Locals dream of fame and fortune at BGT auditions
WHILE the UK braces itself for its impending exit from the European Union the production team behind Britain’s Got Talent enhanced links between Wexford and the United Kingdom when they arrived in the National Opera House to carry out auditions for the high profile TV show and local acts were very keen to avail of the opportunity.
When this newspaper visited the auditions we spoke to a number of people who were preparing to showcase their skill and talent before the production team members.
Next Level Dance School, from Bride Street, Wexford, had two groups auditioning: Imperium and Revive. They were about to perform some hip-hop routines when we spoke to their tutor, Joelle White, who said the young dancers were a little nervous but excited about the prospect of being spotted.
The Imperium crew has been in existence for two years while the younger Revive crew was only set up in October.
However, they were all in jovial mood as they prepared for their audition.
Kilrane National School had 45 pupils from Fifth and Sixth class auditioning and their teacher Emma Hore said everything went well and according to plan when she spoke to this newspaper immediately after their turn in front of the production crew.
‘They were happy with their performance and it went well so we’ll see,’ she said.
The pupils had performed their routine for Minister Paul Kehoe when he visited the school recently and Ms Hore said they decided they would continue with that performance for the auditions.
Paul Rossiter is well known in Wexford music circles having secured the Best Male Singer title for six years in-a-row during the annual singing pubs initiative.
Prior to his audition he said he was unsure if he would go down the operatic route and perform something from Andrea Bocelli or go more mainstream with an Ed Sheeran song.
He said he was looking forward to the audition and planned to enjoy the experience regardless of the outcome.
Teenagers, Josh Scallon and Heather Sadler, who are both from Wexford, planned to perform two very popular numbers with Josh opting for ‘Dance With My Father’, by Luther Vandross, while Heather planned to sing Edele’s, ‘Make You Feel My Love’.
They said they were excited, but appeared calm, as they awaited their call to audition.
Edele was a popular choice of artist for the auditionees with 14-year-old Ciara Doherty, from Wexford town, choosing ‘When We Were Young’ for her showcase song.
The Presentation School student said she was looking forward to the audition and hoped it would go well.
The youngest auditionee who spoke to this newspaper was 7-year-old Charlotte Goff, from Killinick, who was present at the auditions with her mam, Diane.
Charlotte, who is in First class, said she was looking forward to singing ‘Truly Scrumptious’ from the movie, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Charlotte also said she is looking forward to Santa Claus coming at Christmas time.
Another auditionee we spoke to was Donal Doyle, from Piercestown, who planned to perform ‘Waves’ by Mr Probz.
A rapper and singer Mr Doyle has been singing since he was 13 and said that if he emerged successful from the initial auditions he might include some rapping in future stages of the competition.
He said he was just looking forward to the experience of auditioning whatever happened.
Thirteen-year-old Christine Turley and her 14-year-old sister, Emmeline, were looking forward to their auditions when we chatted to them.
Christine chose the Frank Sinatra classic, ‘Fly Me To The Moon’, while Emmeline opted for ‘Will You Still Love Me
Tomorrow’.
The sisters, who are from Glynn, are students in the Presentation School and said it was a great opportunity for everyone.
Ciara Smith (14), from Adamstown, also said she was looking forward to the experience despite admitting to being ‘a little nervous’.
A member of the Kilmore Variety Group, Ciara is also a singer with the Wexford Choir.
The song she planned to sing was ‘I Dreamed A Dream’.
Britain’s Got Talent is one of the most successful contemporary TV talent shows and all of the people who auditioned in Wexford will be hoping they can follow in the footsteps of previous winners of the competition like Paul Potts and Susan Boyle and carve out a career for themselves in the world of entertainment.