Britain's Got Talent

Eye-opening experiences are the most valuable. My visit to the Britain's Got Talent show was indeed an eye-opener. It wasn't so much that I was starstruck but it was the opportunity that I had to witness the behind-the-scenes that made this experience an extraordinary one. 

Many people have asked how my boyfriend and I got the tickets for the show. No, we didn't buy them. It was free! While surfing the net, Marcus stumbled upon the ticketing website for British shows. BRITAIN'S GOT TALENT IS COMING TO MANCHESTER. At once, he placed our names up for ballot - not expecting much luck. To our surprise, we found 2 tickets in our mailbox a few weeks later! How blessed!

Everyone was in the queue, awaiting for their turn to enter The Lowry. One by one, the people ahead of us stepped into the entrance with glee. It was finally our turn!! At that instant, a security guard came up to us and stretched out his arm, preventing us from entering. Puzzled, we started looking around. "I heard the judges are coming!!" a lady behind us whispered with excitement. Oh. My. Goodness. How blessed can we get?! We had the perfect view of the judges. David Walliams and Alesha Dixon. We even took an (unglam hence not uploaded) selfie with Alesha!!

I've never given much thought to how reality shows are being filmed. Somehow, subconsciously, I always believed that what we see on TV is actually what happened live in the show. Before the show started, we were made to give applauses, shocked faces, and etc. In between acts, the judges' make-up artistes would come on and touch up the make-up on their faces. What's even weirder was that after one of the acts, the participant was made to walk up to the middle of the stage again because it wasn't recorded properly! It was rather funny how we, the audience, were asked to pretend like we haven't seen her performance. When I pieced these things together, I realised how different the show looks on TV than it actually is in reality! Nevertheless, her performance was AMAZING - my favourite of the day. Britain's truly got talent. It's a pity we weren't allowed to capture images during the acts. Thank God Marcus managed to snap some when the judges came.

Simon Cowell was 2 HOURS late!! The show started without him and that really put things into perspective. Prior to his arrival, many of the acts that weren't spectacular actually made it through. I was utterly surprised at how lenient the judges were. Dances with unimpressive choreography got a "YES" from the 3 judges. Mediocre voices managed to pass the auditions. However, upon Simon's arrival, the judges seemed to have gotten stricter. Simon. The judge known for his scepticism and cutting remarks. His presence seemed to have changed the mood (almost) completely. It wasn't just his "NO" that failed many of the acts that I thought were better than the previous ones who passed, but also the "NO"s from Amanda and Alesha. Oh, the power of peer pressure even in showbiz.

Overall, it was entertaining. Sometimes, it was puzzling how some people who (seriously) lack talent actually had the sound-of-mind to audition for such a large-scale competition. Well, I guess you need these people for the element of humour. Other times, I was awestruck by the skills and professionalism of the participants at such young ages. And disappointed was I, when some of them didn't get through. Although this show may just be a public stunt by the producers to earn big bucks (or maybe their vision is to recognise British talents, whatever), it represents a possible life-changing experience to each and every one of the participants. Whenever someone jumped for joy at four "YES"s, my heart inevitably leaped for him or her. Whenever someone (deserving) got buzzed, I couldn't help but frown in pity.

I'm grateful to have witnessed the Britain's Got Talent show being recorded live; and each time I'm given such an exquisite opportunity, I'm grateful all over again for the opportunity to be studying here in the UK.