Britain's Got Talent viewers were left in awe after a mother gave up her audition to surprise her teenage daughter.
BGT returned to screens on Saturday night as a whole host of hopefuls tried to impress judges Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and newbie Bruno Tonioli. Schoolgirl Tia Connolly impressed the judges after her mother gave up her audition to allow her to perform in front of the live audience.
Tia belted out the Whitney Houston hit I Didn’t Know My Own Strength, a song she credits with helping her get through times when she was bullied “for the colour of my skin”.
The teenager left the judging panel in awe with her impressive vocals, as Amanda Holden heaped praise on Tia. Amanda said she “absolutely smashed it” and has a “massive career” ahead of her, while Bruno added she had an “incredible quality because you were singing from your soul”.
Tia's mum originally walked on stage and informed judges of the set up she had planned, as Tia thought she was tagging along to watch her mum perform. The 33-year-old told judges: “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. 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.”
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.”
Britain’s Got Talent continues on ITV1 and STV.
Get the latest celebrity gossip and telly news sent straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily Showbiz newsletter here .
READ NEXT:
- Simon Cowell baffles This Morning viewers over 'unrecognisable' appearance
- Sinitta accuses Celebs Go Dating of 'disgraceful editing' after Simon Cowell 'love admission'
- Amanda Holden stuns fans as she transforms into Cleopatra and strips down for bath
- Simon Cowell sparks concern as fans brand BGT judge 'unrecognisable'
- X Factor star Cher Lloyd looks totally different in transformation 12 years after audition
