Britain’s Got Talent top ten most-viewed auditions of all time – and the winner is head and shoulders above the rest

BRITAIN’S Got Talent returns tonight with its impressive 17th series with a brand new batch of contestants.

Music mogul Simon Cowell is back at the judging panel alongside Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and Bruno Tonioli.

ITV

The foursome will be front and centre as hopefuls audition at a chance of winning the show and appearing at the Royal Variety Performance.

As ever Ant and Dec will be back behind-the-scenes as the Geordie duo cheer on the contestants – and be the first to comfort them if things go wrong.

In an exclusive first look at the first episode, Ant and Dec sit the judges down with a top secret document.

The boys, both 48, then reveal they’ve enlisted the help of young ‘TV experts’ in the shape of young children.

Fans will see the youngsters propose a massive party before Ant invites everyone to Simon’s apparent country manner.

Before those scenes air, The Sun Online has listed the top 10 most viewed Britain’s Got Talent auditions.

keep reading on to see if your favourite act made the cut…

10. Paddy and Nicko – 92 million views

Sian took to the BGT stage in 2017 after her daughter applied on her behalf. Overcoming her initial audition nerves and navigating a song change request from Simon, her stunning take on ‘With You’ from the hit romance movie Ghost was a win with the judges.

9. Asanda Jezile – 107 million views

“You were like a little diamond!” Singer Asanda shines for Alesha. Her polished performance wowed all four Judges with her Rihanna cover.

8. Darcy Oake – 126 million views

Illusionist Darcy astounded the judges with his magical series eight audition, in which he seemingly made both animals and humans appear out of thin air.

Qualifying from the final in fifth place, BGT wasn’t his last appearance on the small screen however – as he earned his own TV special ‘Darcy Oake: Edge of Reality’, in addition to competing in ‘Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions’ in 2019, where he impressively doubled down on his BGT finalist status.

7. Natalie Okri – 129 million views

Natalie was only 10 years-old when she performed ‘No One’ by Alicia Keys in front of the BGT judges in 2009. Her beautiful vocals saw her through to the semi-finals, and over a decade later she continues to pursue music across her YouTube and social media channels.

6. Charlotte & Jonathan – 148 million views

Operatic-pop duo Charlotte and Jonathan, aged 16 & 17 years old respectively, were assembled by their singing teacher and encouraged to give the BGT competition a shot. After their rendition of “The Prayer” by Andrea Bocelli and Celine Dion moved the judges and audience to their feet, the pair sailed through to the grand finale of series 6, eventually placing second to Ashleigh and Pudsey. It didn’t take long for them to secure a record deal, releasing their debut album ‘Together’ the following year.

5. Bonetics – 171 million views

At only 17 years-old, student Shakirudeen Adewale Alade, also known as Junior, saw the judges’ jaws drop when he delivered his bone-bending contortionist routine in 2015. The flexible expressive dancer made it to the semi-finals, and following the show, continued to finetune his craft, earning himself a Guinness World Record and a place on tour with Cirque du Soleil.

4. Paul Potts – 195 million views

The BGT legacy changed forever when mobile phone salesman Paul walked onto the stage in 2007. With his breath-taking rendition of “Nessun Dorma”, he stunned the judges and British public alike. Paul was crowned the first ever Britain’s Got Talent champion, setting the bar for the standard of talent that was to follow in subsequent series. Quickly following his historic win, the Tenor released his multi-platinum debut album ‘One Chance’, which topped the charts in 13 countries around the world.

3. Bars & Melody – 250 million views

The young musical duo Bars & Melody, made up of Leondre Devries and Charlie Lenehan, stole the nation’s hearts when they performed their touching take on “Hope” by Twista and Faith Evans. On stage, the pair opened up to the judges about the meaning behind their song choice and remastered lyrics, which was to spread awareness for anti-bullying amongst young children and teenagers. Simon was moved to press his golden buzzer, and the duo eventually placed third in the live final.

2. Susan Boyle – 262 million views

Fifteen years ago, Susan Boyle took to the BGT stage to sing “I Dreamed a Dream” from the musical Les Misérables, but little did she know this audition was to become one of the most iconic television moments of all time. After wowing the judges with her powerful voice, Susan swam through to the semi-finals and grand finale, making it all the way to the final two acts where she narrowly missed out on the winning spot to dance troupe Diversity. Following the show, Susan went on to find global musical success, selling over 25 million albums worldwide – and even performing alongside her musical idol, Elaine Paige.

1. Calum Scott – 388 million views

This 2015 audition of Calum Scott will go down as one of the most iconic moments in the history of the show. His haunting rendition of “Dancing on My Own” by Robyn saw Simon press his golden buzzer, winning him a place in the live semi-final and eventually, the final. Calum has gone on to have huge success as an artist, with his recorded version of his audition track totalling over 1bn streams on Spotify alone.

Britain’s Got Talent returns Saturday at 7:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX.