Britain's Got Talent (series 7)

Britain's Got Talent
Series 7
Broadcast from 13 April (2013-04-13) – 8 June 2013 (2013-06-08)
Judges Simon Cowell
Amanda Holden
Alesha Dixon
David Walliams
Presenter(s) Anthony McPartlin (ITV)
Declan Donnelly (ITV)
Co-presenter(s) Stephen Mulhern (ITV2)
Broadcaster ITV
ITV2 (BGMT)
Winner
Attraction
Origin Budapest, Hungary
Genre(s) Shadow theatre
Runner-up
Jack Carroll

Series Seven of Britain's Got Talent, a British talent competition series, began broadcasting in the UK during 2013, from 13 April to 8 June on ITV; because of England's international friendly with the Republic of Ireland that year, the show took a break on 29 May to avoid clashing with live coverage of the match. Filming of the Judges' auditions was pushed back, so as to not conflict with the filming schedule that year of Stephen Mulhern, host of Britain's Got More Talent,[1] while Simon Cowell was unable to attend a day of auditions due to illness. Other than these events, no changes, permanent or temporary, were made to the hosts and the judges for this series.[2][3][4] However, the cash prize was reduced to £250,000, following the last series. The series is mainly notable for being the first one to be won by a foreign act, and for an incident that occurred during a performance by a finalist, in which an individual stormed the stage and pelted Cowell with eggs.[5]

The seventh series was won by shadow theatre troupe Attraction, with comedian Jack Carroll finishing in second place and opera duo Richard & Adam in third place. During its broadcast, the series averaged around 10.4 million viewers.

Series overview

Following open auditions, the Judges' auditions were held in January and February 2013, within Cardiff, London, Glasgow, Manchester and Birmingham; although filming of these had been planned for 7 January,[6] it was pushed back to 16 January in order to avoid clashing with Stephen Mulhern's filming schedule for Catchphrase that month.[1] Most of the auditions were uneventful; although Cowell was forced to miss most of the auditions on the second day in Manchester due to illness, no guest judge was brought in to replace him.[7]

Of the participants that took part, only forty five made it past this stage and into the five live semi-finals, with nine appearing in each one, and eleven of these acts making it into the live final; the wildcard act chosen by the judges was ventriloquist Steve Hewlett, after he lost out in the Judges' vote in the fifth semi-final.[8] The following below lists the results of each participant's overall performance in this series:

  Winner |   Runner-up |   Third place
  Finalist |   Semi-finalist (lost judges' vote) |   Semi-finalist (eliminated)
Judges' wildcard (previously eliminated act reinstated into the final by the judges)
Participant Age(s) Genre Act Semi-final Result
Aaron Crow 44 Danger Danger Act 1 Eliminated
AJ & Chloe 17 & 18 Dance Latin Dance Duo 4 Eliminated
Alex Keirl 20 Singing Singer 4 Eliminated (Lost Judges' vote)
Alice Fredenham 28 Singing Singer 2 Eliminated
Aliki 29 Singing Singer 5 Eliminated
Arisxandra Libantino 11 Singing Singer 1 Finalist (Won Judges' vote)
Asanda 11 Singing Singer 4 Finalist (Won Judges' vote)
Attraction 19–40 Dance Shadow Theatre Group 5 Winner
Band of Voices 27–47 Singing Vocal Harmony Group 1 Eliminated
Bosom Buddies 29 & 48 Singing Operatic Drag Duo 1 Eliminated
CEO Dancers 22–24 Dance Dance Trio 5 Eliminated
Chasing the Dream 19-50 Singing Musical Theatre Group 4 Eliminated
Club Town Freaks 25–38 Singing Vocal Harmony Group 4 Eliminated
Francine Lewis 37 Comedy Impressionist 4 Finalist (Won Public vote)
Freelusion 25–39 Dance Interactive 3D Dance Group 3 Eliminated
Gabz 14 Singing Singer And Pianist 2 Finalist (Won Judges' vote)
Gospel Singers Incognito 17–43 Music Gospel Choir 5 Eliminated
Jack and Cormac 13 & 14 Singing Singing Duo 2 Eliminated (Lost Judges' vote)
Jack Carroll 14 Comedy Comedian 2 Runner-up
James More 24 Magic Magician 4 Eliminated
Jordan O'Keefe 18 Singing Singer And Guitarist 5 Finalist (Won Judges' vote)
Joseph Hall 36 Dance Dancer 3 Eliminated (Lost Judges' vote)
J Unity 19 Singing Singing Duo 1 Eliminated
Luminites 18–21 Singing Singing Group 3 Finalist (Won Public vote)
Maarty Broekman 26 Singing / Music Keytar Player 5 Eliminated
Martin & Marielle 32 & 36 Acrobatics / Dance Gymnastic Dance Duo 2 Eliminated
Martin Healey 57 Dance Dancer 1 Eliminated
MC Boy 22 Singing Rapper 3 Eliminated
MckNasty 27 Music Drummer And DJ 2 Eliminated
MD Dancers 14–22 Dance Dance Troupe 2 Eliminated
Meat Diva 31 & 27 Singing Cabaret Duo 2 Eliminated
Modupé Obasola 19 Singing Singer 2 Eliminated
Philip Green 21 Comedy Impressionist 1 Eliminated
Poppin' Ron 21 Dance Bodypopper 4 Eliminated
Pre Skool 5–8 Dance Dance Troupe 3 Finalist (Won Judges' vote)
Richard & Adam 19 & 22 Singing Opera Duo 1 Third place
Robbie Kennedy 22 Singing Singer And Guitarist 3 Eliminated
Rob's Duelling Pianos 55 Music Pianist 5 Eliminated
Rosie O'Sullivan 19 Singing Singer 3 Eliminated
Shockarellas 12–17 Dance Dance Group 4 Eliminated
Steve Hewlett 37 Comedy Ventriloquist 5 Finalist (Won Judges' Wildcard)
Stevie Pink 45 Magic Illusionist 3 Eliminated
The Glambassadors 21–36 Dance Dance Troupe 5 Eliminated
Thomas Bounce 16 Variety Juggler 3 Eliminated
Youth Creation 7–14 Dance Dance Troupe 1 Eliminated (Lost Judges' vote)

