Episode 12 The Big Performance

12 weeks ago, top choirmaster Gareth Malone took a group

-of 10 petrified singers...

-Just a couple of notes.

The shyest children in Britain!

..on a musical tour of the country in their very own tour bus.

His mission - to improve their confidence through singing

with the end goal of performing to 40,000 people at Proms In The Park.

-There's been highs...

-YEAH!

-Yes!

-Yes!

-..lows.

-I'm not doing it.

-I don't want to do it.

-..and a few surprises...

-I'm still shaking! I don't know why.

-..which have taken them from this...

-Don't cry.

..to this. Could you have done it?

This is the Big Performance.

# Ooh ooh ooh

# Yeah

# Ooh ooh ooh... #

Last time on the Big Performance:

TERRY WOGAN: Proms In The Park 2010!

After 11 weeks of hard work, the group faced their final test -

performing to 40,000 people at Proms In The Park in London.

These people could eat you alive.

Today we find out how they did it.

12 weeks ago, Gareth scoured the country for shy singers

in dire need of a confidence boost.

# ..and crisp apple strudel... #

-# You're beautiful... #

-# Ghostbusters! #

Until he found Annabel, Isthaque, Jordan, Katie, Oli,

Miriyah, Emily, Howard, Chloe and Chris.

They all had one thing in common.

-They were petrified of singing in public.

-Hey, don't cry.

Keep going.

# Got to run, while we're young

-# And keep the fai-aith... #

-Can you go high? Too scared?

Yeah, I'm really scared.

The challenge was to take 10 very shy children and make them perform

in front of 40,000 people. It's like building a ladder to the Moon!

With the 10 singers picked, their musical tour was ready to start.

Each week, the Big Performance bus stopped at a different location

where the group faced a new performance challenge.

Week One was singing in front of each other.

# Sometimes I feel like throwing my hands up in the air... #

Chloe was so nervous, she couldn't even look at her audience.

Chris was too shy to actually sing and resorted to speaking his lyrics.

But there were some surprises.

# Whe-e-e-ere is love

# Does it fall from skies above... #

He's normally really quiet and when he sang that, it was wow!

-Beautiful, wasn't it?

-Yeah.

'At first, I despaired.'

They were so underconfident. I questioned if they'd get there.

As the big performance got closer, audiences grew bigger and bigger

and each week a different singer was under the solo spotlight.

In Week Two, the bus pulled up in Bournemouth

to sing for a proper audience - Gareth's old school choir.

Twin sisters Katie and Annabel were picked first

to try out for the solo spot.

'I really didn't want to sing.'

"Oh, my goodness! I'm so bad!"

# The whole world's coming together now... #

-Why do you keep looking at me?

-Cos it's not all right.

-Why?

-Cos.

-Why? Cos why?

-'I have always had problems'

with being underconfident. People say, "Katie, you're so shy."

The extent of the nerves was unlike anything I've ever seen.

They were so frightened and timid. I had to get them singing.

More energy! Throw the chair!

# Coming together now... # Yeah!

-THEY SING

-Yeah!

'I think the fact that Gareth'

made me go all loopy

'and just playing around and being all crazy,'

that brought my confidence up.

-Can you go, "Yeah!"?

-Yeah!

Oh, my gosh! We've found it!

But when Gareth took them to train with a professional soul choir,

it was a different story for Katie.

# Higher and higher! # 'When I saw the choir,'

I thought I could never sing on stage with that much confidence.

So when it was Katie's turn to perform her solo,

-things didn't go to plan.

-Give it your best shot.

SHE BARELY WHISPERS

Ohhh.

Hey, hey, I don't want you to cry.

I'd like to be able to sing in front of people without getting upset,

but I don't think I can.

She fell apart completely and I was really worried for her.

I didn't think she'd get back from that.

By Week Three, nerves were still getting the better of the 10.

So when Chloe stepped up to the show tune solo,

before long disaster struck.

# Said the Tin Man... # Oh, I can't do it.

She crumbled into dust. I thought she would not come back.

What's the matter?

I don't want to do it.

It was going through my mind that I'd ruined it for everybody

and that they won't like me.

-I'm scared.

