Alesha Dixon’s Strictly replacement still not confirmed

alesha-dixon

The next famous face to slip into Alesha Dixon’s judging seat on the panel for Strictly Come Dancing is still under negotiation as yet more names are speculated in the press in the wake of the singer’s high profile departure from the BBC to ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent.

The former Miss-Teeq singer confirmed she would be leaving Strictly early this year after three years on the panel as a judge. In an official statement, Alesha said she felt it was “time to move on” and would be leaving the BBC dance show to appear as a judge on another talent programme, Simon Cowell’s new series of Britain’s Got Talent.

Alesha Dixon will join Simon Cowell, long standing Britain’s Got Talent judge Amanda Holden and also Little Britain star David Walliams when she arrives on the judging panel for the start of the new series of the ITV talent series later in the year.

As Alesha departs the popular dance show, many names are being linked to the programme as possible replacements, including a number of former contestants. Actress Chelsee Healey, who was a runner-up on the last series, has been name as a potential new judge as TV bosses think the 23-year-old Waterloo Road actress would help the programme appeal to a younger audience.

Another former Strictly contestant who’s been touted as a potential replacement for Alesha Dixon, is Nancy Dell’Olio who exited the show in week five of the last series. Former Strictly champion, Eastenders actress Kara Tointon has also been suggested as a possible new judge.

Britain’s Got Talent winner George Sampson travels with Limo Broker

george-sampson

Limo Broker was delighted to transport Britain’s Got Talent winner, George Sampson, this week for a chauffeur driven trip in a top of the range part bus to Alton Towers.

Limo Broker approved agent, Lady Jayne Limousines of Manchester, provided the transport for George Sampson and his family and friends to see the firework display at the Alton Towers theme park in Staffordshire.

17-year-old George shot to fame two years ago when he appeared on the ITV1 talent show, Britain’s Got Talent. The talented street dancer went on to win the entire series, and performed for the Queen at the Royal Variety Performance as part of his prize for winning the popular talent contest.

Since winning Britain’s Got Talent in 2008, the performer from Warrington’s career has gone from strength to strength securing high profile advertising deals with the likes of Natwest Bank, releasing a dance DVD and single, and even adding another string to his bow by taking on an acting role in the hit BBC1 series, Waterloo Road.

However, like most 17-year-old lads, George enjoys spending time with his family and friends and decided to treat them to a chauffeur driven trip to Alton Towers over the weekend. The down-to-earth star even chose to book the whole event himself instead of getting one of his “people” onto the case.

Lady Jayne Limousines sent their state of the art party bus complete with neon disco dance floor and high tech entertainment features to collect George Sampson and his party for their Alton Towers trip. According to feedback from the Manchester based limo hire operator, George and his group enjoyed their party bus experience very much and Lady Jayne say they look forward to transporting the Britain’s Got Talent star again.

Janey Cutler sails through to the Britain’s Got Talent final

Janey Cutler's show stopping performance on Britain's Got Talent has won her a place in the grand final

The singing Scottish granny sailed through last night’s semi-final to win a place in Saturday’s grand final of the ITV talent search, Britain’s Got Talent.

81-year-old Janey Cutler earned her spot in the final after winning the public vote. Joining her on Saturday will be dance duo Twist and Pulse who were put through after the judges were forced to choose between them and another dance act, The Fusion.

Despite having not been a fan of dance troupe The Fusion prior to last night’s show, Simon Cowell went against the other judges’ decision to send Twist and Pulse through to the final, saying The Fusion has given a better performance. But with two votes to one, Twist and Pulse booked their slot in Saturday’s final despite Cowell’s view.

However the star of the night was Janey Cutler who stole the show with her rendition of Shirley Bassey’s hit, This Is My Life. The pensioner looked distinctly altered from her first television appearance, this time arriving onto the stage with a hunky young man on either side. The mother-of-seven wore a glittery red dress with a slick of matching red lipstick to give her show-stopping performance.

The last semi-final takes place tonight where another two acts will be voted through to the grand final. The other acts joining Janey Cutler and Twist and Pulse to battle it out to become the winner of this series of Britain’s Got Talent include Spelbound, Tobias Mead, Mark James, Emile Harris, Tyler Paterson and Ice.

Is Janey Cutler the new Susan Boyle?

Janey Cutler's show stopping performance on Britain's Got Talent has won her a place in the grand final

Janey Cutler is gaining attention from the US after her performance on Britain's Got Talent

80-year-old Janey Cutler from Lanarkshire wowed both the judges and a TV audience of millions on Saturday night with her rousing performance of the Edith Piaf classic, No Regrets.

