Episode 2 The Big Performance

Ten kids terrified of singing in public...

-Hey! Don't cry. What's happened?

-I don't want to do it.

Two soloists - Chris and Ollie.

..must undergo their toughest performance challenges...

You must be EXTRA nervous.

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

..to face their ultimate fear -

singing to a crowd of 40,000 people!

There's enough people there to eat you alive.

I can't explain how I feel, just REALLY scared.

Could you do it?

This is The Big Performance.

These 10 children have never sung in public before.

They're so shy, they can't even sing in front of their parents.

Yeah, I'm feeling nervous.

But in just nine weeks, they will have to perform

at one of Britain's biggest outdoor concerts and one of them...

-# La

-La

-La... #

..will be chosen to sing the solo.

I'm really bad. I won't be able to do it.

They are so nervous,

I'm not sure they could get up in front of people

and pull off a good performance.

The task of turning the terrified 10 into first-class performers

falls to top choirmaster Gareth Malone.

He's turned the most unlikely singers into seasoned performers,

but he's never had to deal with such a reluctant group before.

-What's happened?

-I don't want to do it.

-SOBBING:

-I don't want to do it.

To prepare these nervous singers for the performance of their lives,

Gareth will be taking them on a musical tour of the country.

Last week, at a top recording studio, they just about found

the courage to sing their first solos in front of each other.

Can I start again?

And it was obvious just how big a challenge Gareth has taken on.

Not one person

that I know would want to pay to see them sing at the moment.

Today, The Big Performance tour bus is heading south

to Katie and Annabel's home town of Bournemouth.

It's got sand, sea and more importantly - soul.

GARETH: There's a theme for this week's big performance

and it is soul music.

And as I told you last week, every single week

somebody is going to be doing a solo and this week, it is...

..Katie and Annabel.

My favourite type of music is R&B and country

and my favourite place to sing is the shower.

My favourite type of music is pop.

My favourite artists

are Justin Bieber and Cheryl Cole.

Last time, Katie showed signs of having a good voice,

but is she ready to sing on her own in front of an audience?

I'm not good enough to do a solo yet.

Twin sister Annabel is equally lacking in confidence.

I think I'm really bad. I don't think I'll be able to do it.

I'm really hoping they both are going to be able

to get over their fear and start to put some heart into their singing.

They really need to lose their inhibitions

and soul singing's perfect for that.

# Do you like good music... #

Soul music started in America in the 1960s

and is a mix of gospel and rhythm and blues.

Beyonce, Duffy and Michael Jackson are all famous soul singers.

I don't actually know any songs by them.

It sounds like those opera people. I can't sing opera.

Soul is an ambitious choice for this group.

They don't even know what it is, but they'll learn.

I really hope soul isn't like musical theatre or classics stuff.

It's good for them to be able to sing with passion,

and that's what soul's all about.

It's about really giving emotion to the song.

The first stop on the tour bus is somewhere very familiar to Gareth.

'I brought you to this school for a very good reason.'

This used to be my school, and it was right here

that I did my first solos, my first duets,

and I got really excited about music.

It was right here that it all started for me,

and I'm hoping it's going to all start for you this week in soul week.

We're going to do a really, really good song.

It's by the Jacksons, and it's called Can You Feel It.

And, don't forget, Katie and Annabel, you two are doing the solos.

-COMPUTER:

-# Can you feel it?

# Can you feel it? Can you feel it?

# All the colours of the world should be... #

This is a Michael Jackson classic,

and as the group is already guessing,

it's a tough tune to crack.

What I want is, Can you feel it?

Can you feel it? Can you feel it?

Can you feel it?

No, I'm not convinced.

Soul is about putting absolutely everything into it.

-Say "Can you feel it?"

-Can you feel it?

-More passion.

-Can you feel it?

-Can you feel it, yeah.

-Can you FEEL it?

-Yeah!

-Everyone!

-Can you feel it?

I'm loving it! Can you do it while you sing?

HE PLAYS THE CHORUS

One, two, three.

# Can you feel it? Can you feel it?

# Can you feel it? #

OK, let's stand up.

And what often happens when you sing is it's a little bit scary,

and you feel like I can hear your individual voices.

I really can't.

I need you to take the plunge and really go for it.

Two, three.

-It's hard.

-It's not hard.

-It's too high.

You have got to trust me.

