Beau Dermott was catapulted to fame during the tenth season of “Britain’s Got Talent” in 2016; just 13 years old at the time, the musical theatre singer enthralled the public with her performance of “Defying Gravity”, and earned a Golden Buzzer from judge Amanda Holden that guaranteed her a spot in the competition’s live round.
Born in Liverpool and raised in the tranquil town of Widnes, Cheshire, Beau attended The Hammond School, and participated in season ten alongside her cousin, the dancer Jack Higgins. Dubbed “the girl with the big voice and big heart”, Beau was a favorite to win but ended up in fifth place, whereas the magician Richard Jones took home the grand prize.
Showing signs of a promising career post-Got Talent, Beau’s voice was insured for £1 million, and the youngster inked a lucrative deal with Decca Records. Her first album, “Brave”, was released in September 2017 and charted moderately well, so it appeared that the blue-eyed blonde was at the peak of her popularity: from performing for Dame Vera Lynn at the London Palladium, to touring numbers of venues around the UK, Beau was considered the girl of the moment… until she wasn’t.
According to her official website, which hasn’t been updated in the last few years, the Liverpool native is a staunch animal lover, and the owner of two dogs and a rescue pony. Amongst her philanthropical pursuits, the adolescent organized a charity concert in aid of Cancer Research UK in October 2017, following her father’s diagnosis.
Final rehearsal for tonight’s show @liverpoolphil with the amazing @barnabytaylor and @Leos_Strings tickets at https://t.co/BO02ctN1R1 pic.twitter.com/pmKSANhD7Y
— Beau Dermott (@BeauDermott) October 12, 2017
Sadly, Beau’s father passed away months after the concert, which took place at Liverpool’s Philharmonic Hall. Many child performers have an unsurprisingly short shelf life, and it’s believed that Beau’s family willingly withdrew her from the spotlight, so that the then-teenager could focus on her studies, and cope with the loss of her parent. A year passed between her father’s untimely death and her next big public appearance at London’s O2 arena, which drew crowds of thousands, but since then, Beau has kept a pretty low profile.
As of 2022, the young adult is working on small productions with the Mousetrap Theatre Company. Months can go by between Beau’s Instagram posts, but it appears that the talented singer recently enjoyed her 18th birthday in the company of friends and loved ones, with a small party at home. It’s also believed but not confirmed that the striking blonde has cut ties with Decca Records, as there’s no mention of the music label on her social media.
It’s good to note that Beau’s charitable streak has only strengthened with the years, as the performer is currently a Mane Chance patron. The animal sanctuary aims to rescue and rehabilitate abused, aged, and abandoned horses, and integrate them with the local community, and often organizes events for young children in the area to attend. Other famous patrons include the author Lauren St John, and the comedian Joe Pasquale.
Success Stories
Dozens of memorable BGT contestants have displayed their arts for the world to admire, but only a handful have stood the test of time, and remained relevant pop culture figures, with the vast majority fading into obscurity when their time on the show was up. Below are just three examples of BGT’s greatest success stories – contestants who, despite not winning, went on to have long and fruitful careers doing what they loved.
Susan Boyle
First on the list is Susan Boyle, who stunned the public and judges with her awesome version of “I Dreamed A Dream”, the “Les Miserables” classic. Despite her homely appearance and awkward demeanor, the Scottish singer became a global sensation and sought-after public figure overnight, with her audition racking up hundreds of millions of views, and ranking as the most-watched YouTube video of the year.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bq2_rprnuBY/
Her story resonated around the world immediately, with think pieces being churned out across the globe, and Susan stating in an interview with The Washington Post: “Modern society is too quick to judge people on their appearances. There is not much you can do about it… But maybe this could teach them a lesson, or set an example.”
Despite being a clear favorite to win, Susan came in second to Diversity, a multicultural street-dance troupe. Nevertheless, her debut album – “I Dreamed a Dream” – went soaring up the charts around the world and, according to the Official Charts Company, broke records for first-week sales. In her first year of fame, Susan earned millions of dollars from her project and its lead-off singles, including “Wild Horses”.
2010 brought with it Susan’s sophomore project, “The Gift”. Becoming the third act in history to top the US and UK album charts twice in the same year, the talented performer – who was diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum with an above average IQ shortly afterwards – went on a hugely popular tour.
Such was Susan’s success that a stage musical of her life unsurprisingly entitled “I Dreamed a Dream” was planned, with the singer appearing as herself. It was later decided that she would be portrayed by Elaine C. Smith, with Susan joining the cast for a cameo appearance. The musical premiered in late March 2012 at Newcastle’s Theatre Royal, and was swarmed by fans all over the world with positive reviews, and spent the rest of the year touring the UK and Ireland.
https://www.facebook.com/Susan-Boyle-Fans-International-Inc-557956557686959/photos/2143716722444260
Initially, Susan disliked the idea of the show due to potentially sensitive details of her life becoming public domain. However, she later changed her mind, and deemed it “clever and amusing”. Fox Searchlight bought life rights to Susan and rights of the musical, with plans of developing a film version, but the project was quietly shelved.
Susan’s other studio albums are “Someone to Watch Over Me”, “Standing Ovation: The Greatest Songs from the Stage”, “Home for Christmas”, “Hope”, “A Wonderful World”, and “Ten”. To date, the Scottish native has sold over 24 million albums worldwide, been nominated for two Grammy awards, and retains millions of fans despite having slowed down professionally.
