The new series of Britain’s Got Talent is well underway with some unforgettable auditions and three Golden Buzzers so far, so let’s take a look back at the shows biggest success stories from the years gone by...
Calum Scott
Calum is one of the show's biggest names. Back in 2015, Calum auditioned with his sister, Jade, who unfortunately didn’t make it through to the next round, after being stopped midway through her performance.
When Calum took to the stage however, his cover of Robyn’s Dancing On My Own blew away the judges, and led to Simon hitting his Golden Buzzer. This put him straight through to the live semi-finals.
He may have finished sixth overall on the show, but he has had big success despite that. Soon after BGT, he signed to US record label Capitol and released Dancing On My Own, which received a BRIT nomination in 2016 and peaked at #2 in the charts. Just last year, his debut album Only Human managed to peak at #4. We can't wait to see where his career goes next!
Susan Boyle
The most unexpected performance in BGT history. Susan appeared in the third series, and when she stepped out for her first audition, no one expected her to give a beautiful rendition of I Dreamed a Dream. She had the world talking, with her audition garnering over 2.5 million views in the first 72 hours. Within a week, it had 66 million views.
Susan got all the way to the final and was the favourite to win, but was beaten by Diversity in a huge shock result.
Despite that, Susan’s success following the show has been major. Most recently, she appeared on Americas Got Talent: The Champions, where she received Mel B’s Golden Buzzer and went straight through to the final.
Diversity
2009 BGT winners Diversity have gone on to become a household name since winning the show. With their quirky and edgy choreography, they have enjoyed success all around the country, and have built up quite the army of fans. The lads have had countless dance tours and even picked up their own TV series.
Whilst the group have done big things together, the Banjo Brothers have been the frontrunners, with Jordan appearing on I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! back in 2016, and co-hosting BBC’s The Greatest Dancer this year. Ashley Banjo meanwhile, has most recently found himself sitting on the judging panel of ITV's Dancing on Ice.
George Sampson
Manchester-born George Sampson originally auditioned in the 2007 series of the show, but after getting through the first stages, he failed to reach the semi-finals of that year.
However, Sampson re-auditioned the year after and, after blowing away the judges again, progressed to the semi-finals where he won the audience vote. Ultimately, he ended up winning the show with his iconic Singin’ in the Rain performance.
Sampson hasn’t just had major success in dance after the show, but went on to land a role in Waterloo Road and British film Streetdance, as well as appearing in ITV soap, Emmerdale.
Aiden Davis
12-year-old dancer Aiden auditioned back in 2009 and was a little superstar, dancing his way through to the finals, where he finished fifth overall.
Davis went on to find his feet presenting CBBC’s Friday Download, where he had a section called Dance Download, teaching his moves to other presenters as well as famous guests each week.
Not only showing his dance skills, 2013 saw him release his own song, Let's Dance, where he showed off his rapping skills.
Collabro
Collabro made their way to the finals of BGT in 2014, before winning the entire show. Matt, Jamie, Michael, Tom and Richard decided to audition for BGT just one month after forming, with the judges and everyone else having low expectations. They surprised us all with an outstanding rendition of Stars from the musical Les Misérables, that received a standing ovation and ultimately won them the show.
After winning they went on to sign with Simon Cowell’s record label Syco, and their debut album Stars reached #1 in the charts. They have since gone on to release three more albums and have just finished their 51-date tour, The Road To the Royal Albert Hall.
By Sophie Harrison for Female First
Tagged in Britain's Got Talent