A mum surprised her daughter by giving up her Britain's Got Talent audition spot so that the 15-year-old could sing on the show. Tia Connolly sang I Didn’t Know My Own Strength by Whitney Houston, a song she said helped her get through times when she was bullied “for the colour of my skin”.
Judge Amanda Holden said she “absolutely smashed it” and has a “massive career” ahead of her, while Bruno Tonioli said she had an “incredible quality because you were singing from your soul”. Her audition came after her 33-year-old mother from Liverpool took to the stage to tell the judges that she had arranged a set-up, with her daughter thinking she had come to watch.
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.”
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 judge Alesha Dixon press the golden buzzer for Chickenshed theatre group who performed a singing and dancing routine to Wonder by Naughty Boy featuring Emeli Sande. Struggling to hold back her tears, Dixon said sending the group through to the live semi-finals was an “honour” as they pride themselves on inclusivity and celebrating young people.
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.”
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Cowell said: “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 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.
