Was It In Order For Alesha Dixon To Award Someone She Once Had An Acquaintance With, The Golden Buzzer?

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-5721889/Britains-Got-Talent-Alesha-Dixon-shares-emotional-reunion-Artful-Dodger-singer-Lifford.html?ito=video_player_click

[naomi24]

I think there was someone who deserved it more but didn't get it. The man who sang 'Maria'. Oh my!!! Made me cry.

Starts at about 0.58.

[andy-hughes]

I think the point about anyone singing Maria is the same effect as Nessun Dorma - it's the song that carries people along, not the performance of it.

Maria is a seriously powerful song, and anyone who can hold a note can make it sound amazing, which is not the same thing as making them sound amazing.

People get carried away with the emotion and atmosphere and 'hear' a level of performance that may not actually be there in reality.

[naomi24]

//....'hear' a level of performance that may not actually be there in reality. //

I know what I heard. I heard a level of performance that was there.

[-Talbot-]

The golden buzzer is pointless.

[Mamyalynne]

Tingles from toes to tresses Naomi - that was a superb rendition.

[anotheoldgit]

To those who hinted on his colour along with the usual dig at the Daily Mail, I say this I also found him a powerful and good singer, but in places he didn't quite hit the right notes.

My concern was the fact that she knew him so she should have shown to be unbiased, if one of the other judges had hit the golden button fair enough.

What if he had happened to be a relative of Alesha, would that have been fair?

[naomi24]

aog, you're right. It could be regarded as biased.

[naomi24]

Spath, //Point is, the public will still decide if he wins the competition. //

The point is that she knows him, and he, now, doesn't have to complete again until the final.

[naomi24]

Spath, I made a mistake. It sends people straight through to the semi-final so they don't have to go through all the heats.

//The magical Golden Buzzer was first introduced in 2014 and it has the power to send acts straight through to the semi-finals.//

https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/6056973/britains-got-talent-2018-golden-buzzer-golden-buzzer-acts-won/

[naomi24]

It doesn't matter what any of us think about his talent or otherwise - the point is she knows him and to give him an advantage over other performers could legitimately be construed as biased. (I thought he was good but no better than any other decent singer).

[sp1814]

AOG

It’s perfectly in order to award someone the golden buzzer, even if the judge has worked with them before. It’s no different in execution, when the judge puts someone through whom they have known before.

Alesha Dixon has worked in the music industry for twenty years. Therefore, there’s a fairly decent chance that she will encounter a number of former associates in a talent show that involves singers.

You could equally argue that she may have worked with the singer before and hated his guts.

This does not necessarily demonstrate bias.

[naomi24]

spath, //would david walliams be bias if someone came on and read his book? //

He might be - but he shouldn't be - and neither should she. Bias isn't fair under any circumstances.

[Ellipsis]

OK, follow these questions through ...

Should he not be allowed to enter because he was acquainted with her 20 years ago?
Should she not be allowed to judge him because he was acquainted with her 20 years ago?
Should she not be allowed to use the Golden Buzzer for him because he was acquainted with her 20 years ago?

It seems to me that, once he's allowed to enter the competition, everything else follows naturally. He's just a contestant like anyone else.

As Arksided said, it's hardly as if they tried to cover anything up.

[sp1814]

AOG

You wrote:

//My concern was the fact that she knew him so she should have shown to be unbiased, if one of the other judges had hit the golden button fair enough.//

How has she shown bias?

If he had been terrible, then yes - that would have indicated bias.

However, if he were really good, in what way does the Golden Buzzer indicate bias?

You go on to ask:

//What if he had happened to be a relative of Alesha, would that have been fair?//

Again, yes. If the relative was outstanding, bringing the audience to their feet, and Alesha had hit the Golden Buzzer, it would have indicated how good they were.

If they were appalling, and she hit the buzzer, you could very fairly shout “That shows bias”.

But...this is not the case here.

[Denton]

I agree with naomi 24.

[hereIam]

After now having watched the whole show, I agree with naomi that the man who sang Maria was far better than the golden buzzer man, he sang it beautifully and was more deserving imo. I still don't think Aleysha was being biased though, she just heard a good singer and thought he deserved to go through.