Without a doubt, the 2009 Britain's Got Talent competition has been the best of the three staged so far. The programme came about because of the realisation that while Pop Idol was a good show, it concentrated only on people under 25, especially when Britain is an ageing community, it's routine was predictable, the shelf-life of the winners were pretty short and something else with more creativity was needed to fire the participants and to be more inclusive. Queue the X-Factor (a new kind of Pop Idol but right across the ages - under 25s, over 25s and groups) and Britain's Got Talent. Both programmes now have a life of their own because being completely inclusive, ANYONE at all in the UK can put that dream into action, no matter how old they are. The oldest finalist this year was 76 and he would have given new hope, life and spark to all the over 70s in the country.
(Paul Potts)In the first year of Britain's Got Talent (BGT), it was a tentative attempt. I don't think the producers had a clue what they expected to happen, but the minute they heard Paul Potts, that incredible opera singer from Wales, the possibilities suddenly became visible and tangible. Thanks mainly to his input, and YouTube, its reputation soared! Last year was successful too, but not with the same attention or verve as the year before. This year the programme hit the jackpot. It was a slickly executed show with some incredible acts. The constant feedback from the public on the revamped website also helped a lot to tell the Team BGT what was happening and how effective the judges were in the decisions. It worked a treat. Until a certain little girl broke down on stage. And that was a pity, because it was also the penultimate night. Only one more night to go and the show would have ended on a burst of glory, even more amazing than it did. But Hollie Steel's distressful breakdown will stick in the memory. It will also be playing on the Internet for years to come to remind that poor girl of her fragility, discomfort and fear, and it will keep a debate raging as to the value of having children so young participating with adults and in such a pressurised atmosphere, and in in full view of the world.
Thanks to Susan Boyle, this year's talented favourite, Britain's Got Talent has gone through the roof and is now truly global. It is operating on a different scale and producers have to realise that. The night after she won her semifinal, the first 13 people who commented were from 13 different countries, including Peru, Portugal, Italy and Canada. They couldn't be more diverse. A global audience lifts the programme to a brand new level of accountability and expectations of fairness. And that fairness is most important to maintain its credibility and appeal, which brings me to the first thing that shouldn't happen next year.
1. There should be NO second chances in the semi-finals or Finals.
One can understand the latitude given in the first round when people are very nervous and fearful and some need a helping hand to get that talent out. The public doesn't mind that. But the semi-finals are for showcasing that talent and only the diverse BEST should really be put through so that both participants and public feel a sense of fairness, even though one can never be entirely fair in such circumstances because our perception decide what's fair, not the reality. The minute second chances are given to one person and not others it lends itself open to charges of bias, inconsistency and manipulation.
2. No child who is distraught should remain on stage
It is the most natural thing in the world to comfort a child when we see them crying for any reasons. Hollie Steel's distress was almost palpable to the watching public, uncomfortable and 'horrible' as many fans put it. We cannot help a child in that situation so we become distressed too.The minute Hollie was so distraught, she should have been automatically disqualified, taken off stage and then returned at the end of the show for her comments and to perform again, so that she gets a sense of completion, but NOT to go through to the final. It was clear that Hollie might have been physically very talented but she was not emotionally mature to deal with such a stressful situation. To expose that young girl in her acute distress to even further anxieties about her performance was simply awful and could end up being psychologically damaging for her.
The contest should either introduce a definite split between under 16s and over 16s, like the X Factor, with the very young ones treated more leniently, as they have no capacity to deal with such harsh criticisms as the adults can. Or parents should be made aware, very clearly, that if a child is not emotionally mature to act professionally during performance they are not yet ready for such a hothouse contest, they should not be in the competition and any distressing tears will automatically disqualify them. That would also have prevented Simon Cowell from acting as both producer and judge! We can cope with adults crying, but any sign of tears in a child brings out our protective instincts and a worldwide contest fully televised is not the place for such terrible distress. Furthermore, a split contest would also avoid the silly farce of trying to judge a child against an adult when they are chalk and cheese, as in the case of Hollie against Greg Pritchard, the Welsh soprano. Of course the child is going to win, hands down!
3. Anyone who becomes so popular in the contest as to appear on chat shows, as overnight celebrities, should not remain in the competition.
With Susan's global attention the expectation of her winning would have been detrimental to the other participants. They would have felt demoralised that the winning spot was lost to them because it was already taken. Furthermore, the whole interest in, and appeal of, the contest is to actually guess the winner at the end and it was only the rivalry between the two dance groups, Flawless and Diversity that kept the momentum as the winner was apparently crowned by the media and public a while back! Naturally, not winning would have made Susan feel terrible too after all the hype around her, having stars like Demi Moore rooting for her, and the 'certainty' that she was the best of all and would beat the other contestants. No contestant should be bigger than the show before they win. So if they become such big overnight celebrities, their lives would be changing anyway and should not be contending anymore.
Britain's Got Talent is a glorious show to watch, but it is also a life-changing one, especially for older folks who believe they won't get another chance. They shouldn't be pitted directly against children who have their whole world ahead of them too. Now that BGT has gone global, it needs different considerations and a tighter approach towards the Finals and it will be an even more magnificent show. It was truly a joy to watch this year.
The judges tend to get all the praise for Britain's Got Talent but I would like to sing the praises -loudly - of all the backroom staff who made it happen so effortlessly. It is easy to forget them in the rush of good vibes and plaudits.
Quite simply, thank you all, bravo and well done!