Semi-finals summary

Buzzed out
Judges' vote
  Won the public vote |   Won the judges' vote; won by public vote in the event of a tie
  Lost the judges' vote; lost by public vote in the event of a tie |   Eliminated

Semi-final 1 (27 May)

Semi-Finalist Order Act Buzzes and judges' votes Result[10]
Cowell Holden Dixon Walliams
Martin Healey 1 Dancer 9th - Eliminated
Band of Voices 2 Vocal Harmony Group 6th - Eliminated
Youth Creation 3 Dance Troupe 3rd (Judges' vote tied - Lost on Public vote)
J-Unity 4 Singing Duo 7th - Eliminated
Bosom Buddies 5 Operatic Drag Duo 8th - Eliminated
Philip Green 6 Impressionist 5th - Eliminated
Arisxandra Libantino 7 Singer 2nd (Judges' vote tied - Won on Public vote)
Aaron Crow 8 Danger Act 4th - Eliminated
Richard & Adam 9 Opera Duo 1st (Won Public vote)

Semi-final 2 (28 May)

Semi-Finalist Order Act Buzzes and judges' votes Result[10]
Cowell Holden Dixon Walliams
Martin & Marielle 1 Gymnastic Dance Duo 8th - Eliminated
MckNasty 2 Drummer And DJ 5th - Eliminated
Jack and Cormac 3 Singing Duo 3rd (Lost Judges' vote)
Modupé 4 Singer 9th - Eliminated
Meat Diva 5 Cabaret Duo 7th - Eliminated
MD 6 Dance Troupe 6th - Eliminated
Alice Fredenham 7 Singer 4th - Eliminated
Jack Carroll 8 Comedian 1st (Won Public vote)
Gabz 9 Singer And Pianist 2nd (Won Judges' vote)

Semi-final 3 (30 May)

Semi-Finalist Order Act Buzzes and judges' votes Result[10]
Cowell Holden Dixon Walliams
Freelusion 1 Interactive 3D Dance Group 7th - Eliminated
Robbie Kennedy 2 Singer And Guitarist 5th - Eliminated
Stevie Pink 3 Illusionist 1 8th - Eliminated
Pre Skool 4 Dance Troupe 2nd (Judges' vote tied - Won on Public vote)
Thomas Bounce 5 Juggler 9th - Eliminated
Rosie O'Sullivan 6 Singer 4th - Eliminated
Joseph Hall 7 Dancer 3rd (Judges' vote tied - Lost on Public vote)
MC Boy 8 Rapper 2 6th - Eliminated
Luminites 9 Singing Group 1st (Won Public vote)
  • ^1 Dixon buzzed after Pink's performance had ended.
  • ^2 Holden claimed that Cowell buzzed on her behalf.

