The ITV show's finalists will compete in the hotly-anticipated live final in May
Britain's Got Talent (BGT) has named its first two finalists Vinnie McKee and The Blackouts after its first semi-final.
The finalists will compete in the hotly-anticipated live final in May. The winner will get the chance to perform at The Royal Variety Show attended by King Charles as well as a £250,000 cash prize. Last year's winner was singer Sydney Christmas.
Britain's Got Talent was supersized this year, seeing the live semi-finals taking place over six Saturdays instead of back-to-back over a week. The golden buzzer twist has stirred up some controversy, where one act can be sent into the final by the judges.
Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and Bruno Tonioli returned to their judging panel for the semi-final at the Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith, London over the weekend. Guest judge KSI will return to the series at a later date.
The first live show was at times chaotic, with the main surprise seeing eight-year-old magician Teddy Magic pull out last minute but TV bosses hope he will return to perform at one of the later semi-finals.
Out of the seven semi-finalists who performed, only two went through to the final.
Vinnie McKee
McKee was the first to get a spot in the BGT grand final after he got the most votes from the public.
The Scottish singer impressed the viewers at home with his own opera twist on Snow Patrol's song Chasing Cars.
Watch Vinne McKee's Chasing Cars performance
Going into the semi-final, McKee had said it would be life-changing to win Britain's Got Talent. He said: "That is a dream. It would change my whole life. Just getting as far as I have has been like living a dream."
He added: "My ultimate dream has been the same my whole life. I want to tour, sing to large audiences and let the world hear my original music and my versions of classics. I would love one day for people to open YouTube and Spotify and choose me as their go to artist."
The Blackouts
In a twist to the semi-finals, dance group The Blackouts were also sent through to the final. Judge Holden pressed the golden buzzer in the latest change to the show's format. The Blackouts put on a memorable lights show as they dance in the dark with the lights on their costumes telling a story through their movements.
Ahead of the live show, the new golden buzzer rules were explained.
ITV confirmed: "In each semi-final, either one of the judges or Ant and Dec will be given control of the golden buzzer, and as soon as they see a performance worthy of a place in the final, they will have just one opportunity to press it. That act will be granted a one-way ticket to the final, along with one other act from that night who will be voted in by the public."
Watch The Blackouts' semi-final performance that got the golden buzzer
Going into the semi-final, The Blackouts spoke about what winning the show would mean to them.
The dance group said: "It would be the honour of a lifetime. We’ve spent over ten years perfecting this show, mostly behind the scenes, in the dark, literally and figuratively. To be crowned the winners would mean that our story, our work, and our message have truly reached the hearts of the British public. That would be the most beautiful reward we could imagine."
They added: "Our biggest dream is to share our show with people all over the world and especially here in the UK, where we’ve already felt such a strong connection. We want to perform on the biggest stages, but more than that, we want to bring joy, light, and wonder to audiences everywhere. BGT feels like the start of something huge, and we’re ready to give it everything."
Britain's Got Talent's live semi-finals continue on Saturday at 7pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
