Special educational needs teacher lands BGT golden buzzer with ‘unique’ voice
Britain’s Got Talent photo call – London
A teacher who uses music to help students with special educational needs has secured Bruno Tonioli’s coveted golden buzzer on Britain’s Got Talent with her “unique” voice.
Taryn Charles, 39, dazzled the judges with her rendition of the classic song (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman by Aretha Franklin during Saturday’s episode of the ITV entertainment show
The performance received a standing ovation from the audience and all four judges, with Tonioli describing her as a “very special person”.
After taking to the stage, Charles, from Egham in Surrey, said she wanted to audition as she loves to “make people smile” and she feels her voice is “all right”.
She also said one of her students had come to support her and that she uses music to help her pupils, who have special educational needs.
With the audience on their feet for a second time after her powerful performance, they encouraged Tonioli to grant her the golden buzzer.
As the golden confetti fell on a shocked Charles, she feel to her knees as her student, their mother and Tonioli went on stage to congratulate her.
Tonioli said he had been initially concerned about her song choice, and he was comparing her with the version by Carole King, who co-wrote the song.
He added: “You made me forget about her version. You made it so much your own, with so much feeling, and the colour of your voice is unique and you’re a very, very special person my darling.”
Fellow judge Simon Cowell said he could see she was nervous and felt someone might have told her she was not good enough in the past, which she said was true.
He continued: “Boy did you prove that person wrong and that is what that golden buzzer is all about, you are a little star.”
Saturday’s episode also featured a joyful routine by dancing duo Abigail, seven, and Afronitaaa, 20, who blew the judges away with their energy and quick-footed moves.
Ahead of the performance, Afronitaaa said she decided to mentor Abigail, who is deaf, after seeing her dancing videos online.
They sailed through to the next round after receiving a standing ovation from the audience and judges for their performance, and Cowell saying they were one of his “favourite auditions of the year”.
Amanda Holden called them “two of the most fantastic dancers we have ever had on Britain’s Got Talent”.
Elsewhere, Cowell got a shock as a massive choir went on stage dressed in white shirts, black wigs and dark sunglasses to impersonate him.
The group, named Simply Simon, performed a rendition of the classic track The Best by Tina Turner which left the music mogul saying he felt “very overwhelmed” and “embarrassed”.
After going on stage to meet the choir, Cowell overrode all the other judges to give them four yeses.
The episode began with content creator Danny Platinum, 29, surprising the judges by starting his audition outside, so he could interact with the crowd for his Britain’s Got Talent-themed freestyle rap.
His catchy chorus had Tonioli and Alesha Dixon on their feet singing along, with Holden and Cowell later joining them to give him a standing ovation and to grant him four yeses.
Dixon said he was “fire” and he told her it was not pre-prepared as he joked he did not have the budget to rope audience members in, while Cowell praised him for doing something memorable.
A young singing and dancing group named D.V.R.S amplified the energy with their high-octane routine to a medley of Bruno Mars songs which featured co-ordinated moves and backward flips.
Former Strictly Come Dancing judge Tonioli said he felt every member of the troupe, aged eight to 17, “could be a star” before they secured four yeses.
Student Duncan Murray, 22, from Canada, opted for a less traditional performance as he bounced around the stage on a pogo stick.
After performing a backflip, he upped the ante further by jumping over the heads of hosts Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, which landed him a spot in the next round.
Magician Arron Jones added a touch of rockstar flare to his routine as he played Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey on his keytar while performing a magic trick.
While he accurately guessed the right card picked by Cowell, the judge said the routine “didn’t do anything for me”.
An acrobatic trio named Serbat Troupe got hearts pounding as one performer attempted to scale a ladder while another was balancing on their head in a handstand position.
One member of the troupe fell to the stage in a particularly difficult move as he tried to balance on one hand.
However, they were determined to try the move again and succeeded on the second attempt, earning four yeses from the judges for their efforts.
The judges have already handed out four golden buzzers this series including two in the first episode to singer Sydnie Christmas, 28, and a South Korean martial arts troupe.
An eight-year-old boy with a brain tumour and his choir also secured the coveted buzzer, and a Japanese dance troupe who travelled to Britain’s Got Talent because of their love of Simon Cowell.
Britain’s Got Talent continues on ITV.
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