A loving mum sacrificed her spot on Britain's Got Talent to give her 15-year-old daughter the chance to sing instead. Teenager Tia Connolly belted out I Didn't Know My Own Strength by Whitney Houston, despite have no idea she would be performing on the show which aired tonight.
Show judge Amanda Holden said Tia "absolutely smashed it" and has a "massive career" ahead of her, while Bruno Tonioli said she had "incredible quality because you were singing from your soul”. The audition came after Tia's mother took to the stage and admitted she had arranged a set-up for her daughter.
She said: “She thinks it’s me who’s auditioning. She’s got me through some very hard times in my life and I feel like I owe her, so I’m giving my audition up for my daughter. This is my way of saying she’s fabulous because she deserves it and she’s an incredible person.”
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Following Tia’s audition, Simon Cowell said: “That’s how you do it.”
He added: “I really love moments like this, you didn’t know you were going to audition, your mum set you up, I’ll just sing Whitney Houston then, like it’s normal. That’s very sweet what you did for your daughter because I’m guessing without you doing that she wouldn’t have auditioned. I absolutely loved this audition.”
The episode also saw Alesha Dixon smash the golden buzzer for Chickenshed theatre group who performed a singing and dancing routine to Wonder by Naughty Boy featuring Emeli Sande. While struggling to hold back tears, the former popstar said sending the group through to the live semi-finals was an 'honour'.
She said: “I love every single thing that you stand for and that you represent, inclusivity is so important, everybody feeling represented, and you do that in abundance. You’re giving young people this incredible opportunity and platform and honestly, I don’t know what else is more important than that.”
The group, which prides itself on diversity and inclusivity, has apparently been on Cowell's radar for a while, with the judge saying: "I’ve known about Chickenshed for a long time and I’ve always wondered when is the year you’re going to come on Britain’s Got Talent and this performance summed up everything you do.
“This really, really, really, really is a golden buzzer audition, that’s what it is for.”
The episode also included a 61-year-old chef Giorgio Riggio performing a pizza spinning routine, comedian Tonikaku, 40, with a series of naked poses and 33-year-old illusionist Enzo Weyne performing a transportation illusion with a chair. Britain’s Got Talent continues on ITV1 and STV.
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