The eighth series of British talent competition programme Britain's Got Talent was broadcast on ITV, from 12 April to 7 June 2014; because of England's international friendly with Peru, the show took a break on 30 May to avoid clashing with live coverage of the match. Auditions were held in Northern Ireland instead of Scotland for this series, with hosts Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquially known as Ant & Dec) having to stand in for Simon Cowell, after illness forced him to be absent during a day of auditions. This series was the first in the programme's history to introduce the "Golden Buzzer" format to the competition an element that was being introduced to the Got Talent franchise since it was first introduced on Germany's Got Talent in 2012.
The eighth series was won by boy band Collabro, with opera singer Lucy Kay finishing in second place and singing and rapping duo Bars and Melody third. During its broadcast, the series averaged around 9.8 million viewers.
Series overview
Following open auditions held the previous year between 19 October to 1 December 2013 in various cities, which included auditions held at a series of "Talent Spot tents" provided by the show's sponsor that year, and at The Savoy Hotel in Blackpool and The Old Ship Hotel in Brighton, the Judges' auditions took place between January and February 2014, within Belfast, London, Manchester, Birmingham, and Cardiff. For the first time since the first series, auditions didn't take place in Scotland, as the show's producers wished to try new locations for talent, which led to them opting to hold auditions within Northern Ireland for the first time as a result. Due to illness, Simon Cowell was forced to be absent from a day of auditions in Manchester to recover, leading to hosts Ant & Dec each standing in for him, while on the final day of auditions in London, Cowell was forced to be absent for them to attend to his girlfriend Lauren Silverman, who had gone into labour that day; the show's production team chose not to bring in a stand-in because of this.
By the time that the public auditions for the eighth series' competition had begun, the Got Talent franchise was beginning to update its format for auditions across international editions through the inclusion of a new feature the "Golden Buzzer". First introduced on Germany's Got Talent, the new format meant that those auditioning for a place in the live rounds of the competition for this year could earn an automatic place in the live rounds from any of the judges or the hosts, regardless of the opinions about their performance. Although the judges and hosts had permission to use the buzzer, Stephen Mulhern was not allowed to use it, despite his involvement in overseeing auditions for Britain's Got More Talent. Also for the first time, the contestants were no longer required to wear an ID sticker during their auditions.
Of the participants that took part, forty-five made it past this stage and into the five live semi-finals- amongst these, salsa dancing duo Paddy & Nico, hip hop duo Bars & Melody, singer Christian Spridon, girl group REAformed, and stand-up comedian/impressionist Toju, each received a golden buzzer during their auditions (by Holden, Cowell, Walliams, Dixon and Ant & Dec respectively) with nine appearing in each one, and eleven of these acts making it into the live final; the wildcard act chosen by the judges was impressionist Jon Clegg, after he lost out in the tied Judges' vote in the first semi-final. The following below lists the results of each participant's overall performance in this series:
Judges' Wildcard Finalist | Golden Buzzer Audition
ParticipantAge(s) GenrePerformance TypeSemi-finalResult Allan Turner-Ward 37 Music DJ 4 Andrew Derbyshire 31 Singing Singer 5 Bailey McConnell 15 Singing / Music Singer & Guitarist 5 Bars & Melody 13 & 15 Singing Rapper & Singer 4 Third Place BoldDog FMX Team 24–48 Danger Motorbike Stunt Team 2 Brian Chan 25 Variety Painter 3 Cartel 16–27 Dance Dance Group 3 Christian Spridon 36 Singing Singer 1 Collabro 20–24 Singing Musical Theatre Vocal Group 1 Country Vive 16–35 Dance Country Dance Group 1 Crazy Rouge 21–26 Dance Burlesque Dance Group 3 Darcy Oake 26 Magic Illusionist 1 Ed Drewett 26 Singing Singer 2 Ellis Chick 12 Singing Singer 3 Eva Iglesias 40 Singing Singer 4 Henrietta Adewole 18 Singing Singer 1 Innova Irish Dance Company 14–23 Dance Irish Dance Group 4 Jack Pack 24–33 Singing Jazz Vocal Group 5 James Smith 15 Singing / Music Singer & Guitarist 2 Jenson Zhu 37 Comedy Impressionist 5 Jodi Bird 16 Singing Musical Theatre Singer 2 Jon Clegg 43 Comedy Impressionist 1 Kieran & Sarah 26 & 28 Singing Opera Singing Duo 4 Kieran Lai 17 Dance Bodypopper 5 Kings & Queens 18–29 Dance Latin Dance Group 5 Kitty & Rosie 25 & 48 Singing Singing Duo 3 Kony Puppets 32 Comedy Puppeteer 2 La Voix & The London Gay Big Band 26–52 Singing / Music Drag Singer & Orchestra 5 Lauren & Terrell 12 & 12 Dance Street Dance Duo 1 Lettice Rowbotham 24 Music Violinist 4 Light Balance 19–33 Dance Electronic Dance Group 4 Lucy Kay 24 Singing Opera Singer 3 Micky Dumoulin 25 Singing Singer 1 Mini Moves 11–12 Dance Dance Group 2 Paddy & Nico 79 & 39 Dance Salsa Dance Duo 5 Patsy May 44 Singing Singing Puppet 1 Peat Loaf & Elaine 52 & 36 Singing Meat Loaf Singing Duo 5 Pyroterra 19–26 Dance / Danger Fire Dance Group 4 Reaformed 16–21 Singing Girl Band 3 Ricky K 33 Comedy Mime 2 Sam Jones 21 Comedy Ventriloquist 3 SweetChix 14–15 Singing Girl Band 2 The Addict Initiative 17–31 Dance Dance Group 2 Toju 40 Comedy Stand Up Comedian 4 Yanis Marshall, Arnaud & Mehdi 24–26 Dance Dance Trio 3
Ages denoted for a participant(s), pertain to their final performance for this series. No information on the puppeteer for this act was disclosed by the show.
Semi-finals summary Buzzed out | Judges' vote |
Semi-final 1 (26 May) Guest performance: Ella Henderson ("Ghost")
Semi-FinalistOrderPerformance TypeBuzzes and Judges' VotePercentageResult Country Vive 1Country Dance Group4.0% 4th – Eliminated Micky Dumoulin 2Singer3.0% 5th – Eliminated Lauren & Terrell 3Street Dance Duo2.8% 6th – Eliminated Patsy May 4 Singing Puppet1.3% 7th – Eliminated Henrietta Adewole 5Singer0.8% 9th – Eliminated Jon Clegg 6Impressionist9.4% 3rd (Judges' vote tied – Lost on Public vote) Darcy Oake 7Illusionist15.5% 2nd (Judges' vote tied – Won on Public vote) Christian Spridon 8Singer0.9% 8th – Eliminated Collabro 9Musical Theatre Vocal Group62.3% 1st (Won Public Vote)
Jon Clegg was later sent through to the final as the judges wildcard.
Semi-final 2 (27 May) Guest performance: Ed Sheeran ("Sing")
Semi-Finalist OrderPerformance TypeBuzzes and Judges' VotePercentageResult Mini Moves 1Dance Group7.3% 4th – Eliminated Ed Drewett 2Singer7.0% 5th – Eliminated BoldDog FMX Team 3Motorbike Stunt Team6.4% 6th – Eliminated Jodi Bird 4 Musical Theatre Singer16.5% 2nd (Lost Judges' vote) SweetChix 5Girl Band5.5% 7th – Eliminated Ricky K 6Mime4.1% 8th – Eliminated The Addict Initiative 7Dance Troupe11.4% 3rd (Won Judges' vote) Kony Puppets 8Puppeteer0.5% 9th – Eliminated James Smith 9Singer & Guitarist41.3% 1st (Won Public vote)
For health and safety reasons, Bolddog FMX Team's performance was pre-recorded outside the studio in advance.