Semi-final 4 (31 May)

Semi-Finalist Order Act Buzzes and judges' votes Result[10]
Cowell Holden Dixon Walliams
Club Town Freaks 1 Vocal Harmony Group 9th - Eliminated
Alex Keirl 2 Singer 3rd (Lost Judges' vote)
Shockarellas 3 Dance Group 6th - Eliminated
Poppin' Ron 4 Bodypopper 8th - Eliminated
James More 5 Illusionist 4th - Eliminated
Chasing the Dream 6 Musical Theatre Group 7th - Eliminated
Francine Lewis 7 Impressionist 1st (Won Public vote)
Asanda 8 Singer 2nd (Won Judges' vote)
AJ & Chloe 9 Latin Dance Duo 5th - Eliminated

Semi-final 5 (1 June)

Artist Order Act Buzzes and judges' votes Result[10]
Cowell Holden Dixon Walliams
CEO Dancers 1 Dance Trio 7th - Eliminated
Aliki 2 Singer 4th - Eliminated
The Glambassadors 3 Dance Group 8th - Eliminated
Steve Hewlett 3 4 Ventriloquist 3rd (Judges' vote tied - Lost on Public vote)
Rob's Duelling Pianos 4 5 Keyboardist 9th - Eliminated
Maarty Broekman 6 Keytar Player 6th - Eliminated
Gospel Singers Incognito 7 Gospel Choir 5th - Eliminated
Jordan O'Keefe 8 Singer And Guitarist 2nd (Judges' vote tied - Won on Public vote)
Attraction 9 Shadow Theatre Group 1st (Won Public vote)
  • ^3 Steve Hewlett was later sent through to the final as the judges wildcard.
  • ^4 Rob's Duelling Pianos became a solo act, due to one of the members leaving before the semi-final.

Final (8 June)

  Winner |   Runner-up |   3rd place
Finalist Order Act Finished[10]
Pre Skool 1 Dance Troupe 9th
Asanda 2 Singer 11th
Gabz 3 Singer And Pianist 7th
Steve Hewlett 4 Ventriloquist 4th
Jordan O'Keefe 5 Singer And Guitarist 6th
Arisxandra 6 Singer 8th
Francine Lewis 7 Impressionist 10th
Richard & Adam 8 Opera singing duo 3rd
Jack Carroll 9 Comedian 2nd
Luminites 10 Vocal group 5th
Attraction 11 Shadow Theatre Act 1st

Ratings

Episode Date Total ITV viewers (millions)[18] Weekly rank[18] Share (%)
Auditions 1 13 April12.13136.9[19]
Auditions 2 20 April11.86143.9[20]
Auditions 3 27 April11.08143.9[21]
Auditions 4 4 May11.59145.0[22]
Auditions 5 11 May12.36145.2[23]
Auditions 6 18 May10.88138.1[24]
Auditions 7 26 May9.74338.0[25]
Semi-final 1 27 May11.48141.5[26]
Semi-final 1 results 9.271031.4[26]
Semi-final 2 28 May10.20636.5[27]
Semi-final 2 results 8.391428.5[27]
Semi-final 3 30 May9.76837.5[28]
Semi-final 3 results 8.511332.3[28]
Semi-final 4 31 May9.98737.5[29]
Semi-final 4 results 8.711232.7[29]
Semi-final 5 1 June9.74941.9[30]
Semi-final 5 results 9.041132.8[30]
Live final 8 June12.85148.9[31]

Criticism & incidents

Lack of variety

Towards the end of the series, several viewers made complaints that the seventh series had lacked variety amongst the acts it showed, citing that the majority of the finalists being mainly singers was evidence of this. In response to these complaints, Amanda Holden took to giving a statement that defended the show's selection of performers, stating that decisions made on the finalists had been mainly left "to the public". As part of the evidence used in her argument, she pointed out that singer Jordan O'Keefe had been voted into the final by the public, and that viewers could not criticise the "public's decision" on their choice.[32]

Unsuitable & questionable auditions criticism

The seventh series received several complaints over unsuitable content being broadcast on the programme from the audition episodes, the most serious of these aimed at Britain's Got More Talent against footage shown on the programme of the audition by burlesque dancer Scarlet Cuffs. Her audition involved stripping down to the song "The Bare Necessities", which was later criticised for being unsuitable and for being aired before the 9pm watershed. In its defence, ITV had made certain that the footage had been edited to make it acceptable, including censoring some of its content, but these were found to be insufficient during an investigation conducted by Ofcom, which ruled that the programme had breached broadcasting codes in regards to protecting young children from unsuitable material. Ofcom's director of content standard, Tony Close, later released a statement that made clear about the regulator's commitment to ensuring British broadcasters adhered to these codes:[33][34]

"There is a clear line in terms of what it is acceptable to broadcast before the 9pm watershed. A striptease act broadcast at times when a significant number of children were likely to be watching clearly crossed this line. The protection of children from potentially harmful content is a key area of concern for Ofcom, reflected in our ongoing work on the enforcement of the 9pm watershed."

