The Grand Final of Britain's Got Talent took place last week, with magician Richard Jones among the twelve acts competing for a £250,000 prize and the opportunity to perform at the Royal Variety Show, which takes place in December. Richard's impressive performances at the auditions and the Semifinals made him one of the favourites to win, but due to his early performance slot (He performed Second out of the Twelve Acts in the Grand Final) and the high quality of the competitors, Richard really needed to provide a memorable routine in order to gain votes.
Fortunately, Richard's performance in the Grand Final (above) allowed him to stand out. Richard's routine paid tribute to Fergus Anckorn, "the conjurer on the River Kwai", who is currently Britain's oldest living magician. Performing in military uniform, Richard went to the judges table and did a series of Card tricks recounting Fergus's story. He began by mentioning the year in which Fergus was born (1918) and the year he joined Britain's Magic Circle (1936), whilst performing a storytelling trick in which he, revealed eight cards in an order which exactly matched the two years he provided (Ace, 9, Ace, 8, Ace, 9, 3, 6), as well as a King card to reflect the phrase "King and Country". After this, Richard talked about Fergus's experiences in World War Two. Fergus served in the British Royal Artillery in Singapore, but was captured by the Japanese army and imprisoned in a POW camp. He was forced to work on the infamous Burma Railway and subjected to numerous physical and psychological tortures. During this time, Fergus's ability to perform magic tricks became highly valuable. Not only did they keep up his morale, and the morale of his comrades, but by performing for the Japanese guards, he was able to gain enough food to survive until the end of the war.
Whilst depicting Fergus's struggle to survive, Richard provided an example of one of the tricks Fergus performed whilst he was imprisoned. He got judge Amanda Holden to sign a card, and tore it into quarters. He then took out a lighter, and set the pieces on fire. When the fire died out, Richard revealed that the signed card had been restored to its original, undamaged condition. After Richard performed this trick, he revealed Fergus's name, and used the deck to reveal a picture of Fergus from when he joined the army. As Richard was doing this, the stage behind him was covered with a giant Union Jack curtain, and just after Richard finished revealing the picture, the curtain was removed to reveal that Fergus Anckorn himself, now 97 years old, had appeared on the stage, joined by the band of the Household Cavalry, which Richard has served with since 2014.
Overall, Richard's performance for the Grand Final was very impressive. Richard's delivery was as confident as usual, but he managed to convey his respect for Fergus and the ordeals he went through. Although I personally hadn't heard of Fergus Anckorn until I saw Richard's performance, his story is incredible, and it was fascinating to see it used in a performance for such a large audience, with 10 million viewers watching the Grand Final live (anyone who wants to learn more about Fergus's experiences should read the articles written about him by British newspapers such as The Times or The Daily Telegraph, which areaccessible online, or the Peter Fyans book Captivity, Slavery and Survival as a Far East POW). The primary complaint surrounding Richard's performances has been the unoriginal nature of the tricks, but by emphasising his military background, Richard managed to make his Grand Final performance feel totally unique, whilst playing to the patriotic sentiments of many viewers. Richard performed all his tricks smoothly, with no visible errors, ensured that they highlighted his connection with the subject matter (the Torn and Restored Card trick was used to reflect Fergus's suffering and resilience), and managed to combine them to tell an effective story (as past Britain's Got Talent winners such as Attraction and Jules O'Dwyer and Matisse have demonstrated, this is a great way of getting audiences to vote for you). This meant that whilst the tricks Richard performed were rather conventional, he was able to use them in a fascinating and unique way . All in all, Richard's performance for the Grand Final surpassed his previous routines by some distance, and demonstrated that he deserved to win this series of Britain's Got Talent.
