A Personal Critique of Collabro's Performance at the Britain's Got Talent Final 2014

Firstly let me make it clear I am a huge fan of Collabro and only wish the best for the boys. I am not usually given to being a 'fan', so this is unusual for me, and only happened because I was so enthralled by their performance during the auditions of Britain's Got Talent 2014.




Their arrangement and rendition of 'Stars' from Les Miserables was little short of astonishing. Quite apart from being visually appealing, the five lads have beautiful voices, and know how to use them. Their singing technique was very good, but most of all, they impressed by what one of the group called 'their natural chemistry'. They sang together in a way that most singing groups can only dream of.

They were simply superb. Like many Collaborators, which is what the fans of Collabro are called, I replayed the YouTube video of the performance many times. I still play it back, almost unable to quite accept how exciting the performance was.

The song choice was clever, partly because it was so unexpected, but also because it really showed off their individual voices as well as their ensemble singing. The arrangement was lovely, with neat harmonies that were thrilling to listen to.

They quickly built a massive fan base, partly through hard work on their part with an active campaign through social media, using Twitter and the like - they are on Twitter as @CollabroGlobal. I started following them when their followers were less than fifty, and now they are over 57,00 at the latest count (10th June 2014).

There was some slight disappointment for me at their song choice during the BGT Semi-Finals when they sang another number from Les Miserables, 'Bring Him Home'. Although it was another outstanding performance, it was disappointing for me because they had performed another number from the same show and had not shown us another side of their repertoire. I had really been wanting to hear something different.

Do listen to the videos, both of which are linked above. In spite of my comments about the song choice, the performance was almost as thrilling as the one during the auditions and I have listened to it several times, although not nearly as much as their first performance which remains my favourite.




So then, why do a critique on their performance during the Final of Britain's Got Talent? After all, they won, didn't they?

It was certainly a big performance, with a full orchestra backing them and of course all the staging that goes along with such a television show.

The positives were many. They won the heart of the audience at home, and of course won the competition. They looked good, and sounded good.

The problem is: they didn't look great, and they didn't sound great. Please, please Collabro, if you are reading this, do take it as constructive criticism. I want you guys to be fantastic and not just okay...

It is important to present an image, but the grey suits just didn't work for me. I recent watched a performance of Il Divo where they wore grey suits and it really didn't work at all well. As I am not an expert in this matter, I won't give you my ideas, but do consult a bit wider. Personally I would suggest you consult a West End costumier. I'm sure your new management team will also have something to say. But please, don't let them bully you guys into doing something you don't all feel totally comfortable with.

That leads me on to my biggest frustration about your performance. Why oh why did you sing a reprise of your first performance? And then you changed the arrangement, unfortunately to one that wasn't as good in my humble opinion. Matt, the line you sang which ended 'through the night' was almost orgasmic in its powerful delivery. This time, my favourite part of the performance died a sad little death. On listening to it again, I have realised the performance was also shorter, so this is certainly something required by the show's producers to fit their schedule. What a pity. Perfection should not be fiddled with!

The orchestral arrangement was wrong, and much too loud. Firstly, I suspect the orchestral arrangement was made based on your first performance, which someone decided to change for some reason. Whatever that reason was, it didn't work well with the orchestra, particularly in two places. Generally the orchestral arrangement was too rich, more suited to a solo performer. Mostly though, the orchestra was much too loud. Half the volume would have been best. Your incredible voices were drowned out, in spite of the mikes. It may have sounded okay in the auditorium, but not on television.

One of the highlights of both the audition performance and the semi-final was the joy of hearing your voices, clearly. You could hear the intonation and the harmonies even through the poor medium of television sound. Not the case in the Final performance, where there were times we could barely hear you at all, and far less be able to appreciate the glorious intonation of your superb voices.

I strongly suspect that you were overruled in this respect, but I hope that in future you will have the experience, and the courage, to stand up for what you know to be right, and not allow studio managers or others to change what is yours, your sound.

A smaller comment, but one which I hope you will still take note of, is your positioning and stance on the stage. During the first performance for the audition, you were closer together and quite frankly sounded better. Also, and this is important, there were a lot of displays of attention where you all seemed to turn and look at whichever of you was singing a solo. It may not sound like much, but it had a big impact.

Consider this: the audience sees you gazing approvingly at the guy who is singing and it encourages the viewer or audience member to have the same feelings. (Wow. Isn't he fantastic...!) The television cameras certainly picked up on it and this means they regard it as important visually on television. In the Final performance, the only visual cue like this that I saw, was when Richard put his hand on Michael's shoulder when he sang his solo. It looked loving and caring, and as well as the camera loving it, I think the audience did too. Unfortunately, this was the only one. I hope that you you will remember the power of such visual stimulae for your audience. You are obviously a close group, so let that shine through.




These are just my personal comments, and I still love you guys and am really looking forward to your album coming out. I will definitely be buying it...