Semi-final 3 (28 May) Guest performance: The Vamps ("Last Night")
Semi-FinalistOrderPerformance TypeBuzzes and Judges' VotePercentageResult Crazy Rouge 1Burlesque Dance Group1.9% 7th – Eliminated Ellis Chick 2Singer9.7% 4th – Eliminated Sam Jones 3Ventriloquist2.4% 6th – Eliminated Reaformed 4Girl Band5.2% 5th – Eliminated Brian Chan 5Artist0.5% 9th – Eliminated Cartel 6Hip Hop Dance Group11.5% 3rd (Judges' vote tied – Lost on Public vote) Kitty & Rosie 7Singing Duo1.5% 8th – Eliminated Lucy Kay 8Opera Singer45.8% 1st (Won Public Vote) Yanis Marshall, Arnaud & Mehdi 9Dance Trio21.5% 2nd (Judges' vote tied – Won on Public vote)
Semi-final 4 (29 May) Guest performance: will.i.am & Cody Wise ("It's My Birthday")
Semi-FinalistOrderPerformance TypeBuzzes and Judges' VotePercentageResult Innova Irish Dance Company 1Irish Dance Group13.8% 3rd (Judges' vote tied – Lost on Public vote) Kieran & Sarah 2Opera Singing Duo1.5% 7th – Eliminated Pyroterra 3 Fire Dance Group0.7% 8th – Eliminated Toju 4Stand Up Comedian1.9% 6th – Eliminated Eva Iglesias 5Singer5.6% 5th – Eliminated Allan Turner-Ward 6DJ0.5% 9th – Eliminated Light Balance 7Electronic Dance Troupe11.7% 4th – Eliminated Bars & Melody 8Rapper & Singer47.5% 1st (Won Public Vote) Lettice Rowbotham 9Violinist16.8% 2nd (Judges' vote tied – Won on Public vote)
Semi-final 5 (31 May) Guest performance: Attraction & Richard & Adam
Semi-FinalistOrderPerformance TypeBuzzes and Judges' VotePercentageResult La Voix & The London Gay Big Band 1Drag Singer & Orchestra3.3% 6th – Eliminated Bailey McConnell 2Singer & Guitarist12.4% 3rd (Lost Judges' vote) Kings & Queens 3Latin Dance Group3.5% 5th – Eliminated Peat Loaf & Elaine 4Meat Loaf Singing Duo1.5% 9th – Eliminated Andrew Derbyshire 5Singer2.3% 7th – Eliminated Jenson Zhu 6Impressionist4.1% 4th – Eliminated Kieran Lai 7Bodypopper2.0% 8th – Eliminated Paddy & Nico 8Salsa Dance Duo13.9% 2nd (Won Judges' vote) Jack Pack 9Jazz Vocal Group57.0% 1st (Won Public vote)
Paddy & Nico's performance had to be slightly modified before the semi-final, after the former was injured before its broadcast.
Final (7 June) Guest performance: Diversity & Little Mix ("Salute") &Cheryl Cole featuring Tinie Tempah ("Crazy Stupid Love")
Finalist Order Performance Type PercentageFinished The Addict Initiative 1Dance Group2.4% 10th Jon Clegg 2Impressionist5.2% 7th Lettice Rowbotham 3Violinist4.0% 8th Yanis Marshall, Arnaud & Mehdi 4Dance Trio1.0% 11th Bars & Melody 5Rapper & Singer14.3% 3rd James Smith 6Singer & Guitarist6.9% 6th Jack Pack 7Jazz Vocal Group10.6% 4th Darcy Oake 8Illusionist8.5% 5th Paddy & Nico 9Salsa Dance Duo3.6% 9th Collabro 10Musical Theatre Vocal Group26.5% 1st Lucy Kay 11Opera Singer17.0% 2nd
Cowell buzzed Yanis Marshall, Arnaud and Mehdi, stating that their performance was 'boring and unoriginal'. This marks the only instance in Britain's Got Talent history that a buzzer was used in the live final of the competition.
Ratings
Episode Date Total viewers (millions) Weekly rank Share (%) Auditions 1 12 April 12.41 1 45.0 Auditions 2 19 April 11.05 1 40.4 Auditions 3 26 April 11.33 1 42.6 Auditions 4 3 May 10.90 1 42.3 Auditions 5 10 May 11.14 1 41.1 Auditions 6 17 May 10.70 1 40.9 Auditions 7 25 May 9.93 1 38.9 Semi-final 1 26 May 10.94 1 39.1 Semi-final 1 results 8.87 10 33.3 Semi-final 2 27 May 9.36 8 34.9 Semi-final 2 results 7.54 14 27.4 Semi-final 3 28 May 9.41 6 36.7 Semi-final 3 results 7.55 13 28.7 Semi-final 4 29 May 9.53 7 36.7 Semi-final 4 results 8.39 12 33.3 Semi-final 5 31 May 8.97 11 38.1 Semi-final 5 results 7.09 19 28.2 Live final 7 June 12.05 1 49.0
References