The judges were full of praise for Richard's Grand Final routine. Alesha Dixon called it "Poignant, Noble" and "Brilliantly British", Simon Cowell praised Richard for performing an "appropriate" routine on such a special occasion, and David Walliams noted the emotional nature of the performance, saying that it was unusual for a magician to provide such a moving routine. Ultimately, Richard's routine proved to be resoundingly popular with the viewers, as he beat Swing Singer Wayne Woodward and comedic Dance Troupe Boogie Storm to be crowned the winner of the Tenth series of Britain's Got Talent, becoming the first magician to win the show, and the eighth magician to win a Got Talent series overall. I look forward to seeing Richard Jones perform at the Royal Variety Show, and hope that he can provide even more memorable performances in the future.
Christian Lee, the second of the two magicians who made it through to the Britain's Got Talent Live Shows this year, competed in the fourth Semifinal last night, aiming to join fellow magician Richard Jones in Saturday's Grand Final. Christian's audition (below) centered around a rather conventional Invisible Deck trick, but stood out due to the creative presentation, which included a giant balloon and the effective use of Amanda Holden as a volunteer. However, with Simon Cowell wondering if Christian relied on the sort of magic found at "Children's parties", Christian really needed to up his game in order to stand out as a magician.
Christian's semifinal routine (above), whilst not as impressive as the routines provided by Richard Jones, was definitely superior to his audition. Christian began his performance by asking for "a beautiful and glamorous" assistant from the judges table, and invited David Walliams to join him on stage as a volunteer. He got David to choose from a deck of cards, and sign his chosen card (the Four of Clubs) with both his name and phone number (David jokingly put 999 for the latter). After this, Christian put on a "Ninja Warrior" Headband and asked David to hold the deck. Christian then gave David a wallet with his "health insurance" inside, and got onto a unicycle.
Once Christian had done this, he took out a sword and asked David to throw the deck of cards into the air. Christian managed to catch one card by impaling it with the tip of his sword, but that card turned out not to be the one chosen by David. Christian then got David to take the wallet containing the "health insurance" out of his pocket, and opened it to reveal a sealed envelope inside. This envelope had a prediction on it, stating that the chosen card was inside it the entire time. David opened the envelope, and the prediction was proven correct, as David's signed card was found inside.
The magic itself was performed competently, with no visible mistakes, and the trick, whilst not especially unique or spectacular, was more elaborate and impressive than the ones Christian used in his audition. However, the most notable feature of Christian's routine was the comedy. Christian has a random, zany style of humor akin to that of Harry Hill, and even David himself. This led to a number of amusingly wacky jokes, such as promising to give the cards "A Little Mix" and instead of shuffling them, playing the first lines of the Little Mix song "Black Magic". Christian's final joke (performing a romantic Titanic-style pose with David) had previously been used in his audition, but he made it funnier this time around, with numerous inflatables being fired at him from backstage. Although the large number of jokes ensured that the routine was rather lengthy (lasting a full four minutes - double the length of most BGT performances), it was consistently fun to watch. Overall, Christian provided a performance that was professional and entertaining, and justified his place in the Live Shows.
The judges were divided in their opinions on Christian's performance. Amanda, Alesha Dixon and David provided very positive feedback, with Amanda praising the "silliness" of the comedy and the quality of the magic, and Alesha noting Christian's ability at keeping the crowd engaged. However, Simon generally disliked Christian's routine, claiming that it was "Stupid"and criticizing the overlong set-up, saying that "I was slightly losing the will to live after about a minute", although he liked Christian's personality and said that the routine would appeal to children. Ultimately, Christian finished Sixth in the Viewer's vote, meaning that Richard Jones will be the only magician in Saturday's Grand Final.
Magician Richard Jones was among the nine acts competing in the Third Semifinal of Britain's Got Talent yesterday. A soldier from Windsor, Richard wowed viewers at the auditions with a mentalism routine (below) where he read the minds of judges Amanda Holden and David Walliams. The presentation was slick, and the climax of the routine, where Richard made David's chosen drink (Hot Tea) appear from inside a can of Orange Juice, was impressive to watch. Richard's audition made him stand out as one of the favorites of this series, and meant that he was under pressure to provide a spectacular performance in the Semifinals.
Fortunately, Richard's performance (above) was a resounding success. As he did in his audition, Richard performed directly at the Judges Table, beginning his routine by giving Simon Cowell a metal container, and telling him to keep an eye on it. He then showed everyone a copy of Amanda's biography, and a photo of the four judges, before flicking through the book and telling Alesha Dixon to choose a page. Richard used the photo to indicate the chosen page, and told Alesha to remember the number of her chosen page, and the first word on that page.
After this, Richard performed a smaller trick where he turned the receipt for Amanda's book into two banknotes- a £10 note and a £20 note. He then asked Alesha to tell the audience the number of the page she had chosen (Page 176). When she had done this, Richard took the metal container in front of Simon and opened it to reveal a glass bottle with a sheet of paper inside. After shattering the bottom of the bottle with no visible assistance, Richard removed the paper to reveal that it was Alesha's chosen page, which had vanished from Amanda's biography - the places where the page had been torn matched in both the book and the chosen page. Alesha was then asked to reveal her chosen word ("Bottom"), before Richard lit the top of the torn page on fire. Once the fire had faded, Richard revealed that the chosen word had been burnt into that page.
Although it this is a relatively familiar trick (America's Got Talent competitor Collins Key performed a similar one in 2013), Richard's version was pretty impressive. I liked the little touches he used, such as revealing the chosen page inside a bottle, and making matches appear from the side of his suit (the first match failed to light properly, which is why he produced two). There were none of the conspicuous errors which affected Jamie Raven's performances last year, and the presentation was confident and intriguing. Although Richard does not quite have the originality of Britain's best magicians, such as Dynamo and Ben Hanlin, he is very talented and definitely deserves his status as a favorite to win.
The judges were full of praise. Alesha called the performance "fantastic". Amanda, who has been vocal in her promotion of Magicians this year, called Richard's central trick "The best magic trick in the ten years that we've seen on this show" and Simon called Richard a "Wizard". Richard's performance was so popular that he won the Viewer's Vote, ensuring that he will compete in the Grand Final, which will be held on Saturday. Hopefully, he can deliver another excellent performance, and possibly even become the first magician to win Britain's Got Talent.
However, Richard is not the only magician competing in the Britain's Got Talent Semifinals this year. Comedic Magician Christian Lee also made it through to the Live Shows, and is performing tonight. Will he be able to emulate Richard's success?
Britain's Got Talent has now entered its tenth series, with 45 acts competing in the Live Shows for a £250,000 prize and the opportunity to participate on the Royal Variety Show. This year, two magicians, Richard Jones and Christian Lee, have made the Live Shows (You can view their auditions below), and both will be seeking to equal, or even surpass, the success of other BGT magicians, such as Jamie Raven, who finished in Second Place last year.
Neither Richard nor Christian were involved in the first Semi Final, but the nine participants in it included the Crossbow Artist Ben Blaque. Ben cannot be considered a magician (although he did participate in The Illusionists, the West End magic show headlined by Jamie Raven last Winter). In fact, during his audition (Below), which involved him firing arrows at balloons held by his assistants, and setting off a chain of arrows which shot an apple off his head, the threat of things going wrong was 100% real.
However, for his Semifinal performance, Ben Blaque performed a "Crossbow Roulette" stunt (above) which felt more like a magic trick than a demonstration of his sharpshooting skills, demonstrating why he's being mentioned on this blog. After beginning his routine by firing at the silk ropes holding down three large balloons (he only managed to release one of them), he got BGT judge Alesha Dixon to serve as his glamorous assistant. The "Crossbow Roulette" stunt involved a set of five crossbows aimed at a wall which Ben was strapped to. Four of the crossbows would miss Ben, and instead hit targets surrounding him, but the fifth was aimed at his head. Each crossbow was attached to a random lever, and Alesha had to choose four levers and pull them, firing the crossbows they were linked to. Fortunately, the levers Alesha pulled were attached to the four safe crossbows, ensuring that Ben was unharmed.