I am not going to make you look like an idiot.

And I think that some of you are waiting for Simon Cowell

to come out of the door, and this to turn into Britain's Got Talent,

and me to go "Err!" That's not what this is about.

Let's stand up, cos you're all slouched in your chairs.

Stand up straight, let's try that.

# Can you feel it?

# Can you feel it? Can you feel it? #

I'm getting some real passion there.

I'm getting 90% from Chloe.

I'm getting 10% less from all the rest of you. Go for it.

I want to see it in your face.

# Can you feel it?

# Can you feel it? Can you feel it? #

Isthaque was bang on the first note, well done.

We're going to go over and over and over and over it again,

because you are going to perform that song in here,

in front of your first audience.

And the audience is going to be members of my old school choir

from this school.

I think I've chosen the shyest children in the whole of Britain,

and they are struggling.

I'm scared. I'm scared of messing up,

because if I mess up I won't be able to do it.

I don't really want to sing at all because it's really scary.

And if they'd put the worry out of their mind, concentrate,

they'd be a lot better off.

For the big performance at Proms In The Park,

one of the ten will be chosen to sing a solo.

At the end of today,

Gareth will be judging Annabel's chances as high, medium, or low.

You're worried? Why are you worried?

-Because I'm singing the solo.

-You are singing the solo,

but it's going to be absolutely fine.

We're going to sort it out right now.

The best thing we can do is put the worry to one side.

When Gareth first met Annabel at the audition,

she was so worried about singing she couldn't do it at all.

Hey! Don't cry!

Oh, sweetheart. It's absolutely fine.

Just was overwhelmed by the whole thing, by coming to sing to me,

and she's obviously someone who's very timid about singing.

HE PLAYS INTRO OK, and again. Ready?

-OK.

-One, two, three.

# Feel it in the air. #

Good.

# The wind is taking it everywhere. #

-That's your solo.

-Is that it?

That's it.

# Feel it in the air... #

As this is the first solo, Gareth wants to keep it simple.

Good. Keep the energy up.

You've gone into this, like, "urr."

I want you to skip from here to here.

I want you to go,

# Feel it in the air

# The wind is taking it everywhere. #

-No!

-Yeah, go. We'll do it together, here we go. One, two, three.

-BOTH:

-# Feel it in the air... #

Yeah!

# The wind is taking it everywhere #

# Feel it in the air! #

One, two, three.

-BOTH:

-# Feel it in the air! #

-Oh, you dropped it.

Gareth's tactic to take Annabel's mind off singing

seems to be working.

# Feel it in the air

# The wind is taking it everywhere

# Yeah. #

When you do "Yeah," can you go... # Yeah! #

# Yeah! #

Oh, my gosh! We've found it!

That's it! That's exactly what I want.

She's quite sort of feisty.

She's still a bit timid.

If she just goes for it a bit more, it'll be really good.

# Ooh-ooh-ooh! #

Will twin-sister Katie follow Annabel's lead

and rise to her solo challenge?

They share the same birthday,

same house, same outfits and same love of singing...

at home, alone.

But singing in front of someone else? Forget it!

# Up above the... #

(World so high. Like a...)

# ..Diamond in the sky... # Keep going.

# ..Twinkle twinkle... #

(Little...)

She's so nervous at the moment, but there's a voice there.

'I'm going to sing solo in front of Gareth's old choir group'

and I'm not feeling very happy about that.

OK, I need energy. One, two...

# If you look around

-BOTH:

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

-It's too high for me.

-It's not too high, you just sang it.

-It is.

Katie, it's not too high. It's perfectly fine.

-Now, what I want you to do... See that fan over there?

-Yeah.

Aim it at the fan, sing to the fan. Here we go. One, two, three.

# If you look around

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

Why do you keep looking at me to see if it's all right?

-Cos it's not all right.

-Why is it not all right?

-Cos.

-Why? Cos why?

You just need to go for it!

Risk getting it wrong. Take a risk, take a gamble,

and go for it. Big smile.

-One, two...

-# If you look around... #

Katie's fear of sounding stupid is a real barrier.

Gareth's got a plan to distract her.

Come over here.

I'm going to pass them to you. You're going to make a pile and we'll sing.

# If you look around

# The whole world's... # Bit of energy!

# ..Together now... # Stack the chairs AND sing.

# ..Yeah!

-BOTH:

-# If you look around

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

-More energy!

