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Lungs Of Steel: Meet The Newest 'Britain's Got Talent' Sensation

Posted Mon Apr 27, 2009 11:40am PDT by Lyndsey Parker in Reality Rocks

I don't know about you, but I'm already sick of Susan Boyle from Britain's Got Talent. And I don't even live in Britain! I've just reached my Boyling point with her.

Well, it does seem now that the population of Britain agrees with me, at least, because U.K. viewers' fickle attention has already turned first to younger and cuter 12-year-old Britain's Got Talent hopeful Shaheen Jafargholi (see more on him here), and then, as of last night, to the even younger and cuter 10-year-old singing ballerina, Hollie Steel.

Hollie's performance on Britain's runaway-hit talent show is the latest Interweb sensation after airing on U.K. television yesterday, and along with the obvious ongoing decrease in age and increase in adorableness among BGT contestants, I notice another pattern here.

See, each of the standout contestants on Britain's Got Talent at first fake out the judges--Susan by making them think she's some socially awkward wannabe William Hung with that "never been kissed" comment; Shaheen by initially going with the wrong song before being ordered by Simon Cowell to sing a more suitable Jackson 5 tune instead; Hollie by executing some dubious beginner-ballet-class recital moves.

But then these contestants open their mouths and sing, sing, SING...and the judges put on Emmy-worthy acting performances (or whatever the equivalent of the Emmy is over in the U.K.), bugging their eyes out, dropping their jaws to the floor, and pretending that they had no idea that the Brit before them actually had talent until this very televised moment. Puh-leeze.

Anyway, whether or not this has all been staged, it's a classic reality-TV tactic that worked winningly for Susan and Shaheen, and now those poor contestants have been upstaged by Lancashire tutu-tot Hollie, for whom this fakeout formula has possibly been most successful so far.

"We have seen a lot of children on our show over the past three series and I have never heard any of them sing as well as you do," raved judge Piers Morgan last night. (Sorry, Shaheen!)

But of course, it's only a matter of time before Hollie Steel is upstaged as well. So check out her BGT audition below, prepare for her to reach a positively Octo-Mom-esque level of international media saturation in the next week...and then steel yourself for next week, when someone even cuter and younger than Hollie (a particularly charismatic zygote, maybe?) comes around to "shock" Simon and Piers and steal the Britain's Got Talent spotlight once again.

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3310 Comments

21. Melissa -
OK, I think someone's jealous.

22. just me -
the dancing sucked but that little girl can sing! whoo-yoo! go her!

23. Yahoo! Music User -
Her voice is pretty good, until she hits puberty anyway.

24. Izzy -
i dont like simon, he always starts out bad, and then he finally says something good! i mean C"MON! seriously, and also like wat the !@? i'm use to mature stuff not silly singing competitions!

25. Yahoo! Music User -
Gee, maybe if people here in the US were not shamed for singing such musical peices and would stop trying to pass their "Christmas" off as a talent "new talent" in the US be being shown..ya think?

26. D. S -
Already sick of Susan Boyle??? What the hell is wrong with you people. She has no control over how much the media can downplay, outplay or overplay a person or event. Why pick on her? She just sang a song. It was the media that did the rest. So pick on them. Please, get it right!!!

27. Dot Rat -
This "judges amazed" crap is getting EXTREMELY tired!

28. kkrazy -
OK, Seriously... this BGT stuff is getting OLD! Each week there is a new "sensation"! What is up with this? has to be staged to make the show relevant in the U.S. And, now all the comments are the same for each singer! never heard a voice like that... so shocked... you are so much better than you think you are... fantastic... blown away! Give me a break. i'm waiting for a mute person to get up there and blow everyone away next! yes, I SAID MUTE!!!!

29. Yahoo! Music User -
WO that was good for a kid =D

30. Shaggy -
You say what you want about the dancing but that girl can sing.
I've never heard a voice like that come from such a young child.
Amazing, just amazing

31. ben -
teriffic

32. __A_YAHOO_USER__ -
Everyone keeps on talking about these people because THEY CAN ACTUALLY SING!!!!!!! Unlike the junk you see on American Idol now-a-days thats all the same generic junk that everyone shells out saying "oh their sound is completely different!" When in reality all the music coming out of the U.S. is the EXACT SAME!!

33. alex007rus -
yeahh I agree with the person above

34. Tomas -
how dare you all. susan boyle is amazing. this article SUCKS.

35. JuicyMullet -
i hate everyone in BRITIAN!

36. Yahoo! Music User -
OMG. so cute!! so good !! in the end, it was like she was singing opera. if i were the judge, i would definitely say yes

37. valecia -
I think she was great. So people stop hating on Britian's

38. Anita -
me encanta la nena mas peqña

39. Yahoo! Music User -
omigod! she was great. i think she has a great talent

40. ana -
i definitely got chills listening to her... amazing
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