The great-grandmother, who was helped onto the stage by presenter Ant McPartlin, received standing ovation from all three of the Britain’s Got Talent judges including notoriously hard to please, Simon Cowell.

Since her appearance on the ITV talent show, the 80-year-old from Scotland has been drawing attention from the US with TV networks falling over themselves to get an interview with the singer many are dubbing the new Susan Boyle.

An ITV insider has revealed that a number of American TV stations have offered to fly the pensioner over to the States in order to secure the first to interview the burgeoning star.

11.7 million viewers tuned into Saturday night’s episode of the UK wide talent search to see the mother of 7 and grandmother of 12, perform on the show. Janey’s audition has also received 125,000 hits on the internet video site, YouTube. Susan Boyle rose to fame in the US after her audition tape from the talent show became an internet sensation; if early signs are anything to go by, Janey could be headed in the same direction.

The OAP singer is now through to the next round of the competition after receiving three yeses from the judging panel which is made up of Amanda Holden, Piers Morgan, and Simon Cowell.

Simon Cowell considering a smaller role on Britain’s Got Talent

Cowell could be about to give up full time judging duties on TV talent show

Music mogul Simon Cowell has revealed in a recent interview that he’s considering taking a smaller role on the ITV talent search Britain’s Got Talent.

The 50-year-old currently sits as a judge on the hit show but says he is tiring of the time spent on the road as the programme moves around the country holding auditions in different cities across the UK.

The multi-millionaire is reportedly planning to tie the knot later this year, so there is the suggestion that Cowell wants to spend more time with his soon-to-be-wife Mezghan Hussain and less time in the limelight. The straight-talking judge also wants to concentrate on launching the X-Factor over in the US.

The new series of Britain’s Got Talent aired over the weekend and the audience and the contestants were given a taster of what life on the show would be like without Cowell as the judge called in sick for one of the auditions. X-Factor judge Louis Walsh was roped in to cover for sick Cowell and the show carried on without any hitches.

Simon says he’s not interested in quitting the show altogether, but he is considering cutting down his workload on the programme and maybe stepping in as a judge during the semi-finals instead. The 4th series of the hit show, which has discovered acts such as Susan Boyle and Paul Potts, kicked off last Saturday.

Susan Boyle smashes record with debut album release

Susan Boyle debut album breaks records

Britain’s Got Talent star Susan Boyle is riding high after her debut album, I Dreamed A Dream, sold a record breaking 410,000 copies during its first week of sales making her album the biggest selling debut release by a female artist in the UK of all time.

The 48-year-old Scot beat off stiff competition from younger rivals including Lady Gaga, Black Eyed Peas, and Rihanna to clinch the top spot in the UK album charts. Susan also entered the singles chart at number 9 with a cover of the Rolling Stones classic, Wild Horses.

After the colossal number of records sold this week, Susan now also holds the record for the fastest selling album of the year in the UK.

The former church volunteer was catapulted to fame on the TV talent show, Britain’s Got Talent. Her audition tape was seen across the world on Youtube and made her a global star. The Scottish singer has a strong fan base in the US thanks to popularity of her internet clip, and performed to a massive crowd on the final of America’s Got Talent. Her album is also expected to be a smash hit across the pond.

Simon Cowell, a judge on the ITV talent search which discovered Susan, was one of the first to congratulate her on her phenomenally successful album. Cowell said: “I’m incredibly proud of Susan as well as being delighted for her. The success could not have happened to a lovelier person. She did it her way and made a dream come true.”

Track list for Susan Boyle’s debut album revealed

Susan Boyle's debut album set for release in NovemberSusan Boyle's debut album set for release in November

The date for the release of the Susan Boyle’s debut album is set for November 20th and the 12 song track list has just been revealed. The album which is entitled I Dreamed a Dream, is named after the song which Susan first sang at her audition for Britain’s Got Talent and catapulted her to fame; the song will also appear on the record.

Despite coming second to dance troupe Diversity who were the overall winners of the 2009 talent search Susan Boyle’s quest for success hasn’t faltered. Clips of her performance on the hit ITV1 show received millions of hits over the internet from around the world. It’s enabled the Scottish singer to establish a solid fan base in the US without even trying. Last month she appeared on the final of the American version of the talent show to rapturous applause.

The former church volunteer has found it difficult to come to terms with her new found fame. Following the finale of Britain’s Git Talent Susan was admitted to the Priory suffering from exhaustion. Her ill health continued for a while and she was forced to pull out of several dates of the show’s UK wide tour, much to the disappointment of fans.

