When musical theatre group, Collabro, auditioned on Britain’s Got Talent Series 8, the judges weren’t expecting much, especially since they had only been singing together for only one month before then.
Well, apparently, Collabro was out to prove them wrong when they sang “Stars” from the hit musical, Les Miserables. Not only were the judges impressed, BGT judge Simon Cowell even said that, because of their performance, Britain really does have talent in its country.
Collabro received a standing ovation and four big yeses from the judges and proceeded to sing their way through the competition.
They eventually reached the finals and competed with ten other acts.
For Britain’s Got Talent Series 8 finals, they performed “Stars” once again. But this time, they sang a different arrangement and received the majority of the vote to win the entire competition.
Composed of singers Michael Auger, Jamie Lambert, Matthew Pagan, and Thomas J. Redgrave, Richard Hadfield was also part of the original group.
Collabro was formed by friends Matthew and Jamie and they used the power of social media to find three more singers. Through social media, they found Michael and Thomas through several auditions. They found Richard when they saw his performance on YouTube.
They performed for the first time at a pub in London Bridge the same month they formed the group.
They decided to try their luck and audition for the latest season. They got in and continued to deliver performances worthy of standing ovations throughout the series.
After they won, they were signed by Simon Cowell’s label, Syco, and released their debut album, Stars, a month later and went on tour with BGT Series 8 runner-up and opera singer, Lucy Kay, a year later.
They signed with US-based record label, Sony Masterworks, for a £1 million recording contract. They released their second album, Act Two, 2 months later, which debuted at number two.
Their next tour took them around the US, Canada, and even Japan. Later they joined Cliff Richard in his Just Fabulous Rock ‘n’ Roll Tour of the UK.
Michael believed that their group works because they come from different genres.
“I am pop, Jamie is classical, Tom is metal but we are all agreed on musical theatre,” Michael said.
Just this year, they released their fourth album, Lighthouse, and will be touring the UK once again with their The Road To The Royal Albert Hall tour.
“We are going to further afield venues because we love the fact we have got fans from all corners of the UK, and we want to get out there to meet them,” Michael said about their tour.
They have also been invited to join the first Britain’s Got Talent: Champions edition, which includes past BGT winners and favorites.
For this BGT finals performance, they performed a special arrangement of “Stars.”
The judges simply raved about their Finals performance.
Simon Cowell said, “The first time I heard that song it was fantastic. This was even better. This was a step up. This was a performance where I could tell you wanted to stamp on this competition and win the competition, and I like people who want to be winners.”
Alesha Dixon said, “I could feel that passion from you. I loved it.” While Amanda Holden gushed, “It was another faultless performance.”
Watch below to hear why they took home the champion title of Britain’s Got Talent.
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