-I know you're scared.

You've got to face your fears.

'I hadn't realised how much pressure she felt.'

Somehow she found the confidence to come back and sing.

# Said the Tin Man... #

My confidence really started to grow when I finished my performance.

I just thought, "I can do it.

"I can do it for everything." I was proud of myself.

Well done!

Each week Gareth set his chosen soloist a test of nerves

in front of their scariest audience imaginable.

Chris forgot his words singing to his two sisters and their friends.

# You're...

# ..for... #

-Aah!

-And Emily was completely thrown when she sang

to her mates from majorettes.

Oh. My. Goodness.

I was nearly crying because I was terrified.

In Week Five, it was Howard's turn.

A cafe full of strangers awaited, as well as his mum.

My scariest moment was singing my solo challenge. I didn't like it.

My mum was in the cafe. I didn't know she'd be there.

I've never heard Howard sing in front of me.

It's going to be quite hard for him.

-Hello.

-When Howard first auditioned for Gareth, it was clear

-that singing had a huge impact on him.

-I don't get a tic when I sing.

-You suffer from Tourette's.

-Yes.

Tourette's causes Howard to move or tic uncontrollably.

When I'm singing, I don't get a single tic. But I go bright red.

-Really?

-That's why I get nervous and try to run offstage.

-Is that frustrating?

-Very.

His solo test was more frightening than anyone else's.

They didn't know he had Tourette's. It was a scary thing to do.

# We can fight our desires

# But when we... # 'At first I thought my tics would hold me back.'

But when I started singing a lot more, they couldn't hold me back.

# I'm doing it for a thrill

# Oh, I'm hoping you'll understand

# And not let go of my hand. #

Succeeding in this challenge was a massive achievement for Howard

-and had a big effect on the audience.

-It moved me to tears.

Tears!

I think Howard found it difficult,

but he's proved to himself he has got the courage

and hopefully he'll be able to do that more often.

Watching him come to terms with people not worrying about Tourette's

when he has such a beautiful voice, that was great. He found confidence.

Gareth had to get all of the nervous singers performing

to 40,000 people in just a matter of weeks.

Getting rid of their insecurities was key.

A lot of these challenges were just about getting their confidence up,

having fun, being expressive and just feeling comfortable.

And Gareth was more than happy to lead by example.

# Do a little dance Make a little love

# Get down tonight Get down tonight... #

Letting their hair down was just the boost these shy kids needed.

We did an air guitar competition and I think

I really let go of it. It's just like singing.

You can just go for it.

If I go for this, with my singing I'll do a lot better.

Once she'd done that, I knew she'd got the confidence I was looking for

to make an idiot of herself,

to prat around in front of other people and not worry.

It was all very well giving them the courage to dance around,

but they were still struggling to sing as a group.

# I'm going in for the kill... #

A fact that was pretty obvious in front of the man from the Proms.

# And don't let go of my hand. #

I think I'd have to be honest

and say they're not quite ready yet.

There's still work for Gareth to do.

With Gareth's glam rock challenge,

it was clear that to be able to perform at Proms In The Park,

they were going to have to lose their inhibitions.

To bring them out of their shell, the group had to strut their stuff

in the centre of Birmingham dressed as Lady Gaga.

-Even the boys!

-Well done, Oli!

For one of the group, this was a step too far.

-You'll get applause.

-I'm not going!

I saw someone go...

I was terrified.

-I have a lobster on my head!

-You look great!

A big lobster. I repeat - lobster.

Hello. Are you Miriyah? I'm Gareth, hi.

When Gareth first met Miriyah, her confidence had taken a big knock.

-What's the worst thing to happen?

-People made fun of my singing.

-That must be very upsetting.

-Yeah.

Despite Miriyah's lack of self belief, her voice shone through.

# You don't have to be afraid of what you are... #

Wow! She's seriously very, very good. Pure, natural talent.

# ..that a hero lies in you. #

Good!

Because she's such a confident singer, to see her refuse to go out

revealed what her issue was,

which is just worrying what people will say.

While Miriyah was a no-show,

the rest of the group rose to the glam rock challenge.

That is glam rock attitude. That's how you do it.

