Britain's Got Talent 10: Semifinal Four - Christian Lee

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.