Ben's routine was definitely suspenseful, as the notion of him suffering serious injury was terrifying enough to keep the edge of their seat. However, when I liken this routine to a magic trick, it is not a compliment. As the crossbows had been arranged to hit their five targets already, and Ben was not the one firing them, the routine failed to make use of Ben's skills as a sharpshooter, which made his act stand out at the auditions, It merely showed that he was brave to stand in front of the crossbows, but bravery does not equate to talent. In addition, it is easy to suspect that the routine was set up so that Ben's chances of being hit were far less than they appeared. If this was the case, then I don't mind too much. Russian Roulette-inspired tricks are common on Americas Got Talent because they are very exciting to watch, and that was certainly true of Ben's "Crossbow Roulette" trick. However, for those who preferred genuine danger of Ben firing crossbows blindfolded, or with the help of an iPhone camera, the reliance on machinery makes Ben's Semifinal routine less impressive.
The problems mentioned above would not have been as conspicuous if Ben's routine went to plan, but it was ruined by a couple of significant mistakes. The first of these was Ben's failure to release all three balloons with his crossbow at the start of the routine. The second, far more problematic, mistake occurred when Alesha pulled the first lever. The wires linking the levers to the crossbows were tangled up, so when Alesha pulled the lever, she fired two crossbows instead of one, ensuring that she was only able to pull three levers and not four. Although Ben was not harmed by this error, it's never comfortable to see a danger act make a mistake.
In spite of the flaws with Ben's routine, the judges' comments were very positive, with head judge Simon Cowell even arguing that the mistakes increased the tension of the routine, and thus improved it. However, the British public were less impressed, and Ben finished Seventh in a weak Semifinal. Hopefully, Richard Jones and Christian Lee can do much better.
(Disclaimer: I'm sorry that I took so long to get this post up. I couldn't finish it in time for the results, and decided to wait until I had a free moment, As I've been busy, this free moment took over 8 months to arrive.
On the plus side, I have finished it in time for the new Series of Americas Got Talent, which starts on 31st May. I hope the magicians competing can equal or better Oz Pearlman's success in reaching Third Place. Even if they can't, I hope they provide some great tricks)
(For British Viewers, The Following May Contain Spoilers)
Yesterday, the ten remaining acts in Americas Got Talent performed for one last time in the Grand Final, competing for the traditional million-dollar prize and headlining show in Las Vegas. These ten acts included a record FOUR magicians: Mentalist Oz Pearlman, Comedic Magicians Piff the Magic Dragon and Derek Hughes, and The Professional Regurgitator.
How Did Oz Pearlman Do?
Oz Pearlman was the first act to perform in the Grand Final, so he was under considerable pressure to stand out. Fortunately, he managed to provide a memorable and spectacular opening routine. He began his performance by stating that "The only reasonable explanation is that the judges must be in on it". He then eliminated this possibility by getting the judges to each think of someone who mattered to them, and swear on their chosen names (Bianca for Howard, Jennifer for Heidi, Stefan for Mel B and Angel for Howie) that they were not in on the secret. The judges were then invited to join Oz on stage, where they were told to each pick one of four covered chairs and sit on it. They were then told to swap chairs if they wished (Mel B and Heidi did so). After this, the judges were each told to choose one of five envelopes, leaving Oz with the remaining one. The envelopes were opened to reveal that the judges had colored pieces of paper with X's on the front, whilst Oz had a photograph of himself. The covers were then removed from the chairs, revealing that the colors on them matched the colors on the back of the X for each judge (Mel B had a red paper and a red chair, Howard a blue paper and a blue chair, Howie's paper and chair were both green, and Heidi's were both yellow ). Oz finished his performance by unfolding his photograph to show a correct prediction of each judges chosen chair and the name they chose to swear on at the start of the performance. As you can tell from the long description , this was an incredibly elaborate performance, blending two strong mentalism tricks (predicting the chosen names and getting the judges to pick matching colored chairs and envelopes) into a single routine. Like Oz's other performances, it required a very long set-up, but the climax was impressive enough to make it worthwhile. What Did The Judges Say?