Everybody else went before me. In the end, I said, "OK, I'll go."

Everybody else seemed to do well.

It made me think it doesn't matter what other people think.

If I feel comfortable wearing it, it doesn't matter.

As part of Gareth's training for Proms In The Park,

each week the group took on a different musical style.

You have to be able to do a variety of styles.

-Some were an instant hit.

-Today is pop music!

-Yeah!

Are you excited?

-Others weren't even on their radar.

-Glam rock.

Is it posh people's rock?

-When it came to Oli and Chris's solo...

-It's country music.

# Your cheatin' heart... #

-Christ tried to show an interest, but not Oli.

-I'm not doing it.

-You don't want to do it?

-I hate the song too much.

-you need to give it a go. Is this a complete refusal?

-Yeah.

'I hate country music'

and I just thought, "I'm going home. It's stupid."

I thought he would walk out and some of the others might follow.

-It was a really touch and go time.

-I'm not doing it.

From the very beginning, Oli was incredibly self-conscious.

I can sing in front of anyone with my eyes closed and headphones on.

-I'll lose my friends.

-Lose all your friends? Oh, come on.

Oli needed to know that I really believed he was a good singer

and he wasn't going to look like an idiot.

-Do you think you can do it?

-Don't know.

-I reckon you can.

I think just the fact that everyone was behind me made me have a go.

# Your cheatin' heart

# Will tell on you... #

He would never have imagined I'd make him sing a country song.

Now I'm really glad I did. I was right. Muhahaha!

With only two weeks to the Proms, the tour bus arrived in London.

There was just one person left to try out for the solo spot.

It's you, Jordan.

What musical style could Gareth choose for rapper Jordan?

Classical music.

I had to sing classical music. And I'm not really into that.

At his audition, it was clear he was anything but a classical music fan.

# If you walk out, baby I'll understand

# Cos all I do is hurt you again. #

When Jordan came in to the audition and rapped, I despaired.

How will I get this kid to sing?

The challenge was on, but with the help of Faryl Smith,

Gareth got Jordan hitting more than notes.

Singing is like playing football.

-How?

-Because there's the ball. What do you do with your energy?

-Kick the ball.

-Where does the energy go?

-In the ball.

-Straight out.

That's why it's like football. You take your breath, your energy,

and send it out to the crowd.

But how would Jordan and the group manage to project their voices

to a real crowd of 15,000 people at Reading Football Club?

When Gareth told me I was singing at Reading, I was very nervous.

I didn't think I'd do it.

# Oh, Danny boy

# The pipes, the pipes are calling... #

There was loads of fans that were shouting,

but I just blocked out the fans and carried on singing.

# Oh, Danny boy, oh, Danny boy

# I love you so. #

At the end,

I felt happy because I was doing something I never thought I would do.

Yes! Brilliant! Well done!

Jordan the rapper to Jordan the singer. What a journey.

By Week Ten, all of the singers had tried out for the solo spot

with varying degrees of success.

Katie and Annabel both have a low chance.

Chloe has a medium chance.

High chance...low chance...

With only one week until they sing to 40,000 people

at Proms In The Park, Gareth had to pick the Big Performance soloist.

Emily. Howard.

Oli. Miriyah.

Katie. Stand up, please. You are on my shortlist.

One by one the soloists stepped into the spotlight

to impress Gareth.

# You light the skies

# Up above me

# A star so bright

# You blind me, yeah

# Don't close your eyes

# Don't fade away... #

But Gareth could only pick one.

The person who is going to be singing in front of 40,000 people

is...

-Miriyah.

-Yes! Thank you!

'When I got chosen to do the solo,'

I was really excited.

I was like, "Oh, my gosh."

-'I had butterflies and everything.'

-Miriyah had the right attitude,

she had the voice. Fundamentally, I knew she could do it.

Throughout their musical journey, the group have been helped

by a host of celebrity friends. From Tyger Drew-Honey...

I saw him. He's amazing.

..Camilla Dallerup and Craig David

to The Wanted. And Barney Harwood.

With the big day looming, there was one final challenge

for the group to face before their most important performance.

The group had to sing live on the Chris Evans Breakfast Show

to eight million people.

