After last week I was unsure about watching the second auditions show but ultimately I did because I want to see whether this country has any talent and it was really nice to see that a lot of the bad aspects from the first show didn’t make a reappearance this week.

The auditions were taking place in Manchester and the number of absurd and ridiculous acts were rife and a couple of these acts even came with a health warning prior to their performance. Many were lacking a real talent and just went on stage with a bit of a gimmicky multi-tasking approach. We can all do a couple of things at the same time but it doesn’t necessarily make for good entertainment yet it seemed like this was the angle that some people decided to go for. For instance:
Singing (badly) whilst body-building.
Playing guitar (badly) whilst bouncing on a pogo stick.
Singing and dancing whilst playing an instrument – an unrivalled triple dose of bad talent in one.
Gymnastics whilst riding a horse, which must have had a bit of stage fright as it pooped on stage!
Singing “Sex On Fire” whilst actually being on fire and naked! Although you couldn’t really say that she put on a great performance she still made it through to the next round. Perhaps if she had left some of her clothes on or if two of the three judges were women then this wouldn’t have happened. Instead Simon and Piers have basically congratulated this woman for getting her boobs out on stage and not burning to death by putting her through to the next round. None of the other acts made it through but this was no surprise as there was a distinct lack of a proper talent in their auditions but they all came out and give it their best shot and as I said last week – that is what I think the show should be about!

The most questionable talent of the week goes to the Regurgitator. A man who somehow managed to swallow coins and then regurgitate them upon request. With each coin he swallowed there was a clink of loose change that was supposed to be coming from inside him but that seems to me to be part of an illusion because I am not convinced that it would produce such an audible sound. It just didn’t seem humanly possible and I thought it had to be an extraordinary magic trick but when the camera was close up on him it seemed like he was doing it real, worryingly so. Although fascinating to watch it leaves you feeling sick in the pit of your stomach especially when he then proceeded to swallow a big ball. It was worthy of going through to the next round because I have never seen anybody else demonstrate a “talent” like that. I just don’t want to believe that it was real but just a gut wrenching illusion however ultimately this guy belongs in a carnival not on the Royal Variety Show. Judge for yourself:

The worst talent to go through to the next round was Max Oliver. Anyone who impersonates Lady Gaga is sure to get the crowds attention because she is so popular but his talent just spans from being a cheap impersonator and he just seemed to be acting like a fool in his audition almost as if he was mocking Lady Gaga. She might seem to divide opinions but I love Lady Gaga but I really don’t think a silly copycat imitation of her should have been put through to the next round. The notion that he is one step closer to being chosen as winner of a talent show is absurd and I shudder to think that he might make it through to the live finals.

Speaking of Lady Gaga she managed to influence another act in this week’s show in a medley of pop songs performed in a classical manner by a group of young people called The Arrangement. Simon was quick to judge and buzzed them straight away as they commenced with a rendition of the Black Eyed Peas’ hit song I Gotta Feeling; I honestly felt like I would have buzzed them as well but as various bits of different songs were performed it seemed to gain some credibility. Then it seemed like the singer was having a fit and this was followed up with a classical rendition of Poker Face. I suddenly found them to be the most entertaining act of the evening and they stood strong as my favourite, well up until Spellbound’s performance.

My favourite from this week was gymnastic act Spellbound. I wasn’t too sure how it would pan out at first but it turned out to be a spectacular performance and I was completely captivated by these people whose moves kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. It was my favourite because they had a talent which seems more credible than just singing and are a group of genuinely talented people to have put on such an amazing performance. Judge for yourself:

I would like to have seen more captivating performances from this second show, it just doesn’t seem to be quite as entertaining as previous years. In my honest opinion I actually believe that Ant and Dec are the best aspect of the show, their commentary and interviews never cease to amuse me.