{"id":476873,"date":"2026-05-09T20:42:36","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T20:42:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/476873\/"},"modified":"2026-05-09T20:42:36","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T20:42:36","slug":"youtuber-ksi-hits-golden-buzzer-and-sends-britains-got-talent-act-into-final-the-irish-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/476873\/","title":{"rendered":"YouTuber KSI hits golden buzzer and sends Britain\u2019s Got Talent act into final \u2013 The Irish News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"c-paragraph\">YouTuber and Britain\u2019s Got Talent judge KSI has pressed the golden buzzer and sent a semi-finalist act through to the final.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">The ITV talent show returned to screens as eight acts performed during its third semi-final out of five, for the chance to appear at the Royal Variety Performance and win a cash prize.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Saturday night saw daredevil act Liwei Yang joined onstage by her husband for her suspense-filled act, during which she balanced an umbrella lit on fire and a giant spinning wheel engulfed in flames with just her feet.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"(left to right) Ant McPartlin, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon, Simon Cowell, KSI and Declan Donnelly\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/U4DJQEUJ4VLAHH27RGXUKGGSB4.jpg\"  width=\"800\" height=\"531\"\/>(left to right) Ant McPartlin, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon, Simon Cowell, KSI and Declan Donnelly (Ian West\/PA) <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">YouTube star KSI, real name Olajide Olatunji, described the act as \u201cphenomenal\u201d and \u201cmagical\u201d as the audience roared with applause, before asking whether they thought he should press the coveted golden buzzer.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"c-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.irishnews.com\/entertainment\/hans-zimmer-says-childhood-trauma-poured-out-while-composing-the-lion-king-5ATSLQRPQZLV3I7QSZK2UPS2QY\/\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Hans Zimmer says childhood trauma &#x2018;poured out&#x2019; while composing The Lion King\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/XRLVURLZHJOZTJDEPC57CUQLYI.jpg\"  width=\"800\" height=\"450\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">The 32-year-old slammed the button, sealing the Yang\u2019s fate and sending her straight to the final, prompting the crowd to erupt into cheers while she shared a tearful embrace with her partner and golden confetti rained down onto the stage.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Each week, one of the judges has control of the golden buzzer and is able to send one act straight to the final \u2013 with KSI chosen for this week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Fellow judge Amanda Holden added that she was \u201cgobsmacked\u201d by the act, while Simon Cowell deemed it \u201cspectacular\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">After Yang received the golden buzzer, Alesha Dixon said: \u201cVery well deserved. I was in awe, I was hypnotised by it, thinking what a brave, incredible woman you are. It was exhilarating from start to finish.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Alesha Dixon called Yang&#x2019;s act &#x2018;exhilarating&#x2019;\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/PYNWNOBFCVNPRAEUQA6NMRXW3Y.jpg\"  width=\"800\" height=\"1200\"\/>Alesha Dixon called Yang\u2019s act \u2018exhilarating\u2019 (Ian West\/PA) <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">The remaining acts were depending on the public\u2019s vote to get them through to the final.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Dance group Playground opened the episode with a high-energy choreographed routine to a mash-up of songs, including BTS star Jung Kook\u2019s Standing Next To You and pop star Raye\u2019s chart-topping Where Is My Husband?.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Following their performance, Cowell prompted cheers from the live studio audience as he said: \u201cI think you absolutely nailed that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">The Lux City Choir sung a gospel cover of Miley Cyrus\u2019s The Climb, blended with elements of an African-sounding track, but the mix of songs were criticised by the judges with Dixon deeming it \u201ca little bit clunky\u201d.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Simon Cowell criticised Antigravity&#x2019;s pre-recorded performance\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/PGNAMAWIBVIC5AJDWZSYD3FFQA.jpg\"  width=\"800\" height=\"1167\"\/>Simon Cowell criticised Antigravity\u2019s pre-recorded performance (Tim Markland\/PA) <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Acrobatic act Mizuki Shinagawa wowed the crowds and the judges, praised by Holden as \u201cutterly out of this world\u201d, while dance group Mega Unity performed a routine that the judges agreed did not compare to their audition.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Harpist and singer Niamh Noade performed a slowed rendition of Philip Oakey\u2019s 1980s hit Together In Electric Dreams and comedian Ted Hill, who has been previously awarded the golden buzzer by Ant and Dec, left the audience and judges in uproarious laughter with Holden calling him a \u201ccomedy genius\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Ukrainian performance group Antigravity were the last act of the show, with a pre-recorded performance that Cowell criticised as he \u201cdidn\u2019t feel like I was judging humans\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">The episode also saw popular boyband Westlife take to the stage to perform a medley of their greatest hits, while comedian Hill was revealed as the next act who will be sent to the final.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Speaking to hosts Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly at the end of the show, Hill said: \u201cThank you so much to everyone that voted for me, this means the world for me. I\u2019m lost for words.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Britain\u2019s Got Talent returns on ITV on Saturday at 7pm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"YouTuber and Britain\u2019s Got Talent judge KSI has pressed the golden buzzer and sent a semi-finalist act through&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":476874,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[265],"tags":[204404,83938,18,117,19,17,19498,128,1294],"class_list":{"0":"post-476873","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-bgt","9":"tag-britains-got-talent","10":"tag-eire","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-ie","13":"tag-ireland","14":"tag-showbiz","15":"tag-tv","16":"tag-uk"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116546565391297100","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476873","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=476873"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476873\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/476874"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=476873"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=476873"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=476873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}