Two other auditions also received complaints of featuring unsuitable content for broadcast:

  • The audition of Keri Graham received similar complaints over her performance featuring her stripping down to her underwear and performing a provocative dance on stage. In their defence, the show's producer made it clear that the footage was not aired until it had been edited carefully to ensure it was acceptable, as part of its efforts to stick to Ofcom's guidelines on suitable dance routines; it had been informed of these changes made by the regulator in 2011, prior to filming for the series being started.[35][36]
  • The audition of 71-year-old Kelly Fox received several complaints over the use of extremely explicit lyrics that she had sung as part of her performance. One such complaint came from a member of the National Association of Head Teachers, who claimed in their opinion that no parent with "an ounce of morality" would allow children to hear someone sing such words on a family show, and chastised the show's producers for airing the content before the 9pm watershed. Fox refuted such criticism.[37]

Alongside complaints of unsuitable auditions, the seventh series also generated complaints from viewers over the auditions by two child participants - Arisxandra Libantino, and Asanda - in regards to both conducting performances that were considered inappropriate for their age. In both cases of criticism, the complaints were over the song's that they performed - Libantino's performance involved singing Jennifer Hudson's "One Night Only",[38] while Asanda's invlved the singing of Rihanna's "Diamonds" and performing provocative dancing.[39] The director of Mediawatch UK, Vivienne Pattison, criticised the show for "sexualising children" based on these auditions.[36]

Cowell's "egg attack" in final

During the live final for the seventh series, viewers found themselves watching the performance of Welsh singers Richard & Adam being overshadowed towards its climax, by an egg attack conducted against Simon Cowell by violinist Natalie Holt.[40] The attack was designed as part of a protest aimed against Cowell's influence on the music industry, and also against miming on live television shows.[41] Security were forced to promptly remove her from the studio, having been taken off-guard when she stormed the stage, with the hosts later having to announce to viewers that the attack had not been part of the Welsh duo's performance. While Holt's actions had done little to disrupt the performance, both Cowell and a member of the audience behind him were hit by an egg each, and were forced to leave the studio to clean up and change clothes during a commercial break.

Following the incident, an investigation was launched to uncover how the attack managed to happen. It was eventually revealed that Holt had breached security at the studio through securing a position as one of the backing musicians for the performance, in which no checks were made to any of her possessions, meaning that she was able to smuggle the eggs she had brought with her on to the stage. Holt's motivations for the attack were found to have been fuelled by the failure of her classical band RaVen Quartet securing a place in the previous series during the auditions stage of the competition. Although Holt stated her motivations later on social media, these came after she gave an apology for her "silly" actions occurring during Richard & Adam's performance.[40]