-# ..Yeah! #

Pass them back.

# If you look around

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

-Much better!

-# ..Yeah! #

-More energy!

-# If you look around... #

Throw the chairs at me!

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

Both Katie and Annabel are really inhibited

and don't want to show any personality,

they want to just be ignored,

and I'm asking them to smile and open up and really perform,

and they're finding that really hard.

And go!

# Spread the word and try to teach the man

# Who's hating on his brother... #

It takes more than learning words and hitting notes

to pull off a soul-worthy performance.

Gareth wants his proteges to see how the professionals do it.

'Welcome to the Pier Theatre. I've brought you here because this week'

is all about soul and I want you to really get into soul music

and to understand the kind of effort that you need to put into soul

and the kind of style that you need to sing with.

In order to do that, I brought a couple of friends with me.

# Oooh higher

# Ooh-ooh-ooh higher

# Your love's lifting me higher

# Than I've ever been lifted before

# You know your love

# Your love keeps lifting me

# Keeps on lifting me

# Higher

# Lifting me higher and higher

# It'll take an eternity to break us

# Hum hum hum. #

Hooray! What do you reckon?

-Really good!

-They are, aren't they? This is The Love Soul Choir.

Shall we go and meet them?

'When I first saw The Love Soul Choir, I thought,'

"They're going to be really good," and when I heard them,

it wasn't good - they were amazing!

Thank you! We need to get on with our rehearsal

and a couple of you are staying to give us a hand?

The Love Soul Choir has definitely enthused our group musically,

but actions speak louder than words

and we need to get some soulful moves

into our timid singers' performances.

# All the colours of the world should be

# Loving each other wholeheartedly... #

The girls take on the dance moves,

but there's stiff competition from the boys.

# Can you feel it?

# Doo-doo-doo... #

One, two three...

# Can you feel it? Can you feel it?

# Can you feel it?

Isthaque's certainly feeling something!

OK, then it's Katie's solo.

This is the moment Katie's been dreading.

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

Give it your best shot.

-QUIETLY:

-# If you look around

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

I will need to do it in a lower pitch.

I wish I could do it higher like my sister,

but I don't think I can.

Katie, are you OK?

KATIE SNIFFLES

Oh... Hey, hey, hey!

-I don't want you to cry.

-All right, Katie?

Yeah, come and lend a hand.

Hey, what's the matter?

What's the matter?

Can I please sing it in a lower pitch?

It's not that high. You can do it. I've heard you several times.

I don't think Katie should have been upset - her voice is pretty good.

Trust me, it will be OK.

Yeah? Do you believe me?

-Are you going to give it a go?

-Mm-hm.

Gareth knows she can do it. Now all Katie needs is faith in herself.

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

but I don't think I can.

It's only the rehearsal.

Katie needs to get through this if she has any hope of

singing in front of Gareth's school choir later today.

# It's all right

# Take a message to your brother and tell him twice... #

Katie's made it back on stage.

Will she finally find her voice?

# If you look around

# The whole world's coming together now

# Yeah.

-ALL:

-# Can you feel it? Can you feel it?

# Can you feel it? #

It's a big step in the right direction.

Can her twin follow suit?

# Feel it in the air

# The wind is taking it everywhere... #

Well done! Yeah!

When you go, "Yeah," put your fist in the air and go, "Yeah!"

-I'm not doing that!

-Yeah! Do it, do it! It'll be brilliant!

-Yeah!

-Yeah!

-Yeah!

-Yeah!

-Yeah!

-Yeah.

-Yeah!

-Yeah!

I think they really came on leaps and bounds this afternoon.

(It was brilliant!)

Really good. I'm so proud of Katie, cos she was so frightened

and although she sang so very, very, very quietly,

she did it.

-Group hug!

-Group hug!

-Wey-hey!

'This has proved that this is about fun,'

about enjoying it, about putting something in, yes,

but getting something out as well.

Rehearsals over, Gareth has one final surprise for the group.

It's time to meet a local boy

who's achieved worldwide fame as a soul singer.

I've organised for a workshop with somebody really special.

This person has sold over 13 million records worldwide!

They're going to help you to really get some emotion into your singing

and it is...

Craig David.

# Listen to your heart Hear what it's saying... #

29-year-old Craig David was born down the road in Southampton

and is now one of Britain's most successful soul singers.

