The semi-finalists include the mad and wacky as well as the good and very good. What a complete wind up though, when the judges have such an ina-fucking-bility to put through a suitable number of acts. I know the whittling down process means that many who got put through to the semi-finals will in fact be rejected, but to have such disparity in the numbers is pathetic. People's lives have been unduly tampered with, and to be the subject of a wind-up is hardly nice, especially when you have to get yourself to London to be told you're out.
175 acts were 'put through'; or, more correctly, put into a holding bay pending the annual game whereby the judges undo the 'yes' votes and admit they were lying. When BGT started, there was not such a great difference in numbers. This time, 130 acts who were told 'yes' and were elated in the last few weeks, were not dispensed with, to leave 45 filling the live shows.
As ever, there are numerous singers, and we'll all be debating the merits of a competition where singing dominates while 'variety' struggles to actually get the votes. For most of the non-singers, it's an outing and hopefully exposure enough that they then are able to enhance earning a living on the back of TV airtime. As for the younger singers, I am not sure it's really what we need. An 11-year-old girl singing "One Night Only" has an unsavoury ring to it. Arisxandra Libantino warbled:
You've got one night only, one night only
That's all you have to spare
One night only
Let's not pretend to care
One night only, one night only
Come on, big baby, come on
One night only
We only have 'til dawn.
Hmmm - what do you think? As for Asandra Jezile, another 11-year-old, I would argue that Rihanna is most definitely NOT any sort of role model. Singing Shite Like A Diamond was hardly a good call, and that was actually reason enough to have led to disqualification. This girl should be singing something else.
One unattractive prospect is the further forced viewing of dance troops boring the arse off me. The auditions were littered with run-of-the-mill hoards all (well most) moving in time to background noise. The judges still manage to talk shit and pronounce that they "had great energy". They fucking should have; for two minutes, these young people ought to be able to dance and fidget in some sort of prescribed way! This is not talent, but learned behaviour. A mouse managing to negotiate a small maze to get to the cheese in the middle is hardly fucking talent. QED. [PS: the worst kind of dance group is the one comprising girls in the 5-12 age range, who squeal like fuck, and do my head in. NO, Amanda, they are not 'cute' at all - just aggravating to eardrums, and offensive to the genre of entertainment, let alone talent. The mums and dads are deluded if they think that little Winifred (and her half-Canadian sister, Winnipeg?) are in any way talented because a teacher at the primary school drags them into the school hall in the lunch hour and suggests that if they all do what they are told, they might be winners on BGT. Sad but fucking true.
I shudder to think of how many times I will hear during the next week "What would it mean to you to win?" and the lame responses that will basically be "Everything" along with the occasional affirmation that "This is my last chance", even from 11-year-olds.
I am sure the semis will throw up some incidents upon which I can comment, so let's see later.
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