Middle school band Chapter 13 proved there’s absolutely nothing unlucky about the number 13 with a rocking performance of a Stevie Wonder classic that got the lads a golden buzzer. The four-piece band turned Wonder’s soul classic “Sir Duke” into an upbeat pop rocker and blew Britain’s Got Talent away. The group is made up of Jacob (14), Noah (15), Tom (15), Jake (15) and it seems success was in the stars for them after they met while performing together at the School of Rock musical.
Chapter 13 displayed a tight and rumbling rhythm section while frontman Tom had an amazing set of pipes on him, showing he wasn’t afraid of reaching for and nailing the high notes. The band also has plenty of charisma and a good dose of swagger, which had the crowd up on their feet and cheering as they played. Jake’s fiery guitar solo wrapped up the song and the crowd went absolutely nuts. You can see the power coming off them for yourself in their audition below.
There was so much energy in the room when Amanda Holden opened the comments, saying “I can honestly say I don’t think I’ve ever seen four young musicians so together. The drummer, you were amazing. The guitar playing was spot on – some of the faces you were pulling were fantastic. I just think you are absolutely incredible.” Holden then told them they were on their way to winning the whole show and gave them a good push on their way there by smashing the golden buzzer!
The boys could scarcely believe their luck as they ecstatically celebrated and the crowd was just loving it. You could see one of their father’s reaction in the crowd and he might have just been the proudest dad in the world as his eyes watered up. After the celebrations died down Alesha Dixon commented “honestly the musicianship that I just saw was outstanding. Your skill level was so incredible.” You can see their semi-finals performance below.
David Walliams had some warm words for the boys as well, saying “it was so refreshing that you were so brilliant. And also they were original versions of those songs. It was faultless guys. You came; you conquered.” Simon Cowell echoed these sentiments, commenting “This is so well deserved. I can imagine kids watching this show thinking ‘I would love to be in that since that is more fun than being at school.’ That was fantastic.”
The band progressed through to the semi-finals of the show, where they played “We Own This Town”, which is an original song they wrote with McFly frontman Tom Fletcher. They were eliminated in that round but they continued to make music together, and subsequently released the four track Me EP. Last year the band split up following the departure of sticksman Noah Keys, although just three weeks ago frontman Tom Abisgold announced his first solo show via the band’s social media. If you would like to see more from Chapter 13, you can follow them on Instagram.