Calum Scott
Calum Scott is another former contestant whose career has been full of professional triumphs, despite not winning BGT. Born and raised in Yorkshire, the singer-songwriter’s parents divorced when he was just two years old, with his father moving to Canada. With no paternal figure in his life, Calum formed a close bond with his sister Jade, who encouraged him to sing.
You know how grateful I am and what a life changing year 2018 was so I simply just want to do more of this in 2019… laugh, smile and enjoy life to its fullest and hopefully bring that to you lot too. I love you all, beyond words and you know it. 🖤
Happy New Year everyone! X pic.twitter.com/45kPp4vcov— Calum Scott (@calumscott) December 31, 2018
Although he wouldn’t become nationally known until 2015, Calum won a talent competition organized by Hull Daily Mail in August 2013, and joined the Maroon 5 tribute band which toured around the UK. A year later, he formed an electronic duo with friend John McIntyre named The Experiment, performing their only single – “Girl (You’re Beautiful)” – on BBC Look North and Good Morning Britain before they split due to artistic differences.
Going back to his day job in human resources, Calum auditioned for the ninth series of BGT. His sister auditioned just before him, but things went disastrously when she received four “No” votes from the judges, and was stopped mid-song by Simon Cowell not once but twice. In a bittersweet moment, Calum went on stage to perform a cover of Robyn’s “Dancing on My Own” and received a standing ovation from the judges, and a Golden Buzzer from Simon.
Explaining his decision, Simon said: “I’ve never ever in all the years I’ve done this show heard a guy with the talent you’ve got. And the version was sensational, and that shows to me that you’re more than a singer, you’re an artist, and that’s why you got that.”
Following his audition, Scott received an outpouring of support from celebrities and regular people alike, gaining over 25,000 Twitter followers and racking up millions of YouTube views of his video. Winning the semi-final with 25.6% of the votes after performing Jermaine Stewart’s “We Don’t Have to Take Our Clothes Off”, Scott went straight to the final stage of the competition, and was expected to win by many.
Sadly, when the big day came, Scott came in sixth out of 12 contestants with just 8.2% of the vote. Taking the loss in his stride, the singer-songwriter toured the UK, and performed at festivals of all sizes including Gibraltar Summer Nights and Dartford Festival. April 2016 marked the independent release of his first single, a cover of “Dancing on My Own”, which became a sleeper hit and slowly climbed into the top 40, despite receiving almost no radio airplay. Four months later, the single was certified platinum, having sold over 600,000 copies – and Calum also signed a deal with Capitol Records.
Just a month later, Calum teamed up with the Brazilian singer Ivete Sangalo for the promotional single “Transformar”, which became the 2016 Summer Paralympics’ official song, and was performed at the closing ceremony. In 2017, the attractive musician embarked on an ambitious US tour, and began working on his debut album, “Only Human”, which was released in March 2018 and spawned four singles.
Brasil, foi incrível! Te amo! @ivetesangalo 🇧🇷 ❤️ #ClosingCeremony #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/9coFbEt6vg
— Calum Scott (@calumscott) September 19, 2016
To date, Calum’s extensive discography includes an acoustic EP of songs from his debut album, another EP, and a second album. The singer has also collaborated with Leona Lewis and other big names and earns money from the occasional endorsement deal, although his thriving career remains his main focus.
Connie Talbot
Connie Talbot is another unforgettable name for BGT fans. In 2007 at just six years of age, the cute blonde auditioned for the first series despite never having taken singing classes, and was described as “pure magic” by Simon Cowell, who also promised that he could help her earn over a million that year alone.
On the night of the final, Connie sang “Over the Rainbow”, but lost out to Paul Potts. The young singer’s future was looking uncertain when Sony BMG, Simon’s label, pulled out of a potential record deal after recording two songs with the youngster in London. According to Connie’s mother, her daughter was “too young” and the family was told to look for a more age-appropriate company.
Nevertheless, Connie signed a six-figure deal with Rainbow Recording Company – an offshoot of the record label Rhythm Riders made specifically for the singer – in October 2007. The Birmingham native’s debut album was released in late November of the same year, with experts describing her as “the next Charlotte Church”. Only 50,000 copies of the album were initially pressed, but with an additional 120,000 being made when it sold out in just days.
From performing in Birmingham’s Centenary Square and headlining Christmas festivals, to appearing on Channel 5 News and GMTV, Connie was seen just about everywhere, and even received offers for film roles. This caused some controversy when her mother said: “Connie’s a singer, not an actress, so we’ll see what happens,”, with disgruntled netizens calling Sharon an opportunist, and insinuating that she was overworking her daughter.
Connie’s album was re-released in June 2008 after a two-month promotional tour in Asia, making stops in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea. The US version was released in October of the same year, and saw Connie appear in “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and other daytime programs to drum up publicity.
The prolific youngster released her second project, “Connie Talbot’s Christmas Album”, in November 2008 after months of non-stop work. The festive album contained a mix of old classics and more modern tunes, and came with its own documentary, “Christmas with Connie”, in which fans saw footage of Connie’s journey to the US and a concert she held at her primary school. After going on yet another promotional tour around the world, which included stops in Germany and Korea, Connie took a short break.
Connie’s third album, “Connie Talbot’s Holiday Magic”, was released in the UK almost exactly a year later. Her career slowed down considerably from 2010 onwards, as fans struggled to relate to the pre-adolescent who was no longer the cute little six-year-old they’d seen on BGT, but nevertheless, the talented singer still puts out the occasional single, and is said to be worth millions thanks to all the albums she sold in her heyday.
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