He's had 12 Brit nominations and won four MOBO Awards

and celebrity fans include P Diddy and J-Lo.

-Are you excited?

-Yes!

Let's go and meet him!

I've got some very, very shy kids

who are, at the moment, singing a little bit robotically

-and who need to put their heart and soul into it.

-OK.

I'm hoping you can help me out.

# I met this girl on Monday

# Took her for a drink on Tuesday

# And on Thursday and Friday and Saturday

# We chilled on Sunday. #

APPLAUSE Hey! We like, we like!

The great thing is, for me, I've found,

is to find...some emotion.

Lyrically, to touch the lyrics of the song.

Five minutes to come up with something you want to write about.

It might be a happy memory, might be something you're sad about.

Off you go.

The task of writing their own poem

should get the group connecting real emotion to their words,

especially with a superstar mentor on hand.

Soul music for me is very simple,

it's just singing songs from the heart,

it's...not having to think about it.

What's yours about, Emily?

-Gun shots at night.

-Gun shots in the night?

Wow! Do you actually hear them? Really?

The hardest thing as a songwriter is to open up

and talk about something that is personal, you know.

This is really good

because you've focused on something you've experienced yourself.

-What's it called?

-Em, Believing.

-What are you believing in?

-That's what I'm trying to figure out.

When Gareth first met Chris,

his insecurities were destroying his confidence.

I get bullied about my hair colour,

freckles, because I'm small, em...

I get called names.

Just that, really.

Do you believe you're a good singer?

-No.

-OK.

When I was 12, I was still learning if I could sing, if I couldn't sing.

I was listening to different artists

and that was the one thing that made me feel passionate -

I believed. When people told me, "Maybe you're not a good singer,"

I believed I could sing, I could sing,

and then one day, it all starts to...

sort of happen and you think,

"Wow, I believed in myself and it happened."

I think if you start working on

thinking of things that you believe in yourself,

because all this is about believing in yourself.

Can the group impress Gareth and Craig

with their first attempt at writing from the heart?

Well done, everyone. You've come up with some really good lyrics

and I'd really like to hear them.

I want you to read it with real emotion.

I'm going to write it all in song.

Hey, maybe not today,

maybe tomorrow when I'm away.

I wake up in the morning and I feel like going back to sleep

even though I'm not tired.

You get mugged and you cry, it's better than the fact that you die.

You've got to look at those lyrics you've written,

think about what you're trying to say. We can all shout the words,

"Can you feel it, can you feel it?"

It's like, well, I don't really feel what you're saying.

If we're like, "CAN YOU FEEL IT? YO!"

See, I'm talking to the brick wall, but you were feeling that.

I think we all need a bit more of that passion, quite frankly.

That Craig David passion. Let's thank Craig for coming.

-THEY CLAP

-Thank you.

The workshop with Craig David was awesome. I want to do it again!

He taught us how to be, like, have emotion when you're singing.

When you're singing, you can't just say it. You have to mean it.

# Ooh-ooh-ooh. #

For some, the excitement of meeting a world-famous singer

still hasn't worn off.

We saw Craig David in the park for free

and people pay to see him in a concert

where they can't actually see his face or hear his voice.

Whoo! We saw him for free.

That is the best thing that has ever happened! Whoo!

Can I do some actions with my bit?

What actions can we come up with for your bit?

# If you look around

# The whole world's coming together now. #

With their first performance just hours away,

there's one more stop Gareth wants to make.

OK, everyone, you've probably noticed we're at a school.

It is Katie and Annabel's school

and we've come here because they're doing the solo today

and I've got a bit of a challenge for you.

-Ready?

-Yeah.

Right, you two, come with me.

So, Annabel, Katie, we've come to your school music department.

-Have you got any idea why?

-No.

-To sing?

To sing, definitely. You are going to be singing.

In your music classroom, I've got some people

who I want you to sing your solos to.

It's some of your classmates.

To be honest, I think it all hangs on who's in there.

I think it will be pretty hard to sing in front of us.

If it's a boy that I know and am good friends with, I wouldn't mind,

but if it's a boy kind of boy...

-ANNABEL:

-Boys would be too much cos they criticise you.

They're going to... If I'm bad,

they're going to spread it round the whole class.

Will Katie and Annabel have the guts to face their own personal fears

and sing in front of their classmates?

