Television Awards Most Popular Talent Show Nominated
Live tour 2008 and 2009
On 17 April 2008, it was announced that a thirteen date live tour would be visiting the UK's major cities during the month of June, featuring the semi-finalists, the finalists and the winner from series two, along with a few surprises. Stephen Mulhern hosted the tour, which began on 6 June. None of the judging panel were present, and there was no live voting. After high demand for tickets, the tour was later extended to twenty two performances, including matinées. The tour featured all ten finalists, as well as semi-finalists Tracey Lee Collins & Anya Sparks. The tour also featured a duet with Faryl Smith and Andrew Johnston.
On 13 January 2009, a four date tour was announced via the Ticketmaster website, with the dates in Newcastle, Cardiff, Liverpool and in Manchester. More dates were later added and the tour will run for eighteen shows from 12 to 26 June 2009 and will also travel to Dublin, Birmingham, Belfast, Sheffield, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Nottingham, London, Aberdeen and Bournemouth.
The tour in 2009 included: Diversity, Flawless, Aidan Davis, Shaun Smith, Stavros Flatley, Hollie Steel, 2 Grand, Julian Smith, Shaheen Jafagholi, Susan Boyle, Darth Jackson, DJ Talent and the 2008 winner, George Sampson. Stephen Mulhern hosted the tour.
Top selling albums
These albums were sold after Britain's Got Talent. The sales numbers are UK sales only.
Artists with BPI certified albums
Former contestant
Total sales Debut album Second album Third album
1. Susan Boyle
(Series 3, Runner-Up)
2,100,000 I Dreamed a Dream
(November 23, 2009)
Syco/Columbia
7x Platinum
2,100,000[22]
Peak: #1
2. Paul Potts
(Series 1, Winner)
680,000 One Chance
(July 16, 2007)
Syco/Columbia
2x Platinum
680,000
Peak: #1 Passione
(June 1, 2009)
Syco/Columbia
n/a
n/a
Peak: #5
3. Andrew Johnston
(Series 2, 3rd Place)
120,000 One Voice
(September 29, 2008)
Syco
Gold
120,000
Peak: #4
4. Connie Talbot
(Series 1, Runner-Up)
120,000 Over the Rainbow
(November 26, 2007)
Rainbow Recording Company
Gold
120,000
Peak: #35 Connie Talbot's Christmas Album
(November 24, 2008)
Rainbow Recording Company
n/a
n/a
Peak: did not chart Holiday Magic
(November 26, 2009)
Rainbow Recording Company
n/a
n/a
Peak: did not chart
5. Escala
(Series 2, 4th Place)
100,000 Escala
(May 25, 2009)
Sony BMG/Syco
Gold
100,000
Peak: #2
[edit]Artists without BPI certified albums
Former Contestant Total Sales Albums
6. Faryl Smith
(Series 2, 5th Place)
150,000
Faryl (2009) #4
Wonderland (2009) #56
7. Charlie Green
(Series 2, Semi-Finalist)
n/a
Charlie Green (2008) did not chart
International Versions
America's Got Talent
Australia's Got Talent
Italia's Got Talent
India's Got Talent
Got Talent series
SA's Got Talent (South Africa)
World's Got Talent
Das Supertalent (Germany)
Pilipinas Got Talent (Philippines)
Slovenia's Got Talent (Slovenia)
Lietuvos Talentai (Lithuania)
Supertalent (Croatia)
Mam Talent! (Poland)
Ukraine's Got Talent (Ukraine)
Talento Argentino (Argentina) 2008-2009
La France a un incroyable talent
Ja Imam Talenat (I have Talent) (Serbia) 2009
Bulgaria's Got Talent (Bulgaria)
Merchandise
Currently, there are only four pieces of merchandise:
Best Of The Auditions DVD (2009)
The Electronic Board Game (2009)
The Magic Set (2009)
Finalists Of 2009: Annual 2010 (2009)
Source:wikipedia
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