As they listened to Collabro’s first Britain’s Got Talent audition, both Simon Cowell and David Walliams sat in their judges chairs with their mouths wide open, totally stunning by the sumptuous harmonies and powerful voices of the five young lads in front of them. Tonight, in the Brighton Centre, several thousand more people sat in exactly the same way, totally transfixed by the incredible performance unfolding in front of their eyes, and ears.
To be honest, the stage set isn’t exactly stunning, although the superb lighting effects do add a lot to the overall effect but, having said that, this audience is not here to admire the scenery. They are here to witness, live and in person, the group that took Britain’s Got Talent by storm, and who won so convincingly.
The show opens with Anthem from Chess, a song that shows the boys’ voices off perfectly, before offering a packed programme that includes musical theatre classics like Somewhere from West Side Story, Music of the Night from Phantom of the Opera, Somewhere Over the Rainbow from the Wizard of Oz and the incredibly powerful With You from Ghost the Musical alongside pop crossovers like John Legend’s smash hit, All of Me and Say Something, by American Duo A Great Big World together with the “song of the moment”, Let It Go from Disney’s Frozen.
The boys perform alongside their very special guest, and Britain’s Got Talent runner up, Lucy Kay, who has the audience mesmerised with amazing operatic classics like Habanera from Carmen, Puccinni’s O Mio Babbino Caro, the wonderful Nessun Dorma from Turandot and, in a superb duet with Collabro, Come What May from Moulin Rouge.
Collabro are very relaxed together on stage and, although they have only been together for a year, have a confidence that far exceeds expectations and, as this is band member Richard Hadfield’s home town, the others in the band were very happy to let Hadfield take the limelight and, as well as being visibly moved by appearing in a venue that he had dreamed about for so long, he clearly relishes the moment.
The final section of the show is given over to their favourite musical, Les Miserables and, although they have already had many standing ovations throughout the show, Bring Him Home, and the song that brought them fame, Stars, both have the entire audience on their feet and screaming for more.
With a new album due out in June, and an audience reaction as good as we saw tonight, I predict that the future for Collabro is very bright and that they will go on to prove, without doubt, that Britain really has got talent.
***** Five Stars