Year Two 114/365 : Britain's Got Talent

Back in April '09 Andy applied online at Applausestore.com for free tickets to Britain's Got Talent auditions in Manchester.

We found out about a month ago that he was successful... and today was the day! The doors were set to open at 1:15 but we decided to go plenty early. We got to the Manchester Opera House at 10:30am. We were not too far back in line which meant we knew were were guaranteed to get in. What they do in these cases is give away more seats than they have so you are not sure you will get in but we were in a good spot.

However they were not very smart in deciding to give everybody in line a stamp on the hand when taking their tickets. It was raining and the stamp was not waterproof. The above picture is Andy's after the first one was smeared off when he tried to put his gloves back on. They gave him another stamp but it meant he had to hold his hand under my umbrella for a good hour while it got dry enough to put his gloves back on. Not a smart idea by the crew.


The long wait seemed even longer in the rain but we knew it was going to be worth the trouble.


We had really good seats! We were even able to see the judges table. It was also good to be on this side because the hosts Ant & Dec stand right behind that first curtain so we were able to see them dancing to the acts, etc.. during the auditions.


Speaking of Ant & Dec they were the first to come onto the stage. They are very funny!


Then the judges made there way from the back of the auditorium. Piers came out first and then Amanda. Then Simon strolled in. Piers and Amanda had to wait a long time up on the stage by themselves... We all know Simon loves to make a big entrance.


They made us turn off all of the cameras and phones as soon as the judges took their places at the table so I was unable to take any photos of the acts. But I can say I was surprised at how many of them were so good! There were of course some crazy ones and there was a bit of 'off, off, off' yelled but honestly there was more good than bad. And I would have to say at least two very potential winners.

There was a young girl from Wales that blew my socks off when she started to sing! The most shocking part though was that Simon voted no... I did not understand that.

There was also a father and son that sang together and they got a standing ovation at about the same moment they started to sing. Yes they had a sad story to tell before they sang but liking them had nothing to do with that story, they were just good together.

I was shocked at one point when the crew brought on a stripper pole for the next audition. But was even more shocked when she introduced herself as Jess from Westhoughton! We noticed about a month ago that there was a new place opened up and that it taught pole dancing. Well she is only 16 and is the owner of JLN Pole Fitness Studio. Her act was very tasteful and quite beautiful. She easily made it through to the next round so hopefully she makes it past the next stages so that we have some local talent to cheer for!

All in all it was a great day out and I am happy Andy took it upon himself to sort these tickets out. Now lets just keep our fingers crossed that we also get tickets for X Factor auditions later this year.