After much deliberation and a number of agonising cuts, the 44 contestants through to the semi finals of Britain’s Got Talent have been decided.
Judges Simon, David, Amanda and Alesha have put through acts of all ages, all talents and all abilities to the 2012 heats which kick off on Sunday.
Sensational singers vying for the a spot at the Royal Variety Show include nervous nine-year-old Malaki Paul who made the judges listen with his rendition of the emotional Beyoncétrack.
Mini Mariah Carey, Molly Rainford, also made it through after wowing judges with her version of One Night Only along with Lauren Thalia, 12, who blew judges away with her rip-roaring performance of Turn My Swag On.
Other young singers making it through to the live shows are Scotland’s Paige Turley, 14, who sang Bon Iver’s Skinny Love at her audition in Edinburgh and 16-year-old Essex girl Hope Murphy who has already had a taste of success after performing at the Royal Albert Hall when she was 14.
The 133-strong Welsh schoolboy choir, Only Boys Aloud - made up of boys aged 14 to 19 - brought a tear to Amanda Holden’s eye with their mix of traditional Welsh songs and modern hits will also perform live.
Teenage pop/opera duo Charlotte and Jonathan made it through after initially splitting the judges opinion with Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli’s The Prayer.
Pop princesses B Minor made the cut. Paige Phillips, Ellen Gallagher, Ellie Kielly – who are all 14 - and 13-year-old Daisy Mondryk have been performing together for two years.
A boy band who caused excitement with the ladies in the audience was the Loveable Rogues. Made up of Eddie, Te and Sonny the cheeky trio impressed the judges with their own track Love Sick.
Musician Ashley Elliot will be bringing his xylophone to the live show after the 17-year-old from Northern Ireland won a sceptical Simon over.
Joining Ashley will be 19-year-old singer songwriter Sam Kelly who delivered a flawless rendition of Adele’s Make You Feel My Love. A hush descended over the audience as the self-taught guitarist from Norfolk performed.
Craig Worsley,22, Jayme Kontzle, 21, Kris Evans, 21 and Dean Kelly, 21, make up vocal group The Mend. Going through to the semi final, the boys have their eye firmly on the prize.
Mum-of-two Rachel Knowland, 25, is also through after singing VV Brown’s Shark In The Water. Laser Harp player and self-confessed geek Greig Stewart, from Glasgow, used video game consoles to make music and secure a place in the live semi finals.
Simon said that Yorkshire singer Honey Shazad, 21, was “exactly the kind of singer I like” when she auditioned and true to his word, Honey is through to the semi finals.
At the other end of the age scale are The Zimmers who range from 66 to 88. The 15 singers, who are influenced by rock and roll, have been together for four years.
Also sailing through to the semi-finals was Zipparah Tafari, the rapper who performs under the name of Mr Zip, after his catchy rap – Where’s My Keys? caught the nations attention. He writes anti-bullying and road safety songs and performs to school children in schools.
After her hip-shaking performance of River Deep – Mountain High, Chica Latina will also perform in the live shows.
German singer Dennis Egel who Simon said was the “craziest thing he had ever seen” after gold wings popped out from his back during his rendition of Evanescene’s Wake Me Up Inside.
Also taking to the stage are The Jive Aces a high energy six piece jive and swing band who have been performing together for 16 years. The quartet caught the judges attention with their yellow suits and version of I Wanna Be Like You from the Disney movie, The Jungle Book.
Musicians Graham Blackledge, 42, who entertained with La Bamba on the organ, drummer Fish on Percussion who had David dancing and violinist Analiza Ching who incorporates dance into her performance, all made the cut.
Contortionist and singer Lucky who impressed Simon with her rendition of I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself at the same time as playing the guitar and seamlessly contorting her body into unbelievable positions.
Glitzy and energetic, the Showbears - who managed to get David Walliams to join them on stage during their audition – want to show the world that it is “ok to be who you are.” The group now have a chance to do that infront of the nation.
Acts that will display their dancing skills on the live shows include Ballroom dancing duo and real-life couple The Sugar Dandies aka Soren and Bradley along with Gary and wheelchair user Paula of Strictly Wheels who’s interpretation of New York by Alicia Keys moved the judges.
The judges seem to have caught the ballroom bug since Alesha Dixon joined the panel and put through teenage duo Kai and Natalia.
Larger groups of dancers have also impressed the judges this year with Karizma Krew, a nine strong troupe who combine street dance and theatre, Nu Sxool, a Port Talbot dance group and hip hop dancers UWS all making it through to the semi finals.
LED robot and dance troupe, Area 51, were called “inventive” by Simon and will be hoping to further impress him during the live shows.
As will the Twist and Pulse Dance Company, a group of 16 to 20 year olds from London, formed by Twist and Pulse – who made it to the live finals in 2010.
Four Corners - a dance group made up of predominately male students and recent graduates of London Contemporary Dance School - were ecstatic to learn they had made it through.
Beatrix von Bourbon who brought burlesque to the Britain’s Got Talent stage was told by Simon: “I’d like to find our sort of British version of Dita Von Teese. And I’m willing to back you Beatrix.” She will now get her chance after being chosen to perform live in the semi finals.
Despite Simon and Alesha both buzzing Brynolf and Ljung after they assumed the duo’s magic trick had gone wrong, the Swedish magicians claimed their place.
On the comedy front, 16-year-old Callum Oakley made Simon laugh hard enough to get through to the semi finals. As did Latvian Gatis Kandis who’s performance was so bad, David said "it was actually brilliant."
Variety acts include Billy George, 21, who performs in a Cyr Wheel, Martyn Crofts a Dalek impersonator, French stuntmen Cascade and synchronised swimmers Aquabatique.
Ashleigh, 17, and her dancing dog, Pudsey were delighted to make the semi finals. Simon said that Pudsey is the "best dancing dog act he has ever seen."
Face Team, a basketball stunt team from Hungary, wowed the judges with their use of a trampoline in basketball and will be keen to shake up their routine ahead of the live shows.
Did any of your favourites not make the cut? Leave a comment below and let us know!
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