I have two singers who I think you know.

'Can we give a huge, warm round of applause for...'

Katie and Annabel!

Two, three...

One, two, three...

# Can you feel... #

We've started.

KATIE WHISPERS

# When you look around... #

-That's it. OK, would you like to start again?

-No!

The audience are in, they're here!

Ready and...

One, two, three...

# Can you feel it?

# Can you feel it?

# Can you feel it?

# If you look around

# The whole world's coming together now

# Yeah

# Can you feel it?

# Can you feel it?

# Can you feel it?

# Feel it in the air

# The wind is taking it everywhere

# Yeah

# Can you feel it?

# Can you feel it?

# Can you feel it?

# Yeah, can you feel it? #

They did it...after three attempts!

Take the applause, bow.

There'll be no second chances when they take to the stage later today

in front of Gareth's old school choir.

Katie needs to believe in herself a bit more

and Annabel just needs to be louder.

She's got confidence, she just needs to be louder.

It was like really nice, proper singing.

I'm proud of myself, yes. # I did it! #

I'm feeling OK with myself, but there's still the big...

bigger one to go, isn't there?

I genuinely thought that Katie would crumble,

but she did it and she has a nice voice!

It sounded lovely and I think everyone could hear.

If you just go for it, that would be really, really good.

It's very tough.

There's a lot to remember

and there's more to soul than just singing the lyrics.

I find that putting emotion into singing

is something that you just try and delve into yourself.

Think about a time where you've felt

the same as you need to feel in this song and make it real.

It is about believing. If you believe, they'll believe.

Soul music does what it says on the tin,

it really enriches the soul.

The moment has come.

There's no more soul training for these singers.

Can they feel it?

I don't feel that confident because there are some dead high notes.

I'm sure people sitting at home think, "I could do that, easy,"

but they come up here and do it...

I mean, it's a lot harder than it looks.

It's show time!

The audience is in and there's one final pep talk from Gareth.

I really want you to go for this performance.

You've got one chance to get it right.

When you're up on stage at the end of this,

in front of 40,000 people, there'll be no second chances,

I want you to get used to that.

We'll go out there and do it right first time, won't we?

-ALL:

-Yes.

Fantastic. Let's go.

This is the first time the group has performed

in front of people they don't know.

Gareth's old school choir has real credentials as performers,

having sung to hundreds of people before.

This performance is doubly important for twins Katie and Annabel.

Gareth will be assessing their suitability

for the solo spot at Proms In The Park.

(One, two, three.)

# Can you feel it? Can you feel it?

# Can you feel it?

# If you look around

# The whole world's coming together now

# Yeah

# Can you feel it? Can you feel it?

# Can you feel it?

# Feel it in the air

# The wind is taking it everywhere

# Yeah

# Can you feel it? Can you feel it?

# Can you feel it?

# Spread the word and try to teach the man

# Who's hating on his brother

# When hate won't do

# Can you feel it?

# Can you feel it? Can you feel it? #

APPLAUSE

The group has managed to perform to their first ever audience,

but they're a long way off having the confidence

to sing in front of 40,000 people at Proms In The Park.

When I was doing the performance,

I just got less nervous and just more confident

and I wasn't scared at the end.

Everybody was really pleased that I did do it

and everybody was patting me on the back and saying, "Well done."

It was brilliant!

I didn't really get in my, "Yeah!" But, em, I did it.

That wasn't the greatest performance I've ever seen,

but for them to go and perform to that small group

was very, very frightening.

It was the equivalent of going out in front of Wembley Stadium.

We've got Proms In The Park coming up.

I would say that Katie and Annabel

both have a low chance of being the soloist

because they are so nervous at the moment.

I'm not sure they could get up in front of that many people

and pull off a really good performance.

Being the first soloists,

they now have nine weeks to improve and impress Gareth.

Oh, I can't do it.

Next time on The Big Performance, Gareth turns up the heat...

-CRYING:

-I don't want to do it.

..as the group takes on show tunes...

I don't think singing is like the done thing for boys.

..and perform in front of their first professional audience.

'It's a difficult song.

'They've got to work hard,'

but if they're spending their whole time worrying,

they'll never get there.

# Aaah ah-ah-ah-ah-ah

# Ooh-ooh-ooh

# Yeah-eah

# Ooh-ooh-ooh

# Aaah ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah Whoa-oh! #

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