The Britain's Got Talent judges were left baffled by an opera singer on Sunday night with new arrival Bruno Tonioli branding the contestant a "delicious mess". American scuba instructor Avalon Penrose, 26, said she flew in from Hawaii the day before for her big moment.
Wearing a sparkly blue dress, the mezzo launched into her rendition of Habanera, also known as L'amour est un oiseau rebelle, from Carmen. But her elegant performance quickly took a turn, as a large fan was brought on stage and placed in front of her, while two other women brought various items on stage to "trash" her with.
The women, dressed smartly like butlers, showered Avalon with feathers, paint, confetti, foam and glitter, using the fan to guide the mess towards her and completely ruin her outfit. Meanwhile Avalon performed the song with even more gusto and pazazz despite the bizarre turn.
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At first both the judges and audience were horrified and confused, gasping, booing and questioning what was going on. But soon they saw the hilarity and uniqueness of the act, laughing and cheering Avalon on.
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"Avalon, do you have a second song?" Simon Cowell joked. Explaining her strange act, Avalon said she came up with the twist to help combat her extreme stage fright.
"Lots of people find opera too highbrow or pretentious or boring, and you've made it funny," said Amanda Holden. Meanwhile, Bruno said the contestant had "murdered Carmen" and called it a "delicious mess" that was "overall a great show". The risk clearly paid off, with Avalon receiving four 'yeses' from the judges.
The long-running ITV talent show is currently in its 16th season. It kicked off last month and saw Simon Cowell, Alesha Dixon and Amanda Holden return as judges with newcomer and former Strictly Come Dancing judge Bruno Tonioli also joining the panel. Tonioli replaced David Walliams, who quit the show last year following a scandal involving leaked audios of him making crude comments about contestants. For more showbiz and television stories get our newsletter here.
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