However Susan is now back on form and ready for the release of her solo album, something she has described as being her “greatest ambition.” The vast majority of the tracks included on the album are covers such as, Cry Me a River, Amazing Grace, Silent Night, The End of The World and Wild Horses. The only song which is an original is entitled Who I Was Born to Be and was written especially for Susan.

In a statement released this week Susan spoke about how her life has changed since appearing on the show, she said: “This amazing journey has helped me find my on identity and fulfil my wish. There is happiness out there for everyone who dares to dream,”

Michael Jackson honoured at MOBO Awards whilst JLS pick up 2 gongs

JLS pick up 2 MOBO's
JLS pick up 2 MOBO's

JLS pick up 2 MOBO's

This time last year JLS were just another bunch of hopefuls battling it out on our screens as part of the X-Factor talent search, now they’re winning up awards for their music. The boy band picked up not one, but now less than two awards at last night’s MOBO (Music of Black Origin) ceremony in Glasgow.

The late King of Pop, Michael Jackson was also honoured with a posthumous award. His siblings, La Toya and Jermaine collected the trophy whilst Jermaine went on to perform Michael’s favourite song, Smile, by Charlie Chaplin for the brother he describe as being “everything to me. He was a wonderful artist and a wonderful human being.” Jermaine dedicated his performance to Michael saying he felt it was his duty to “continue his legacy” through singing.

New kids on the block JLS were one of the big winners of the night. They collected the award for best song for their smash hit, number one selling track, Beat Again. JLS also beat of fierce competition from the eventual X-Factor winner, Alexandra Burke, to pick up the coveted Best Newcomer gong.

A shock loser of the night was Dizzee Rascal who despite riding high in the charts of late, failed to win a single gong although he was nominated in 3 categories.

Reality show success stories were everywhere at the glittering event last night. As well as JLS and Alexandra Burke, Britain’s Got Talent singer, Shaheen Jafargholi, performed a Jackson 5 song, I’ll be there. The show’s winners, dance troupe Diversity also took to the stage to wow the crowds.

Susan Boyle whisked away in a limo after getting mobbed by fans in America

Susan Boyle debut album breaks recordsSusan Boyle's limo given police escort in U.S.

Unlikely singing superstar Susan Boyle was relieved to make it to her chauffeur driven limo this week after getting mobbed by fans when she arrived at L.A Airport. The former church volunteer was helped through the mass of adoring fans by 6 burly bodyguards as she made her way to her luxury limousine.

After her appearance earlier this year on Britain’s Got Talent, Susan Boyle has become an international star with millions of people viewing her You Tube clip from the show in which she sang the hit song from Les Miserables, I Dreamed a Dream. Boyle is visiting the U.S as she has been invited to perform at the final of America’s Got Talent on Wednesday night. She is due to sing her brand new single which is a cover of the Rolling Stones hit, Wild Horses.

Since her unexpected rise to fame the talented 48-year-old has been lavished with the A-List treatment and swamped by excited fans, however the scene at the LAX Airport was a real sensation. It took Boyle, or SuBo as the papers have nicknamed her, half an hour to make her way through the waiting fans and her limo was even given a police escort to ensure she reached her 5 star hotel safely.

However it seems that Susan is still astonished by her own popularity. After being confronted by the screaming crowds chanting her name and holding up banners dedicated to her, she look dumbstruck and asked “is this for me?!” She’ll have to get used to it as a host of celebrity names are also dying to meet the Scottish sensation including Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher. The high profile couple are believed to have arranged a backstage meeting this Wednesday night after Boyle’s performance.

Ant and Dec to front new family game show

Ant and Dec to host new family game show
Ant and Dec to host new family game show

Ant and Dec to host new family game show

Presenters Ant and Dec have announced their plans to front a brand new game show which centres on the family. The Geordie duo revealed the news during an appearance at The Edinburgh International Television Festival where the pair were interviewed in front of a live audience.

The finer details of the new show are being kept tightly under wraps, however the 33 years olds did confirm that the focus will be upon two opposing families who compete against each other in order to win a prize. In a twist to the traditional format, both Ant and Dec will also be involved in the action as they will be allocated a family each week and will go head to head against each other too.

The idea for the new ITV show, which puts the spotlight back on the general public as opposed to celebrities, came about as the hosts particularly enjoyed their experience of working with the public on the series Britain’s Got Talent. As Ant said “We love working and interacting and responding to the public. It is good fun. A lot of shows out there don’t feature that family dynamic anymore.”

In recent years TV shows have favoured celebrity contestants over the general public, but the popular presenters believe audiences are ready for a change. The new show will fill the prime time Saturday night slot on ITV with the first episode scheduled for spring 2010.