Australia’s Got Talent is back for another year and judges Shane Jacobson, Lucy Durack, Nicole Scherzinger and Manu Feildel have already been wowed by some of the best acts Australia has ever seen. Along with host Ricki-Lee Coulter, the judges have already selected 30 of the best singers, dancers, comedians and entertainers to battle it out in the semi-finals for a chance to make it to the Australia’s Got Talent grand final – where the 2019 winner will take home $100,000.
Ahead of the grand final, Starts at 60 is taking a look at this year’s Golden Buzzer acts, what happens during the semi-finals and when this year’s Australia’s Got Talent final will actually air.
The 30 remaining contestants will battle it out in groups each Sunday and Monday in the semi-finals for a chance to win one of 10 spots in the grand final. Each week, a special celebrity guest judge will join Shane, Lucy, Nicole and Manu on the judging panel to decide which two acts progress through in the competition. The special guest judge can award just one act their Golden Buzzer and send them straight through to the grand final, while the other four judges must decide which other act they want to send through.
The first semi-final on August 19 saw guest judge Jessica Mauboy give her Golden Buzzer to schoolgirl singer Olina Loau, while the second grand final spot went to contemporary dancer Sienna Osborne.
Olina Loau, a student and aspiring singer from Western Sydney, is already in the Australia’s Got Talent grand final after receiving two Golden Buzzers so far in the series. She first wowed the judges with a haunting rendition of ‘Never Enough’ from Hugh Jackman’s The Greatest Showman as her original audition. Host Ricki-Lee was so impressed that she gave the songstress her only Golden Buzzer.
History repeated itself during the first semi-final heat, where Olina returned to the stage with a show-stopping performance of Beyonce’s ‘Listen’. Guest judge Jessica Mauboy was so impressed that she gave Olina her second Golden Buzzer, meaning she is now one of 10 grand finalists.
“Honestly bub, you are so epic. Your poise, your grace on stage, your infusion of your life story so far, it was absolutely incredible,” Jessica told the singer. “You had me in tears and having such control in something and power in your story is everything. You absolutely owned that.”
Another incredible singer, Paul Kapeleris, wowed audiences during the first week of the show when he took to the stage with an incredible version of Andra Day’s ‘Rise Up’. Paul, who is also blind, brought the entire audience to their feet and left the judges in tears with his moving performance.
His audition was so impressive that judge Lucy Durack gave him her Golden Buzzer, telling the singer: “You have such a magnificent voice but you sing with such honesty and heart.”
Proving that it’s not just singers who have talent, pint-sized comedian JJ Pantano left the judges in stitches with his original comedy audition earlier in the series. Dressed in an adorable suit and bowtie, the seven-year-old said he wanted to make the whole country laugh and did so by poking fun at host Ricki-Lee and the star judges during his hilarious audition.
“This venue has the ability to launch careers and do you know how they get launched? By one lucky break and do you know how they come? They can come in gold,” an impressed Shane Jacobson told the youngster, launching over the table and giving him his Golden Buzzer.
He later told the other judges he wanted to give the youngster his moment.
This year’s series has also seen an array of dance crews take to the stage, but one that really blew the judges away earlier this month was acrobatic dance group Akrobatika. Dressed in black and gold, members of the dance crew from New South Wales’ Central Coast were between the ages of eight and 30 and captivated the country with their impressive tricks and dancing skills.
Their routine brought the entire audience to its feet, but it was Manu Feildel who was most impressed, telling the crew: “The act you’ve just done just blew my mind.”
Meanwhile, Nicole Scherzinger decided to keep her Golden Buzzer for a truly special person and awarded it to Mitch Tambo during the last round of the auditions. Mixing the Gamilaraay language with the didgeridoo and traditional dance with contemporary beats and rhythms for an exciting corroboree, the 29-year-old from Melbourne wanted to show the world that his culture was alive and well and deserves to be celebrated.
“Honestly dude, I really don’t know what just happened to me right now,” Nicole said following the performance, breaking down in tears. “I think you’re a true representative of Australia’s beauty and culture and talent. And that’s why I have to do this.”
She then gave the performer the final Golden Buzzer of the auditions.
While there’s only a limited number of Golden Buzzers on Australia’s Got Talent, acts can still progress through to the semi-finals without receiving one. While the semi-finalists for the remainder of the competition are yet to be revealed to the public, there have been some truly memorable auditions so far in the series.
Inspirational choir Hummingsong – which included more than 100 women aged between 19 and 83 – left the judges in tears earlier in the series when they performed ‘Somewhere Only We Know’ by Keane. The choir was created as a way for women to get together and sing, while also raising money for women and children escaping domestic violence.
One of the singers said she herself was a survivor of domestic violence and how hard it is for victims to speak up and tell people, explaining on camera: “The choir has helped me become visible and I broke a silence that was never to be broken.”
She added: “Knowing that I’m accepted and that it’s alright to be me. I got so much support and I’ve even had people tell me now that because I have become visible and spoken that they’re going to do it too, which is wonderful.”
Meanwhile, 13-year-old Jael Wena – who represented Australia in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2018 – became a fan favourite when she performed Celion Dion’s version of ‘Natural Woman’ earlier in August.
The entire audience gave Jael a standing ovation when the song was complete and Lucy was the first to judge the performance, telling the young contestant: “You came out here and you set the bar so high for yourself and you smashed it right out of the ballpark. That was absolutely astonishing good [sic].”
Shane jokingly added: “You made me feel like a natural woman and that takes some work,” while Nicole also praised the young contestant, saying: “I can’t believe you’re only 13 and the voice that comes out of you. The tone already so rich and beautiful. So much control and I can tell you love singing and that’s what makes me really happy. I can see a lot of potential in your future.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cLGlpI9QmM
Viewers still have quite a few weeks of competition before the 10 finalists take to the stage and the 2019 winner of Australia’s Got Talent is announced. The remaining contestants will take to the stage every Sunday and Monday night, with the grand final airing at 7pm on Sunday September 22 on Channel 7.
Australia’s Got Talent originally aired on Channel 7 in 2007 with judges Tom Burlinson, Red Symons and Dannii Minogue and host Grant Denyer. The first series was won by singer Bonnie Anderson, who is now a pop star and appears as Bea Nilsson on Neighbours.
Musician Joe Robinson, who wowed the country with his impressive guitar skills, won series two of the show in 2008, while tenor Mark Vincent was the champion in 2009.
Kyle Sandilands and Irish singer Brian McFadden replaced Red Symons and Tom Burlinson as judges in 2010, where dance group Justice Crew won the competition. While they didn’t sing on the show, they’ve gone on to release several albums and even sang the My Kitchen Rules theme song.
Jack Vidgen – who appeared as a contestant on the 2019 series of The Voice, actually won Australia’s Got Talent in 2011, while singer Andrew de Silva won the 2012 series. The show moved to Channel Nine in 2013 with Dawn French, Timomatic and Geri Halliwell as judges and Julia Morris as the show’s host. Funk band Uncle Jed won that series of the show.
The talent program went off air for several years and returned to Channel Nine again in 2016, this time with Kelly Osbourne, Ian ‘Dicko’ Dickson, Sophie Monk and Eddie Perfect as judges and Dave Hughes as the host. Fletcher Pilon, who had previously appeared on The Voice Kids, took out the title, before the show moved back to Channel 7 for the 2019 series.
Australia’s Got Talent airs Sundays at 7:00pm on Channel 7 and Mondays at 7:30pm.