Howie said that Oz was "Amazing" and had got the Grand Final "off to a super start". Heidi described the performance as "incredible" and told Oz "This act has been your best yet". Mel B said that she was "in shock" and also noted that Oz "would make the best husband". How Did Piff the Magic Draon Do?
Piff the Magic Dragon began his performance by asking Howie for eight dollars, and receiving a twenty-dollar bill instead. He instructed Howie to sign the bill, then turned it into a voucher for "One Free Magic Trick". He then got an assistant to bring his pet chihuahua Mr Piffles onto the stage, claiming that Mr. Piffles would perform a trick in order to win back "his most treasured possession", which was inside a small bag held by Heidi throughout the routine. After putting "The good luck charm of Heidi" (Her ring) onto Mr. Piffles' costume, Piff placed the dog inside a cannon, promising that when the cannon was fired, Mr. Piffles would bounce off the "Trampoline of Happiness" and do a triple somersault, before getting caught by Piff using "The Baseball Glove of Love". However, Mr Piffles was fired through the trampoline, landing some distance away. He was then replaced by an obvious toy dog, who appeared to come to life and turn upside down. Piff then put a sheet over this dog and transformed it into Mr. Piffles, who was still wearing Heidi's ring. As Mr. Piffles had failed to pull off the stunt, he did not regain his "most treasured possession" which was revealed to be two nutshells ("Mr. Piffle's Nuts"). Heidi was told to open her bag and choose one of the nutshells. Piff cracked the chosen nutshell open, and revealed that it contained Howie's signed £20 note. Overall, whilst this routine was creative, it was affected by two major problems. The first was the over-complicated nature of the routine, with Piff performing a total of five tricks (transforming the money, firing Mr. Piffles from the cannon, making the toy dog come to life, replacing him with Mr. Piffles, and making the money appear in the chosen nutshell) when he should have focused on a few especially impressive ones. The second problem occurred when Piff transformed the toy dog into Mr. Piffles -it was embarrassingly obvious when the switch was made. It is impossible for the live audience and judges to notice this error, but eagle-eyed viewers watching on TV or online certainly did, and it's unforgivable for a magician as talented as Piff to make mistakes at such a critical stage. Although there were some funny moments, this routine was generally a disappointment. What Did The Judges Say?
Piff the Magic Dragon was the only magician of the night to receive comments from all four judges, but their opinions were mixed. Mel B praised Piff's "dry sense of humour" and the way that the act "[came] together". Howard was more critical, saying that whilst Piff was "consistently great", his previous performances had been better. He claimed that "At some points, I got a bit confused". Howie stated that Piff was "very funny", but wondered if he could emerge as the best in "a night of comedy". Finally, Heidi described Piff as a "sarcastic English bloke" who had won over America. During the Judges Comments, Piff finished his signature running gag by eating an old donut, and the contrast between the lavish nature of his routine and the very ordinary snack was pretty amusing. How Did Derek Hughes Do?
Whilst the other magicians competing in the final have placed a significant amount of emphasis on providing new and creative tricks, Derek Hughes has instead relied almost entirely on showmanship to make his rather conventional magic stand out. Derek took this emphasis on performance to new heights with his final performance,. After tying a square knot in a line of rope, then transforming this rope into a solid square, Derek promised to provide a "Sneak peek of what the first three minutes of my Las Vegas show will look like". He introduced viewers to a DJ playing in the background (Who he cut off at several key points in the routine) and two blonde backing dancers, before performing a reversed version of the equal-unequal ropes, also known as The Professor's Nightmare. Derek showed the audience three pieces of rope that were an equal length, then appeared to transform them into one medium rope, one large one, and one small one, by covering two of the ropes at a certain point with his left hand. Derek revealed this secret to Howie, then, in order to please him, transformed the ropes into three pieces of genuinely different length, before restoring them to their original state. He then finished by taking a different piece of rope and cutting it in two, before joining the two halves together using quick arm movements. Overall, whilst the presentation was slick, the staging was too distracting - the dancers and DJ added nothing, and merely demonstrated that Derek is a style-over-substance magician. Rope tricks have never really been performed on Americas Got Talent at any stage, let alone in the Grand Final, because they are too simple for such a big show. Derek really needed to provide some incredible rope tricks in order to stand out, and as he failed to do so, his performance was a disappointment.