# You light the skies

# Up above me... #

It felt like quite a big deal. It's eight million people.

But because we weren't actually face to face with them, it's much easier.

# You and me, we can ride on a star

# If you stay with me, girl

# We can rule the world. #

Superb! That was absolutely brilliant. Spine-tingly!

I wasn't nervous at the start.

I'm happy with the job we all did.

-Bye, children!

-ALL: Bye!

Totally oblivious to the eight million listeners,

the group needed to pull out all the stops at their final destination -

London's Hyde Park.

This is Proms In The Park.

After 11 weeks of training, the Big Performance was upon them.

They would soon be standing onstage entertaining 40,000 people.

Take a look out there. Right to the back, it'll be full of people.

When I first came in,

I was like...whoa! The stage is huge.

I can't believe we'll be there!

Could they pull together everything for this final rehearsal?

# Yeah, you and me we can ride on a star... #

It was very clear - they were nowhere near ready.

What has happened to the actions?

I didn't think it went too good, but I put effort in and was smiling.

It was just the moves and how we looked. We messed up.

# Yeah, you and me... #

Everything we'd done in rehearsal just flew out of their minds.

That's when I started to worry - would that happen on the night?

Now with just six hours until their performance,

-Gareth called in much-needed back-up.

-Kevin, thank you so much!

The moves have just disappeared.

Only last week, celebrity choreographer Kevin Adams

taught them their entire routine.

Gone are the happy faces, gone are the arm movements.

And gone is the enthusiasm. Can we get it back?

-Yes.

-Can we get it back?

-YES!

-OK.

With time running out, it was back to square one for the group.

See? Paying no attention.

With just three hours until the performance of their lives,

the concert gates were opened. Looking the part was essential.

Cue Make-up and Wardrobe.

And, as if by magic, they were transformed into stars.

Now all they could do was wait.

TERRY WOGAN: It's Proms In The Park 2010!

When I first met Gareth, I was in tears about singing. And here I am!

An hour before going onstage in front of 40,000 people!

Aaaargh!

I can't wait!

As the time drew nearer and nearer, it became more and more scary.

I was trying to imagine 40,000 people and it's just impossible.

I can't.

You start to sweat. Is it going to fall apart? Will they forget?

Will they crumble and run off?

I've got a picture in my head

of what the crowd look like. Scary!

I'm psyched up. I want to do it for me, for the group,

for Gareth, for everyone who knows me. I just want to do it. Let's go!

There was no more Gareth could do. The moment had arrived.

40,000 people were watching, including their parents.

And millions on TV around the country.

Would they hold their nerve

and deliver the performance of a lifetime?

# You light the skies

# Up above me... #

You remember the moment when you first auditioned

all these guys who were so frightened.

Now I'm looking at kids who are transformed, singing confidently.

They're like different people.

# Yeah, you and me We can ride on a star

# If you stay with me, girl We can rule the world... #

Singing does make me happy. It makes me feel like I'm worth something.

# If you stay by my side We can rule the world... #

It's shown me that I can sing in front of audiences

and I don't have to be shy.

Gareth has really helped me gain confidence and believe

I have faith in myself to sing in front of big audiences.

# You've saved my soul... #

It's changed my life for the better.

-If I could do this again, I would.

-# ..rule the world... #

When they were onstage, I was really amazed at how far they've come.

They'd started to put everything together for that final performance.

That made me very, very proud.

THE AUDIENCE CHEERS

I'm really proud of myself over this whole experience.

One of the great experiences of my life.

WOGAN: The biggest cheer of the night!

I am so confident that I can take on anything!

I think...I KNOW I can do anything.

ALL YELLING

If I could say thank you to Gareth, it's for being really supportive.

Look how I am now. He's done a pretty good job.

If I had to say one thing to Gareth it's thank you for all he's done.

Singing has kind of boosted my confidence

and I can do anything I want.

This has been an amazing opportunity and I really loved it.

Thank you!

Getting these very, very shy children to the point

where they could sing on that stage was a big effort, a lot of work,

it took real courage on their part, but it all came together.

And on that stage at that moment they found confidence.

Subtitles by Subtext for Red Bee Media Ltd - 2010

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