KSI was left in floods of tears during Britain’s Got Talent. The judge who found fame on YouTube opened up about his own heartbreak as a “magical” performance came to an end.
Tonight, the fourth semi-final of the ITV show aired, two weeks before the finalists will battle it out for a spot on the Royal Variety Performance bill. But Sonny Green left KSI emotional after the poet took to the stage to share a tear-jerking insight into his relationship with his sons, who unexpectedly appeared alongside him.
“You ain’t ever too old to get a cuddle off your dad,” he told his sons, adding: “And I’ll never be too old to get a cuddle off my sons.” Elsewhere in the poem, Sonny said: “They say the world is your oyster. So give it a crack and find out what each country has inside. I hope it’s pearls, my boy, of wisdom and of joy.
View 4 ImagesSonny Green took to the stage with an emotional poem (Image: Dymond/TalkbackThames/Shutterstock)
“And you make memories that no one can ever take away.” As Sonny concluded his poem, the camera turned to YouTube star-turned-musician KSI, who was overcome with emotion, as Alesha Dixon said the performance was “magic”.
When it came to KSI to offer feedback, he was visibly emotional as Alesha consoled him. “It really hit me,” KSI said of the poem, adding: “I know my relationship with my dad isn’t the best, so hearing those words, it makes me really think about what I need to improve on.
“I need to do better as a son. It just really hit me you know, amazing.” Amanda Holden was also moved to tears, caught wiping them away. Sonny was later awarded Simon’s Golden Buzzer, granting him a direct place in the grand final.
View 4 ImagesKSI spoke about his own relationship with his father(Image: ITV)
“Very well deserved too! I’d like to see him go on to win,” said one fan on X, formerly known as Twitter. A second penned: “Congratulations Sonny. Well deserved. I knew from the auditions he would get to the final. I loved him since the auditions. Was waiting for this audition for a long time. Spoken word is hard so how he does it so effortlessly and the way he delivers it. OMG it is just amazing.
While a third typed: “Absolutely deserved it well done my friend.” “He was brilliant I enjoyed that and well done for getting the golden buzzer,” wrote a fourth. Opening the show tonight, musician Wei Yamin delivered a medley of 90s and 00s classics on pipes, while dramatic pyrotechnics blazed behind him.
Yet the performance failed to captivate two panellists, with both Amanda and KSI hitting their buzzers midway through. As Wei faced the crowd’s response, Ant remarked: “He was literally setting himself on fire, and two of you buzzed him!”
View 4 ImagesAmanda Holden was also left emotional(Image: ITV)
Amanda responded: “I think if you took away the pyrotechnics and everything else, you’ve got a man playing the U-bends, so that’s me, that’s what I think.
“I just don’t feel like that’s something I want to put in front of the royal family at the Royal Variety Show.” KSI then offered his verdict, dismissing the routine as “poo”. When pressed on whether he was impressed, he bluntly stated: “No.”
He continued: “You added fire, still didn’t make it good. All I’m saying is, you can’t polish a poo.” Audiences at home were appalled by his feedback, with Alesha labelling it “harsh” while Ant turned to her saying: “Alesha, a little bit of class wouldn’t go amiss right now.”
The Mis-Teeq singer then added: “Did you have a lovely time up there, you looked like you were having the time of your life! Ultimately, that’s what it’s about, I appreciate that you turned yourself into a human firework and I loved how passionate you were about pipes. I’m not as passionate about pipes, but thank you for opening the show in style.”
Simon then remarked: “I kind of get it, I like you, I like the song, I liked it when you went higher; however, sometimes we say some of the acts are a warm-up, you literally were. Which means, I think there’s going to be better to follow. I don’t think that is getting you into the final. I’ll tell you what, you didn’t do enough different things.
“Having two people with fire extinguishers or whatever they were, that wasn’t enough. I was expecting something bigger, and it was the same as we saw before. I thought there was going to be bigger and better, and lots of things happening, and all you did was just go higher.”
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