What Did The Judges Say?
Derek Hughes received negative comments from the judges. Although Howard noted that "You don't get this far without having talent", he said that Derek's final performance had been "somewhat underwhelming". Howie agreed, criticizing the "long and drawn out" presentation. Mel B concluded by saying that the performance "really fell flat" and adding that she was more focused on the backing dancers. How Did The Professional Regurgitator Do?
For his final performance, The Professional Regurgitator performed two tricks. The first of these was a throwback to his earlier performances, as he swallowed five thumb-tacks and a small magnet. He then asked the judges to tell him how many thumb-tacks he should attach to the magnet inside his stomach. When they said they wanted four thumb-tacks attached to the magnet, The Professional Regurgitator regurgitated the magnet with four of the thumb-tacks attached, before regurgitating the fifth one separately. For his second trick, The Professional Regurgitator swallowed lighter fluid from an aerosol canister. After getting Nick Cannon to wave a lighted torch in his mouth to prove that all the lighter fluid had been swallowed, he regurgitated some of it, appearing to breathe fire as Nick held the torch in front of The Professional Regurgitator's mouth. The Professional Regurgitator then put a mixture of water and washing-up liquid in his hands, creating a giant bubble from it as he had in the Semifinals. He regurgitated the remainder of the lighter fluid into the bubble, and when Nick ignited it, it created a fireball that burned briefly, but was very bright. Overall, this was a strong performance, as it emphasized The Professional Regurigitator's personality, which helps him stand out from other "freak-show" acts, and demonstrated the full range of his abilities. I wouldn't say that I'm a fan of The Professional Regurgitator, but I enjoyed watching him progress through the competition.
What Did The Judges Say?
All four judges gave The Professional Regurgitator a standing ovation. However, due to time constraints, only Heidi and Mel B were able to provide comments. They were both full of praise for The Professional Regurgitator, with Heidi saying that "There is nobody in the world who can do what you can do" and describing him as "a million dollar act". Mel B described The Professional Regurgitator as "a guaranteed show-stopper". What Was The Competition Like?
The other six acts all provided very strong performances. Although the judges felt that Uzeyer Novruzov's routine was not spectacular enough, I personally found it very enjoyable, and liked the increased emphasis on acrobatic skills over danger. Benton Blount sang the One Direction hit "Story of My Life" and sounded flat at points, but managed to control his voice very well, and was good at conveying emotion. Gary Vider told six jokes, and was funnier than usual, finally managing to finish with a strong joke. Paul Zerdin showed off all his puppets in a very creative routine, but I disliked his reliance on toilet humor. The CraigLewis Band sang "Beggin" and their energetic performance style and strong harmonies made up for moments where they were trying too hard. Finally, Drew Lynch provided some funny jokes, and his showmanship was as strong as usual, but his decision to finish with a reference to Gary Vider's Semifinal routine was a mistake, especially as Drew is probably the stronger of the two stand-up comedians overall. Verdict
Of the four magic acts in the final, The Professional Regurgitator stands the best chance of winning, as he blended the best elements of his previous performances into an impressive new routine. Oz Pearlman was impressive, but his early performance slot could work against him. Piff The Magic Dragon disappointed, and Derek Hughes will gain the least votes, having received the worst reviews from the judges.
