In tonight’s semi-final I was on the edge of my seat wondering if there was going to be a surprise upset when 17 year old Shaun Smith was lined up to face the judges choice for selection.

He should have walked in along with dance act Flawless but I guess they have to have some nervewracking moment to keep the viewers guessing. Despite severe nerves Shaun displayed once again that he is turning out to be a major find – I’m guessing Simon Cowell will sign this fantastic young singer up regardless of the outcome next Saturday. I really like his style – relaxed and entirely his own.

Not so successful at controlling the butterflies was Jamie Pugh – that poor guy, I felt so much for him. His biggest mistake was that dreadful choice of song – ‘The Impossible Dream’. I have heard only two people who could sing that song and pull it off – Frank Sinatra and Edward Woodward. It is a notoriously difficult song to put over and requires an experienced voice with a very secure range. One thing that you cannot be when singing it is overly nervous – and Jamie was extremely nervous. It showed and it was almost painful to watch. I really wish he had chosen something a bit safer because he has a good voice.

Last years finalists, ‘Escala’, returned as guests and did brilliantly what Sue Son tried to do…yes they are very much a visual act but musicality plays an even bigger part. That’s the difference.

If there is one thing about the semi-finals of a competition such as this, it is that it sorts the true talent from the flukes. Quite a few flukes managed to get through the first round of auditions and be chosen – some of them were seen last night.

I was not a fan of Sue Son first time around and last night’s perfomance convinced me why; the mini-skirt gimmick has been done to death by young female violinists and proved that appealing to the ear is more important than the eye where the violin is concerned. She was terrible; she looked very awkward and her intonation was not spot on – a very unsettled performance.

Diversity were brilliant; I am not usually enthused by dance acts but they were very original and entertaining, as were Faces of Disco.  Young Natalie Okri just looked lost to me during her performance and to see her devastation when the judges chose Diversity over her for the final made for uncomfortable viewing. It reminded me of when young boy soprano, Andrew Johnston, lost in the final last year – such a huge public rejection for one so young; I feel she should have had a mentor of some kind standing with her at that stage because she just looked so alone. She could be very good indeed but she needs to  move away from the ‘dancing in front of the bedroom mirror’ style.

The other acts fall into the ‘fluke’ category for me but not, of course, Susan Boyle. She was obviously a bundle of nerves and was the reason why her voice cracked on the opening notes and in other places during the song. Her ‘makeover’ has certainly transformed the way she looks (new upper teeth veneers being the latest improvement, I wonder if weight loss pills will be foisted on her next…) but I felt she was a little uncomfortable. She gave a very good rendition though of the song ‘Memory’ which is not an easy song to sing – I wonder if it was her choice…

There is no doubt though that the public have already chosen their winner and even though there are some great acts to come I would be very surprised if Susan does not win next Saturday’s final. The thing with Susan is she really cannot get any better than she is now, only more famous…but she sure is making a lot of people very happy in what are grim times. And we need people like this.