On Saturday night the Royal Concert Hall hosted the final of Nottingham’s Top Talent, there was a buzz of anticipation and excitement as the audience found their seats for 6 o’clock prompt start. Ben Nicholas kept this buzz alive by singing So Glad You Made It, which got everyone clapping and his entertaining compering style encouraged further crowd participation.
There were 15 acts competing in 3 categories, Music, Dance & Variety, each audience member got a voting card to pick their favourite in each category and then it was down to the judges to decide the overall winner of the £1000 cash prize. The judges resembled this year’s X Factor panel, two beauties and a couple of wafflers, Capital FM’s Dino & Pete, Simon Wills (evening post) and the 2 local talents Nina Smith and Jazz Bates Chambers.
Opening the competition were THE RASCALS with their Mcfly-esque style the 4 piece band sang an original song My Summertime; the judges liked the song said it had a great hook. In contrast 12yr old ALFIE SHARP took to the stage playing his grand piano and singing his stunning rendition of How long will I love you. The judges adored Alfie saying that he had a pure and beautiful voice, Nina Smith encouraging him to carry on as she thought he was great.
OLIVIA AND FINN were up next, with what sounded like a lot of audience support, they confidently performed their version of Skinny Love. At 12yrs old Olivia sang with emotion beyond her years and Finn’s simple guitar was the perfect accompaniment. Nina Smith described them as crazy good.
Following them was the incredible FAITH TUCKER who also had masses of support in the crowd including banners, and it was no wonder as the 13yrs old brought the house down by belting out the operatic classic Nessun Dorma. She received a standing ovation and was a very hard act to follow, which was exactly what LIA WHITE had to do. Lia showed off her talent by playing the guitar and singing her own remix of Kiss Me and XO, which worked amazing well.
It was then time for the dance category beginning with a bolero influenced ballet by LUCY & MOLLY, which the judges thought was beautiful. The broad spectrum of dance was emphasised by this performance being followed by body popping self-taught street dancer KYERON DAWS and then AYD a 2 piece street dance act, one of whom was a freaky contortionist. They had fluid movement, perfect timing and brought a comedic element to the dance, their song choices were impeccable too. The Judges described them as disgustingly incredible.
Up next was freestyling JAMAL STENNET who did a smooth interpretive dance to the XX, with a mix of street and ballet, which when quizzed by the judges the 17yr old said that he’d only been dancing 10months, only listened to that song 3 times and improvised his choreography right there on stage; a truly gifted dancer. Last up for the dance category was TAKE 5, 10 girls with elaborate costumes dancing around to Katy Perry, it seemed quite busy to watch but the judges found it quite entertaining.
For Variety ALEXANDER SONTARPIA came on first, with an electric guitar bigger than him the 6yr old rocked out. Judges thought he was outstanding, and he really was for his age. CHARLEY HARTHORN-BALES entertained the audience next with his confident magician’s routine; he had great stage presence and was genuinely funny. It was also his birthday so the judges encouraged the audience to sing him happy birthday, before one of the Capital FM judges dug himself a waffling hole.
TRIPLIQUETTE then transported the audience back to the 1940’s; with their boogie-woogie style they got the little kids dancing and even included jazz hands, which no night is complete without. Following them was MIKE, one man and his guitar playing it in a way he named percussive finger style which the judges thought was crazy clever. The performances ended with the TAKE 5 CHOIR singing Bring Him Home dressed up Dickensian style, the choir is based in Bulwell and would have used the money to put back into the community.
It was then time for the audience to hand in their ballot cards, whilst waiting for the votes to be counted Paul Nicholas managed to hilariously fill the time with impressions, songs and jokes, best comparing / time filling skills I have ever seen, the audience were literally crying with laughter.
When the votes were finally in the results were in, 3rd place went to AYD, 2nd place to FAITH TUCKER and the winner of the cash prize went to little ALEXANDER who did not seem to quite understand what was happening but was very proud of himself. A deserved winner and a lovely way to end a fantastic evening of family entertainment and local talent.
Review by Josie Opal
