Viewers were left unimpressed as they issued a similar complaint after ITV judge Simon Cowell took aim at his fellow co-star. Fans of Britain’s Got Talent tuned into last night’s second semi-final (May 28) which saw competitors including K-pop band Blitzers and magician Jack Rhodes battle for a place in the show final.
Singer Ace Clark took to the stage and belted out Billie Eilish’s hit song What Was I Made For? His impressive vocals received high praise from the judges including Alesha Dixon and Amanda Holden who gave a standing ovation.
Bruno Tonioli, a former judge on Strictly Come Dancing, delivered his verdict saying Ace had taken a “huge risk” with his song choice. He excitedly added: “You were clever enough to use your middle range which is where you’re strong at and you made it work for you. So you succeeded!”
Simon asked: “Bruno, when you said it was a risk doing that song… what did you mean?”
The professional dancer replied: “Because it’s a female song and it changes tonality. When he sang normally you start with the head voice and then you go down to the chest. It’s a very hard transition.”
“You then started….,” Bruno trailed off as Simon interjected: “I don’t understand a word you’re saying.”
While the judges laughed off the jibe, viewers took to X and addressed the awkward exchange between the two colleagues.
@OllieHand tweeted: “Simon Cowell, who’s been judging singers for most of his career, is lost when Bruno, a dancer, gives sound technical advice on vocals #bgt.”
@whosdylanlol remarked: “Simon absolutely SHUTTING Bruno down. #BGT #BritainsGotTalent.” While @glo said: “Uncalled for…”
@amz07 said: “Simon was so rude to Bruno then, he might be annoying but no reason to talk to him like that #bgt #britainsgottalent.”
@MarieLomas2 wrote: “I love Bruno!! He’s a very talented man. He’s choreographed virtually everything. I think he comes across as a lovely man.”
@TVqueertiques: “Simon just sh*t on Bruno’s legitimate explanation of the craft and talent. #BritainsGotTalent #BGT.”
@jemmabondc commented: “Blimey, Bruno actually knows more about singing than we thought, whereas Simon – a music mogul – doesn’t even know what ‘chest voice’ means #BGT.”
But others appeared to agree with the BGT head judge @RyanTheSoapking: “All the years Bruno has judged Strictly & suddenly he’s a vocal coach [laughing emojis] #BGT.”
Meanwhile, magician Jack Rhodes received the most public votes from the public and won an automatic place in the final.
After it was revealed that Jack had won the Heat two public vote, it was up to the judges to make the difficult choice between Ravi’s Dream Team choir and the double-dutch troupe Haribow with the judges choosing the dance favourites.
Sslaubi Performance Troupe also impressed with their performance and bagged themselves the second place in the final.
Britain’s Got Talent continues tonight on ITV1 and ITVX at 8pm