Britain's Got Talent- To Infinity and Beyond!

Going into space is something many of us have only dreamt about.  In all likelihood, the closest any of us will get is by visiting the Kennedy Space Centre.  If you’re brave enough to go onto the spaceship simulator.  Until now that is.  That’s right- if you can juggle, do a mean Arnold Schwarzenneger impression or sing like Leona Lewis, then you could be jetting off into the stars!

That is the possible prize being offered to this year’s winner of Britain’s Got Talent.   They could literally end up singing with the stars by being offered their own gig in space.  But if you think you could be the first person to have a concert on the moon think again.  The BGT champion will merely get to perform on board a flight with Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic company (not that performing in front of the whole world is a bad prize or anything…)

It all just seems a bit bizarre.  Don’t get me wrong- the chance to perform on a huge scale is an amazing opportunity- but space?  Has Simon Cowell finally lost sense at the expense of his ego?  Well, he insists he is being completely serious and that Richard Branson is willing to fund the mission himself.  Cowell said, “I will make it happen.  If it had been a few years ago Susan Boyle could have been singing Unchained Melody in front of the whole planet.”

So is this Cowell’s idea of a comeback?  After all, his own programmes haven’t been doing so well of late.  X Factor USA was a bit of a damper and did not fare so well in Britain either.  With bland contestants, even blander song choices and the most controversial panel yet, Cowell is looking to shake things up for next year.  Cowell was determined to save last year’s BGT, turning up in heroic fashion to the theme of Superman. But it was more a case of sour grapes with sulky Cowell labelling the show bizarre, moaning that the new panel had made some silly decisions.  But now Cowell has hit back and said he hopes to take the show to new heights of peculiarity.   

The thing is, its not just Britain’s Got Talent that has gone bonkers.  If you’re an X Factor finalist you can sing in the 02 arena in front of thousands of people.  Not bad for being a former shop assistant/office worker/binman or whatever.   In Popstars, the programme which launched ill-fated Hearsay, the audition rooms looked like church halls compared to the glitzy arena settings of Cowell's shows these days.  Forget bussing it to the auditions- you can now turn up in your own speedboat if you so desire!

But let’s not forget that most auditions and talent competitions are not that glamorous.  The chances are you will probably queue for hours at a dance studio and only get the chance to sing half a song with none of the X Factor or BGT style feedback (“sorry pet, it’s a no”)  Whoever wins Britain’s Got Talent this year will be very lucky and hopefully will have a very successful career.  Let’s just hope that Cowell and his lucky star don’t leave their heads in space!

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