BRITAIN’S Got Talent fans threatened to call Ofcom tonight after three acts from Japan performed.
Upset viewers claimed the show should be for British people because of its name and were unimpressed when Simon Cowell gave his Golden Buzzer to a professional Japanese act.
Tonight’s show saw a beatboxing group called Sarukani, a drone operator called Keiichiro Tani and then dance troupe Cyberagent Legit – who are all from Japan.
Despite there being no rules about where acts come from, some disgruntled fans took to X to complain.
One person moaned: “Did ITV get a group booking for a flight from Japan? Or is this Japan’s got Talent?
“Can Ofcom look at this like the trade descriptions act?! A very misleading name for a TV show!”
Another person raged: “They must think people are stupid, they fly a hand picked dance group from Japan and then give them the golden buzzer so they can come straight over for the semi finals, fix.”
While someone else said: “Did #BGT charter a flight from Japan for this series?”
“How do they even qualify for #BGT ? They’re from JAPAN? Why don’t we just change the name to The World’s Got Talent?” questioned someone else.
But despite criticism from some, others loved watching the acts perform, in particular Cyberagent Legit.
Asked why they were doing the show, they said: “We love Simon! That is why we are here… this is the biggest audition for us. Our dream is to perform around the world, if we won it would be amazing.”
The group – which features dancers between 20 and 28 – performed a routine choreographed to their own original music.
The judges were mesmerised and gave them a standing ovation.
Simon Cowell told them: “Amazing! That was fantastic, that was my favourite act of the day actually. Really, really, really good.”
The audience then cheered for him to give them his golden buzzer until he eventually agreed, which caused the group to jump up and down with joy.
Afterwards a member of the group said: “This is a dream come true for us.”
Simon added: “This is the kind of act you want in a competition, it was really so good.
“And I could see how much time had gone into that, everyone in this theatre was rooting for you.”
Meanwhile Sven Smith kicked of tonight’s show, with a lively air guitar routine to a medley of Queen songs.
Her received three out of four yeses, with Simon branding it “so stupid it was brilliant” – as the lad almost suffered a wardrobe malfunction.
Timeline of BGT Winners
Britain's Got Talent has been thrilling fans since it burst onto the scene in 2007.
Here we take a look at all the BGT winners– from the first ever one to the most recent:
2007: Paul Potts– The first ever winner of BGT was opera singer Paul Potts. He saw off competition from Connie Talbot, The Bar Wizards, Bessie Cursors, Damon Scott and Kombat Breakers to win.
2008: George Sampson – In series two of Britain’s Got Talent a young George Sampson wowed judges and viewers with his impressive dance moves.
2009: Diversity– Dance troupe Diversity scooped the BGT crown and beat of competition from singer Susan Boyle, who was strongly tipped to win the show.
2010 – Spellbound: Gymnastic troupe Spellbound really impressed judge Simon Cowell with their stunning routines and incredible stunts in 2010. At the time, the music mogul said: “I can only say on live television that was one of the most astonishing things I have ever seen.”
2011 – Jai McDowall: Viewers were stunned when Jai McDowall won the show in 2011, as young singer Ronan Parke was the favourite to win the series.
2012 – Ashleigh and Pudsy: Ashleigh Butler and her adorable pooch Pudsey stole hearts when they performed in series six of the talent show.
2013 – Attraction: Hungarian shadow artist group Attraction won the seventh series of Britain’s Got Talent. The squad had taken part in the German version of BGT in 2012, however, they had only placed seventh.
2014 – Collabro: Classical music band Collabro faced tough competition in the 2014 final as all the finalist were singers, but they went on to scoop the crown.
2015 – Jules O’Dwyer & Matisse: Dog lovers everywhere could’t get enough of Jules O’Dwyer and pet pup Matisse. The impressive duo even performed on a tightrope to secure their win.
2016 – Richard Jones: Army man Richard Jones became the first magician in the show’s history to win Britain’s Got Talent.
2017 – Tokio Myers: Pianist Tokio Myers impressed the judges with his blend of classical and electronic music.
2018 – Lost Voice Guy: Stand-up comedian Lost Voice Guy, who performs with a speech synthesiser, was diagnosed with cerebral palsy when he was six months old. However, he defied the odds and is a BGT champ.
2019 – Colin Thackery: Veteran army officer Colin Thackery warmed the nations hearts with his singing voice. He was crowned winner of BGT after singing Michael Ball’s Love Changes Everything.
2020 – Jon Courtenay: Singer and pianist Jon Courtenay was Ant and Dec’s Golden Buzzer act. After he won the £250,000 prize he said: “”Just amazing, I can’t believe it.”
2022 – Axel Blake: Comedian Axel Blake scooped the crown after the show was off air for two years during Covid.
2023 – Viggo Venn: The reigning BGT champ is comedian Viggo Venn.
A number of singers added an extra twist to their performance in a bid to impress the judges, including a 40-year-old man dressed as Batman, named The Dark Hero, who performed Defying Gravity from the hit musical Wicked.
His baritone voice seemed to impress the judges from the outset but they were further shocked when he was lifted into the air, landing him a full set of yeses.
A 44-year-old youth pastor and musician Kevon Carter made the journey from America to play the keyboard for the judges, but they were surprised when he introduced his vocalists on a large screen, who turned out to be a series of animals from dogs to donkeys.
He also played alongside a clip of Simon’s dogs Squiddly, Diddly and Daisy barking, which the music mogul thought made it “such a funny audition” and confirmed he was though to the next round.
A community choir, named Northants Sings Out, got the audience and judges grooving along as they performed an energetic rendition of Show Me Love by Robin S.
The group, aged 25 to 65, sailed through to the next round as Bruno hailed it as “sensational” while Amanda said she thinks they were “better than any choir” they have had on the show.
The last performer of the episode, security guard and youth worker Harrison Pettman, shocked his family who were in the audience by taking to the stage to perform a rendition of With You from the musical Ghost.
Amanda said the 22-year-old had acted the song “beautifully” while Bruno praised the tone of his voice, securing him four yeses.
