First hitting our screens last month, the new season of Britain’s Got Talent has already showcased some seriously talented performers (as well as some terrifyingly bad ones) from around the UK. One act that definitely falls into the former category is the married couple Denise Leigh and Stefan Andrusyschyn, who brought something a little different to the BGT stage. Both Leigh and Andrusyschyn are blind, but that didn’t stop them from delivering an incredible performance at their audition a few days ago.
The pair were assisted onto the stage by the presenters, Ant and Dec, before charming the audience with their positive and humorous attitude. “We’re a bit nervous,” Leigh admitted when Simon Cowell asked how the couple were, adding, “I need a wee but I’m fine,” which sent the audience into peals of laughter. After introducing themselves further, the duo prepared for their performance – but not before Andrusyschyn bumped into the piano and cheerfully quipped, “you’d think I was blind or something”.
The fact that Leigh and Andrusyschyn were clearly such jovial people made it all the more surprising when they began performing the dramatic ‘Climb Ev’ry Mountain’ from ‘The Sound of Music’. What was even more surprising, however, was Leigh’s rich, elegant operatic voice, which left the judges open-mouthed and the audience in shock. One judge, Bruno Tonioli, even began crying as the couple performed, wiping tears from his eyes at the end as the couple’s son walked onstage to congratulate them.
Of course, the couple proceeded to receive a ‘yes’ from all four judges. They will be competing in the next round alongside the likes of the young rock band Chapter 13, who received a golden buzzer from judge Amanda Holden part-way through their rocking performance of the classic Stevie Wonder track ‘Superstition’. The foursome looked delighted when they realised Holden had pressed her golden buzzer, gazing in awe as the audience gave a standing ovation and golden confetti fell from the ceiling.
As Simon Cowell rightly said at the end of Leigh and Andrusyschyn’s performance, “we always say this, you know, without people like you, this show is nothing”, something that is undoubtedly true of both this amazingly talented couple and other exceptional Britain’s Got Talent entrants such as the boy band Chapter 13. It will certainly be interesting to see how far these acts progress in the competition over the next few months, and indeed whether or not either of them make it to the much-coveted Britain’s Got Talent final.