A Belfast dance troupe wowed Simon Cowell on Britain’s Got Talent by performing a traditional Irish dance routine to hip hop and party music.
Innova, the 15-strong girl troupe, looked like another Irish dance act as they began their performance to traditional Irish folk music. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, similar acts have done well on the show in the past.
However, Innova provided us with an unexpected twist as the music changed to the Electro-Dance sound of Californian duo LMFAO’s Party Rock.
The shock on the faces of the judges was clearly visible as Alesha Dixon exclaims: “No?!” in disbelief. The audience burst into spontaneous laughter followed by wild cheers and applause.
There were more twists yet as the girls continued their brilliantly choreographed act with each one in perfect time. Electro-Dance was replaced by hip hop and R’n’B as the track changed again with the dancing seamlessly staying in rhythm.
Cowell burst into a huge grin when another track change launched British Rap star Labyrinth’s megahit Earthquake. The track began with the lyric: “Hey Simon, we’re f***ing them up, Turning them Syco, Everybody rock!”
The lyric was a reference to Cowell’s record label Syco Records, which has held a dominating position in the music industry over the last ten years thanks to the global emergence of reality TV talent shows.
Thankfully the girls chose to play the clean version of the track with the expletives dubbed out.
Innova ended the performance in perfect harmony and were greeted by wild celebrations and a standing ovation from the audience and judges alike.
The judges heaped praise on the imaginative act with Cowell telling them: “Oh my God, I’ve got to tell you I absolutely loved that. I really loved it. This is why I wanted to come to Belfast. It was terrific.”
Fellow judge Amanda Holden said: “This was with a twist and it completely and utterly worked. Congratulations. It was a brilliant audition.”
Innova sailed through to the next round of the competition with a resounding ‘Four Yes’s’. Comedian David Walliams added, “I can’t wait to see what you do next.”
The dancers have been overwhelmed by the positive reaction to their performance. Kyra Archibald admitted: “Mr Cowell is always the one you want to please. I honestly think the majority of us just broke down in tears as soon as he said that.
“It was unbelievable. The man is just a legend and for him to say that about us was unreal.”
Dance teacher Catherine Lamont said, “We always try to pick music that is clever and has a bit of significance. We will definitely have to sit down and have a good think about what to do next.
“The audience enjoyed the modern aspect to it. So I don’t know if we would be straying too far from that. We have more in store.”
Watch Innova’s brilliant performance below.
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