BGT final
I have enjoyed watching the Britain’s Got Talent auditions on U Tube over the past few weeks. We have seen some stunning performances, my favourite, Musa Motha, a one-legged dancer, originally from South Africa. This guy was incredible as he danced using his crutches and his single leg. Then there were the Ugandan performers, a troupe of children from the ghettos of that country, bringing their incredible skills and enthusiasm to the UK stage.
Realising it was the end of the series, I pulled up the finals on U Tube this afternoon, to see three performers standing there, waiting to hear who had won this year’s show. One was a child magician whom I had watched and enjoyed. He had a lovely stage presence and was incredibly likeable. The second was a young girl whom I was unfamiliar with and the third, another whom I was unsure about, Viggo Venn, a comedian from Norway. First to go was the magician, leaving the latter two, with Venn becoming the eventual winner. Who is this guy, I wondered as I pulled up his clips from U Tube. And then I realised, it was the high vis guy, the man who had pranced around the stage, pulling off a large number of high vis vests – the one who had claimed Simon Cowell’s buzzer and that wasn’t the golden one, rather the one when a judge detests an act.
I was gob smacked that a seemingly lack of talent could win this coveted prize. But as I watched the rest of his auditions, I saw how he engaged the crowd and made everyone, including myself, laugh out loud. Really laugh.
It is actually a knack, to appear to be putting in little effort but at the same time evoking such a reaction from the audience. He was childlike and stupid, yet incredibly funny. He wanted to become a British comedian and he was doing just that, simply and in his own style. The people have spoken with their votes. Chances are he didn’t have more than a handful of home-town supporters or family voting as he was from another country, yet he managed to pull the most number of votes. And as one of the comments after the clip stated, is probably the first person ever to win the event after getting a judge’s rejection buzzer.
Some of this year’s performers were extremely talented and would have spent hours practising to bring their act up to the BGT standards required for the semi-finals. Venn appeared as if he’d just walked off the construction site after a heavy day of work but as I said above, making an act look so simple and effortless, probably requires just as much skill as the others. I am sure he practised as much as anyone else, but in his case, practised to make it look simple rather than the other way around. He actually reminded me of Tape Face, a New Zealand comedian who appeared on America’s Got Talent. He was funny too and all without speaking a word as his mouth was taped shut, hence the name, Tape Face. He got as far as the top ten during his run.
Well done, Viggo Venn. I am sure the winning prize package will help you realise your dream, though in engaging that many people, you have probably already done this. There is nothing better than a jolly good laugh and that is what I got from watching your performances. Well done.