Northants Sings Out choir picked to perform in semi-finals of Britain’s Got Talent

The choir, which boasts hundreds of members and celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, is made up of singers from across Northamptonshire from a diverse range of backgrounds.

Having already wowed millions of viewers and all four judges in the competition earlier this year, Northants Sings Out (NSO) will return to the stage and screen on Thursday, May 30, at 8pm to perform to judges Simon Cowell, Bruno Tonioli, Alesha Dixon and Amanda Holden.

The choir is led by founder-conductor Gareth Fuller, credited for directing the choir at Liam Gallagher’s sell-out Knebworth shows in 2022 which were attended by more than 160,000 people.

Mr Fuller said: “We’ve been working so hard throughout this whole process and had such a great time.

“To be able to perform one more time and share in the love, joy, and excitement together will be a real privilege.

“It would be amazing for us to get through to the final and would mean everything for us to win BGT this year. We’ve never seen a choir win the competition.”

After their performance, the judges will give their feedback and viewers will be asked to back their favourite act of the programme online.

In their Britain’s Got Talent debut in April, the choir delivered a rapturous performance of the traditional 1876 hymn It Is Well, seamlessly transitioning into a high-energy cover of ‘90s Robin S dance classic Show Me Love.

It resulted in a standing ovation from the audience and four straight ‘Yes’ votes from judges.

The April BGT episode featuring NSO was watched live on ITV by five million viewers, with another 280,000 views on YouTube and has led to NSO being inundated with performance and contract opportunities.

To date, the choir has received support from a wide range of celebrities, including Madonna, Chris Evans, Zoe Ball and endorsements from TV personality Chloe Madeley, vocalist Chaka Khan and actor Maggie Wheeler.

A video by the ensemble performing Madonna’s 2000 smash hit song Music was shared by The Queen Of Pop earlier this month on her Instagram profile and to date, the clip has received more than 600,000 views online and led to 25,000 likes and thousands of new followers for NSO.

The winner of the 17th series of BGT will receive a cash prize of £250,000 and the chance to perform at the Royal Variety Performance in 2025.

Mr Fuller added: “Performing in front of the Royal Family - it doesn’t get much better than that.

“I can just imagine it. We’d start with something they are used to and then flip the script - get them on their feet, moving around and having a great time.

“Every single member of NSO has helped us to get to this point and now we’re within reach of winning I will be asking them to bring their ‘A game’ and show the world what they can do, individually and collectively.

“The power of song is extraordinary, and we are so thrilled to be sharing it with the nation once again.”

Featuring 700 singers from all walks of life, Northants Sings Out is made up of voices from across Northamptonshire including mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, senior local government workers and primary school teachers. 60 members of the choir have previously performed on BGT.

Over time, this has included members of work-based choirs from companies including Unilever, Barclays, Carlsberg, and Volkswagen.

This year, the choir celebrates 10 years as Northants Sings Out.

None of its singers, who are aged from 25 to 65, come from a professional vocal performance background.

Following tomorrow night’s performance, NSO will perform before the Northampton Saints vs Saracens Premiership rugby playoff semi-final at Franklin’s Gardens on Friday, May 31, and at A Perfect Day Festival at Delapre Park on Sunday, June 16.

They are also planning another homecoming anniversary show in Northampton in November.

After tomorrow night’s performance on Britain’s Got Talent, viewers will be able to vote at www.itv.com/vote/bgt.