FANS of Britain’s Got Talent were left baffled over the weekend after three acts who hailed from Japan auditioned in a single episode.
Audiences watching the ITV talent show suggested its name should be changed to “The World’s Got Talent” and even threatened to call Ofcom to report a “violation of the Trade Descriptions Act”.
The show saw a beatboxing group called Sarukani, a drone operator called Keiichiro Tani and then dance troupe Cyberagent Legit – who are all from Japan – compete, in a growing trend of international acts flying in to perform on the UK stage.
Another fan queried: “How do they even qualify for #BGT ? They’re from JAPAN?”
Acts from abroad have been a part of the competition show since it began in 2007.
But the number of people jetting in to have a go at winning has massively increased over the years.
The first series saw just two overseas acts compete, but by series six in 2012, the number of such competitors reached double figures and hasn’t gone back down since.
In fact, series 14 in 2020 saw the most, with 28 hailing from outside the UK.
Back in series one, not a single act without a UK resident made it through to the finals.
A BGT spokesperson said: “Britain’s Got Talent is, and has always been, open to all, regardless of your age, where you’re from, or your level of experience. Over the course of the show’s 17 series history, we have seen acts audition to become renowned across the globe.
“It’s because of these incredible acts that BGT has a reputation globally for being the greatest talent show on television, and we will continue to welcome an array of brilliant acts for future series.”
Here, The Sun looks at some of the most memorable acts from outside of Great Britain.
Series 2: Steve Cousins
This series had five performers from outside the UK.
In 2009, Australian novelty act Steve headed over to Britain in the hopes of winning the judges.
The then 29-year-old performed a series of bizarre dances with a huge balloon.
Before being buzzed by unimpressed judges, he was “absorbed” by the balloon.
He did make it through to the next round, however, much to the annoyance of Piers Morgan declaring it the most “ridiculous act I’ve ever seen”.
Series 7: Attraction
This year saw ten non-British performers shown on TV.
In a first for BGT, Hungarian shadow puppet group Attraction won the show in 2013.
All previous winners had been UK-based acts. They performed three different acts across the show, with the winning one being a montage paying homage to the UK.
They used their bodies to form the face of Queen Elizabeth II.
Attraction had appeared on the German version of the show Das Supertalent a year before and placed 7th.
Zoltan Scuzs, who founded the act in Budapest in 2004, previously defended Attraction against critics who said all BGT acts should be from the UK.
He said: “I respect the British public and I think the British public respect me. I think this is an international contest. I’d like to move to London, it’s a lovely city. I think we might after the show.”
Series 8: Darcy Oake
This series had 23 non-UK performers including Canadian magician Darcy.
He impressed judges so much in 2014 that he made it to the show’s final.
The illusionist wowed the crowd by setting fire to a live bird and then duplicating it in his first audition.
For the final, he was suspended 20 feet in the air above a bear trap and the rope holding him was set on fire – meaning he had to escape before he dropped.
He came 7th in the final, which was won by musical theatre group Collabro.
Darcy defended his choice to appear on the UK series, explaining: “All of these style of shows, the ‘Got Talent’ shows and the reality competitions all originate here. And they get the most viewership, they’re the biggest ones, and I wanted to come to the biggest one.
“There was no point in me going to smaller, less-viewed version when I could come and do the original one.
“I understand people are like ‘he’s not British, we want a Brit to win’, which I get… I’m not here to step on anybody’s toes or anything, but I saw the platform that is ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ and what it’s designed to do and I wanted to come and do it.”
Series 9: Marc Metral
French ventriloquist Marc hopped over the channel to try his luck on Britain’s Got Talent in 2015.
He was one of 14 international acts that made it on to TV that year.
He brought his dog, Miss Wendy, with him and proceeded to make her “talk” and later “sing”.
The act started with him asking her if she could speak English, and by the end the judges were in hysterics.
He made it to the semi-finals before being booted out of the competition.
Series 9: UDI
In the same season as Marc, Serbian light group UDI made it to the finals of the show.
Their audition saw a friend of the group have to translate for them as they didn’t speak English.
During the act, they had a blue man depicting peace and a red man with weapons depicting evil.
The group came 10th overall.
Series 10: Alex Magala
Moldovan stuntman Alex made it to the finals in 2016 for his sword swallowing and was one of 21 foreign acts to be shown.
