Japanese dance troupe secure Simon Cowell’s golden buzzer with dazzling routine

Britain’s Got Talent 2024 auditions – Manchester

A Japanese dance troupe who travelled to Britain’s Got Talent due to their love of Simon Cowell has secured the music mogul’s coveted golden buzzer.

Saturday’s episode of the ITV entertainment show saw CyberAgent Legit dazzle the judges with an energetic routine which was choreographed to their own music.

The performance received a standing ovation from the audience and all four judges – Bruno Tonioli, Alesha Dixon, Amanda Holden and Cowell.

After they took to the stage, Cowell asked why they had travelled all the way for Britain’s Got Talent to which a member of the group said: “We love Simon, that’s why we’re here.”

Dressed in matching red and silver metallic outfits, the group, aged between 20 to 28, impressed with their lively routine which featured synchronised moves and headspins.

Cowell hailed the performance as “fantastic” and described it as his “favourite act of the day”.

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.”

Cowell 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.”

Saturday’s show kicked off with a unique act by Sven Smith, 27, who performed a lively air guitar routine to a medley of Queen songs.

Smith received three out of four yeses, with Cowell branding it “so stupid it was brilliant”.

The show also saw more acts travel from across the world to audition including Japanese beatboxing group Sarukani who performed a rendition of the Ghostbusters film theme tune.

Dixon said the group, who are aged between 21 to 24, looked like “beatboxing Beatles” before they secured four yeses.

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.

Meanwhile, 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 Cowell’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.

Ahead of the audition, the conductor said it would “be a dream” for them to be the first choir to win Britain’s Got Talent.

The group, aged 25 to 65, sailed through to the next round as Tonioli hailed it as “sensational” while Holden said she thinks they were “better than any choir” they have had on the show.

Elsewhere, Keiichiro Tani, 42, grabbed the judges’ attention before he even took to the stage by showing them a drone video of his journey to the audition but it fell flat when he struggled getting the drone to operate while drag artist MA_DANNII_X did not hit the right note with their original song Higher Star which saw them descend onto the stage through wires.

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.

Holden said the 22-year-old had acted the song “beautifully” while Tonioli praised the tone of his voice, securing him four yeses.

Last weekend, the show returned with a dramatic double-bill weekend which saw three golden buzzers handed out.

The 17th series launch episode last Saturday saw 28-year-old singer Sydnie Christmas and a South Korean martial arts troupe each awarded a golden buzzer.

Then an eight-year-old boy with a brain tumour along with his choir secured the coveted buzzer during Sunday’s episode.

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