References

  1. 1 2 Fletcher, Alex (13 December 2012). "'Britain's Got Talent' 2013 judge audition dates revealed". Digital Spy.
  2. ↑ Bassett, Sean (26 July 2012). "Alesha Dixon confirms she will be back for Britain's Got Talent 2013". Unreality TV.
  3. ↑ Fletcher, Alex (13 December 2012). "Simon Cowell returns to 'Britain's Got Talent': 'I want a global star'". Digital Spy.
  4. ↑ "David Walliams in BGT deal". The Sun. 13 October 2012.
  5. ↑ Ensor, Josie (9 June 2013). "Britain's Got Talent: Woman storms the stage and pelts Simon Cowell with Eggs". The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group.
  6. ↑ Sperling, Daniel (4 September 2012). "Stephen Mulhern confirms 'Britain's Got More Talent' return". Digital Spy.
  7. ↑ Harmsworth, Andrei (3 February 2013). "Britain's Got Talent judges taunt poorly no-show Simon Cowell". Metro.
  8. ↑ McGarry, Lisa (4 June 2013). "Bruce Forsyth wants to manage Steve Hewlett – Britain's Got Talent judges argue but pick 'surprising' wildcard!". Unreality TV. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  9. ↑ Goulding, Ellie (27 May 2013). "Big day today. Heading down to rehearsals for Britain's Got Talent soon for the show tonight. #BGT". Twitter.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Revealed: How you voted". ITV. 9 June 2013. Archived from the original on 11 June 2013. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  11. ↑ Manning, Jenny (22 May 2013). "Jennifer Lopez to perform on Britain's Got Talent live show". The Sun.
  12. ↑ Lopez, Jennifer (28 May 2013). "Up early ... Are u ready London!!! Excited about my performance tonight. Who's tuning in? #BritainsGotTalent #LIVEITUP #gonnabefun #jetlag :)". Twitter.
  13. ↑ "OH YEAH! The awesome @ddlovato will be joining us live tonight! #BOOM #DemisGotTalent #BGT". Twitter. 30 May 2013.
  14. ↑ "Watch Olly on Britain's Got Talent". ollymurs.com. 22 May 2013. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013.
  15. ↑ "In dance rehearsals today for my @GotTalent performance next Saturday. All I can say is #zombie". Twitter. 24 May 2013.
  16. ↑ Duff, Seamus (27 May 2013). "Gangnam style to doggy style: Will Psy perform with former BGT champ Pudsey?". Metro. Associated Newspapers.
  17. ↑ Rigby, Sam (31 May 2013). "Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran 'to perform on Britain's Got Talent final'". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK.
  18. 1 2 "Weekly Top 30 Programmes". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  19. ↑ Hilton, Beth (14 April 2013). "'Britain's Got Talent' makes triumphant return to ITV with 9.35m". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK.
  20. ↑ Hilton, Beth (21 April 2013). "'The Voice' UK ratings continue to grow with 7.9m". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK.
  21. ↑ Hilton, Beth (28 April 2013). "'Britain's Got Talent' tops Saturday night ratings". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK.
  22. ↑ Hilton, Beth (5 May 2013). "'Britain's Got Talent' tops Saturday ratings with 9.51m". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK.
  23. ↑ Hilton, Beth (12 May 2013). "'Britain's Got Talent' scores series high of 10.54m on ITV". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK.
  24. ↑ Hilton, Beth (19 May 2013). "Eurovision Song Contest seen by 7.7m on BBC One". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK.
  25. ↑ Eames, Tom (27 May 2013). "'Britain's Got Talent' wins Sunday with 8.14m on ITV". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK.
  26. 1 2 Eames, Tom (28 May 2013). "'Britain's Got Talent' first live semi-final climbs to 9.9m on ITV". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK.
  27. 1 2 Eames, Tom (29 May 2013). "'The Apprentice' loses 900,000 viewers on Tuesday". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK.
  28. 1 2 Eames, Tom (31 May 2013). "'Britain's Got Talent' third semi-final attracts 8.5m on ITV". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK.
  29. 1 2 Hilton, Beth (1 June 2013). "'Britain's Got Talent' latest semi-final scores 8m on ITV". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK.
  30. 1 2 Hilton, Beth (2 June 2013). "'Britain's Got Talent' brings 8.13m to ITV for last semi-final". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK.
  31. ↑ Hilton, Beth (9 June 2013). "'Britain's Got Talent' final watched by 10.6m on ITV". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK.
  32. ↑ Darvill, Josh (2 June 2013). "Britain's Got Singers: Amanda Holden defends amount of vocalists in BGT final". TellyMix.
  33. ↑ Nissim, Mayer (9 September 2013). "'Britain's Got Talent' spinoff criticised by Ofcom for naked dancing". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  34. ↑ "It's a bum rap: regulator Ofcom ticks off ITV2". Evening Standard. 9 September 2013. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  35. ↑ McGarry, Lisa (15 April 2013). "Britain's Got Talent 2013: Bosses defend Arisxandra Libantino & Keri Graham over 'inappropriate' claims". Unreality TV. Archived from the original on 2 January 2014.
  36. 1 2 Cable, Simon (14 April 2013). "Britain's Got Sleaze: BGT viewers' backlash over the lap-dancer and the schoolgirl of 11 singing about one-night stands". Daily Mail.
  37. ↑ Shales, Mark (22 May 2013). "Kiss my ass! Rochdale's Britain's Got Talent grandmother Kelly Fox defends controversial audition song". Mancunian Matters.
  38. ↑ McCormack, Kirsty (15 April 2013). "Outrage as 11-year-old schoolgirl sings about a one night stand on Britain's Got Talent". Daily Express.
  39. ↑ McKnight, Jenni (29 April 2013). "Britain's Got Talent contestant Asanda Jezile shocks viewers with 'sexualised' Rihanna performance". Metro. Associated Newspapers.
  40. 1 2 Watts, Halina; Tonks, Owen (9 June 2013). "Natalie Holt apologises for throwing eggs". Daily Mirror. Trinity Mirror.
  41. ↑ Simons, Jake Wallis (9 June 2013). "Violinist reveals motivation behind Simon Cowell egg attack". The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group.
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