By Hannah MacDonald, Mail Online
Updated May 28, 2024 00:10, May 28, 2024 02:13
After Monday's first live show, Britain's Got Talent viewers were divided on which two contestants made it through to the final.
During Monday's live semi-finals, the public voted for opera singer Innocent Masque to advance to Sunday's final, with the judges selecting Slaubi Performance Troupe as the second act to qualify.
Fans of the show were blown away by Innocent's singing ability, hailing him as an “absolute star”, while others called Slaubi's performance “memorable”.
But the selection of the two finalists divided viewers, with some complaining that the South African singer and the South Korean martial arts group were not British enough.
This year's talent show has been rife with complaints about the international artists invited to audition for the show, and viewers on Monday were no exception, taking to social media to air their frustrations.
On former Twitter user X, they posted: “If the contestants aren't British then don't mind if they live in the UK, but by all appearances tonight's winner has come to the UK just for this competition, if that's true then it's wrong.”
“BGT had two non-British acts go through and the judges didn't hold back. They deserved more and it was fantastic.”
“They should change the name of this contest to 'Britain has no talent' because over half the contestants aren't even British”; “And the first two finalists… aren't British”
Another fact that angered viewers was that already well-known artists were invited to audition.
A fan said: “Please stop inviting artists who are already famous. These two are already famous in their own countries. The trickster lady lost before, trained again and came back, wasn't headhunted and now she's a joke.”
“Professionals shouldn't be on talent shows. Innocent is a great opera singer but he shouldn't be on this show. Elton John is playing piano in tomorrow's show.”
However, many viewers disagreed and were happy that Innocent and Slauby had won.
They said: “Innocent is through to the finals. He's a real winner. Well done Innocent.”
“Travesty Innocent Mask didn't get the golden buzzer at his audition. He's an absolute star. Amazing voice. Just keeps getting stronger. Incredible.”
“Thankfully, common sense prevailed. Sauravi overcame the dog's performance! And was declared the winner of the night. Innocent. Well-deserved!”;
“It was the right outcome. They were both fantastic. Unfortunately we narrowly missed out on the dog performance but sometimes that happens.”
“#BritainsGotTalent #BGT2024 Thank you so much to the #BGT audience and judges for choosing my favourites #martialarts #performance #act and #opera #singer. Both are amazing talents and very deserving of the awards. Best of luck to you both.”
“The Sslaubi Performance Troupe is just surreal, absolutely amazing and mesmerizing to watch.”
After six weeks of auditions, the live semi-finals began, with eight artists competing for a precious spot in Sunday's grand final.
Eight more contestants will perform each night for a week leading up to the final, with two performers from each night progressing to the final – one chosen by public vote and the other by the judges.
The winner will walk away with a life-changing prize of £250,000 and the opportunity to perform at the Royal Variety Performance.
The eight acts performing on Monday night were Sven Smith, The Tricksters, Trey Blaine, Sloughi Performance Troupe, Taryn Charles, Becoon, Stardust and Innocent Masque.
Another feature of Monday night's semifinals that left viewers perplexed was the fact that three golden buzzer acts — Sslaubi Performance Troupe, Taryn Charles and Duo Stardust — appeared so many times on one show.
Viewers said, “Are they all doing the Golden Buzzer tonight? That's weird,” and “Tonight's show is buzzing with the Golden Buzzer performances.”
“At this rate, maybe we should change the name to The Golden Buzzer Show with the man in the bag.”
“I noticed almost every Golden Buzzer went off tonight”; “I didn't watch the auditions but how many Golden Buzzers are there?! Last time I watched they had one each in the semi-finals and one each for the rest?”;
“Are all the acts tonight Golden Buzzer acts? This show is ridiculous.” “Are all the acts Golden Buzzer acts at this point?”
Earlier in the show, Simon Cowell's Golden Buzzer act was dropped after he vehemently disagreed with them.
Viewers were stunned when he said he was disappointed with the performance of Ukrainian stunt roller-skater duo Stardust, and fans of the show questioned whether the seemingly mellowed-out talent show judge's harsh words were back.
Husband and wife Vlada and Yevheny were chosen as Simon's second Golden Buzzer recipients on Sunday's broadcast, but were removed from the competition by viewers on Monday after not receiving enough votes.
During their first audition in front of judges Simon, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and Bruno Tonioli, Yevheny grabbed Vlada's ankles and spun her around on his skates before the pair were lifted into the air on ropes and fireworks exploded behind Vlada's skates, lighting up the theatre.
During Monday's live semi-final, viewers took to social media to say the pair were the winners, but Simon disagreed, saying he was disappointed despite the pair throwing panellist Bruno into the air as part of their routine.
Simon said: “It was great, but not as good as the audition.”
As the audience booed, Simon continued, “I'm disappointed, and I'll tell you why. I feel your talent was overshadowed tonight by the direction, and that's a real shame.”
