Britain’s Got Talent winner Paul Potts recently spoke out in support of finalist Innocent Masuku amid an ongoing fix row over his impressive singing background.
The opera singer, 53, – who won the first series of Britain’s Got Talent in 2007 with his performance of Nessun Dorma – believes acts should be able to reveal their experience and it shouldn’t be frowned upon.
He told The Sun: ‘Britain’s Got Talent is not about untrained or amateur talent. It’s not about talent that hasn’t been seen elsewhere – it’s simply about talent.’
‘With Innocent (Masuku), for example, I wish that they are allowed to talk about his training. A lot of the criticism that the opera and classical music role has is that there is this impression that you can suddenly become this brilliant singer with little or no training.’
‘But they haven’t talked about his training. He has worked hard to get into the English National Opera.’
Britain’s Got Talent winner Paul Potts has spoken out in support of finalist Innocent Masuku amid an ongoing fix row over his impressive singing background (pictured in 2022)
He said: ‘Britain’s Got Talent is not about untrained or amateur talent. It’s not about talent that hasn’t been seen elsewhere – it’s simply about talent.’ (Innocent Masuku pictured on the show)
The opera singer, 53, – who won the first series of Britain’s Got Talent in 2007 with his performance of Nessun Dorma – believes acts should be able to reveal their experience and it shouldn’t be frowned upon (pictured in 2007)
He also added that people should embrace that Innocent has been to the English National Opera and appreciate the amount of work he’s put into his talent.
On Tuesday evening Innocent, The Trickstars, and Ssaulabi all made it into the top three after the vote was opened to the public.
South African hopeful Innocent Masukuk was crowned the winner of the night based on the votes received, while the judges unanimously put through Ssaulabi to Sunday night’s final.
During the semi-final, however, Innocent’s performance was slightly overshadowed by technical issues and Paul is keen for him to get it sorted before the final.
Speaking to Sky Bingo he questioned the performance, saying: ‘Innocent gave a great performance in the semi-final but I don’t understand what is going on with the sound.’
‘There were times where you could barely hear his voice. You struggled to hear it above the track. There was a lot of production in the track but the voice seemed to be lost.’
‘I don’t know if it was the positioning of the microphone. I know the producers do like to have the full view of the face.’
He then urged Innocent to look into the issue ahead of the final as he claimed he could be using a show microphone that is not ideal for an opera singer.
He continued: ‘With Innocent, I wish that they are allowed to talk about his training. A lot of the criticism that the opera and classical music role has is that there is this impression that you can suddenly become this brilliant singer with little or no training.’ (pictured in 2007)
South African hopeful Innocent was crowned the winner of the night based on the votes received, while the judges unanimously put through Ssaulabi to Sunday night’s final
Innocent is a former studio member of the Cape Town Opera where he made his first public performance in a production of Porgy and Bess – which was set in Argentina and saw him play the part of Crabman.
He then played the role of Borsa in Rigoletto and also played Tamino in The Magic Flute.
The tenor is currently working at Garsington Opera, based near Oxford, and has performed in classes led by Maestro Kamal Khan and Willard White.
Innocent has been recognised for his work in the field with several awards, including a Merit award in the 2019 SAMRO competition, a Drake Calleja trust award, and sponsorship by The Tillet Trust fund.
Although Innocent said opportunities in London were ‘vast’ at the time of his audition, he said he had faced rejection from several opera-based opportunities in the past.
However, he appeared to believe in his ability to make it to the final from the outset, when questioned about his talent by Simon Cowell.
His audition saw him perform a rendition of Caruso by Lucio Dalla, which saw fellow judge Alesha Dixon admit that she was ‘lost for words’.
Britain’s Got Talent grand finale will take place on ITV1 and ITVX Sunday 2nd June at 7:30pm.
