WATCH: Bridgnorth drummer buzzing after taking Britain's Got Talent by storm
A talented drummer from Bridgnorth who earned the Britain’s Got Talent golden buzzer could be set for stardom after a judge told him “you were amazing!”
Noah Key, 15, and his band Chapter 13 earned a standing ovation on Saturday’s episode, and judge Amanda Holden pressed her buzzer to guarantee the group a place in the live semi-finals.
The four-piece made up of 14 and 15-year-olds seemed to have won the hearts of the audience at the London Palladium before playing a note, walking out to rapturous cheering and applause while Amanda told them: “You’re cute,” as the boys beamed back at the crowd.
After telling Simon Cowell, albeit slightly nervously, how they got together following performing in the musical School of Rock, they set about wowing the audience with their rock ‘n’ roll takes on classic songs including Stevie Wonder hits Signed, Sealed Delivered and Sir Duke. The crowd whooped and cheered as hosts Ant and Dec sang along by the curtain just off stage.
The whole crowd were on their feet by the end of the energetic performance, and Wolverhampton Grammar School student Noah finished off with an epic drum solo before punching the air.
All four judges gave the group a standing ovation and Noah earned special praise from Amanda, who singled him out as “amazing”.
She said: “I don’t think I’ve ever seen four young musicians so together. I just think you are absolutely incredible and now you’ve got to win the whole show,” before slamming the golden buzzer, releasing a plume of gold confetti above the delirious quartet as they celebrated.
Simon likened them to chart stars Busted, Alesha Dixon said: “The musicianship was outstanding” and David Walliams added: “You came, you conquered.”
Noah told the Shropshire Star: “Playing drums on the London Palladium stage in front of all four judges and thousands of people was incredible.You can’t put it into words. We were so nervous before we went on but once we were on the stage, there was nowhere else we wanted to be.
Watch their performance on Britain's Got Talent:
“When Amanda hit the golden buzzer we were all in shock to be honest. To look up and see all the gold falling on to the stage and then look out and see all four judges on their feet and then Amanda make her way on to the stage to congratulate us, it was absolutely epic.
“I think we’re just so glad that Amanda recognised the potential in our band and the bond we have together.”
The prodigious talent is now the talk of Bridgnorth, and has plenty of support in the town.
He added: “Everyone has been so supportive since the audition, in particular my family and friends back home. All my friends at school have been great about it and have made the experience even more special. It couldn’t have got a better reaction.”
Noah comes from good stock as a performer – his dad Chris and mum Lucy run the Key Theatre Academy, and have a long string of theatre and television credits.
Chris said: “I was extremely proud, not just for Noah, but for all the boys. They have worked so hard and spent so much time on writing music and developing Chapter 13. It was wonderful to see their hard work pay off. Noah started drumming aged 12, so to see him having this success as a drummer and part of the band only three years later is incredible.”
A video of the group’s performance has already garnered more than 2.5 million hits on YouTube, and they appeared on This Morning on Monday amid a whirlwind of attention.