He later revealed he had done numerous version of the show but claimed BGT was “the first show I had seen, it was so inspiring and made me who I am”.
The 'Got Talent' worldwide roadshow
WITH endless singers, dance troupes and magicians taking to the stage each year, BGT acts can understandably begin to feel a little familiar.
But if you like to watch other countries’ versions of Britain Got Talent, you really can be left seeing double, with some acts going on a worldwide roadshow of the different versions.
- American strongman JD Anderson had already appeared on America’s Got Talent before signing up for BGT. He appeared on series 15 in 2022 but didn’t make it to the semi-finals. He already auditioned for Italy’s Tu Si Que Vales and the sixteenth season of France’s Got Talent.
- In 2022 French dance troupe Les Sancho made a dramatic appearance on Britain’s Got Talent. The group had already placed third in France’s Got Talent. A year later they tried out for America’s Got Talent and also auditioned for Italy’s Tu Si Que Vales.
- Russian Olena Uutai wowed judges with her “Jaw Harp” perfomance in 2018. The instrument looks like a pair of scissors and is placed in the mouth to make music. After appearing on BGT she went on Germany’s Got Talent and reached the final. Last year, she competed on Spain’s Got Talent All-Stars.
- Isreali Lioz Shem Tov has appeared on four different Got Talent shows, plus BGT. In 2017 he did Israel’s Got Talent and then did the America version a year later. He’s also done the Australian and French versions of the show.
- Norwegian Christian Wedoy had already done SEVEN other talent shows before appearing on BGT. The escapologist had appeared on Norway’s Got Talent twice. In 2019, he appeared on Czech Republic / Slovakia’s Got Talent, Spain’s Got Talent & Bulgaria’s Got Talent. He participated in Romania’s Got Talent in 2020 before going on to Italy’s Got Talent and Greece’s Got Talent.
Alex had also already appeared on TV, performing at the Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Sochi.
He finished 9th out of 12 in the public vote.
Series 11: Gao Lin & Liu Xin
The Chinese acrobatics & dance duo flew to the UK to compete in the show because it was “the biggest and the best in the world.”
They were one of 16 acts who had come from abroad to try and take home the crown.
After their appearance on the show, it turned out they only had visitation rights to the UK, not a full visa.
This meant that they shouldn’t have been able to appear on the show as they couldn’t “live and work” in the UK.
As a result, the pair couldn’t progress any further than the auditions.
Series 12: Ellie and Jeki
South Korean quick-change duo Ellie and Jeki told judges they were auditioning for BGT because it’s “a show loved by people all over the world”.
The pair made it to the semi-finals and were loved by the judges. They were one of 19 international acts trying their luck in the UK talent show.
Simon Cowell was unimpressed with their semi-final performances and they ultimately didn’t make it to the final.
Prior to appearing on BGT, they had won The Guinness World Record for most costume-change illusions in 30 seconds.
Series 13: Giorgia Borg
Ten-year-old Giorgia was flown over from Malta to compete in the talent show and showcase her stunning voice.
During the audition, she sang a song that she had written.
Judge Alesha Dixon was blown away with her vocals and pressed her golden buzzer, pushing her straight through to the finals.
However, she was eliminated in the live shows.
Series 14: X1X Crew
The acrobatic and dance troupe from Mumbai appeared on the show in 2020.
The coronavirus pandemic meant their semi-finals performance had to be pre-recorded in India before it was broadcast in the UK.
Members of X1X said if they won the prize money it would be used to help certain members “upgrade their lifestyle”.
The group didn’t make it to the final of the show.
Series 16: Tonikaku
Japanese Tonikaku appeared on the show last year and told judges: “I want to perform for Royal Family [as] King Charles [would] love me.”
The novelty act, then 40, was one of 23 acts from outside of the UK to audition.
He proceeded to remove all his clothes bar his underpants and performed a series of poses that made him look naked.
Tonikaku made it to the final as a wild card act and placed 11th after another performing another series of cheeky poses.
Explaining why he went on BGT, Tonikaku told Billboard: “I wasn’t originally trying to break out overseas, but my talent agency, Yoshimoto Creative Agency, sends out videos of comedians that overseas audiences might enjoy to audition shows around the world.
“Britain’s Got Talent just happened to like my material. So at first, it felt like going on an overseas vacation. I was like, ‘I get to go to the U.K.! How lucky!'”