Preston native Graham Blackledge, who is incredibly personable but odd, entered the Britain’s Got Talent stage prepared to perform a unique musical act. Graham’s friendly manner and amusing anecdotes, such as how he met his organ-playing wife in a music store, won over the judges even before he began. He wanted to show off his special ability to sing and play the organ at the same time. But in spite of his charming demeanor and well-meaning intentions, the judges were clearly uncomfortable with what they were going to see, which led to one of the most contentious performances on the show.
Graham’s performance of “La Bamba” was terrible from the start. Judge Alesha Dixon hit her buzzer early and deemed the performance “horrific” due to his inconsistent organ playing and strained accompanying vocal. Graham’s “weird smiling” was questioned by Simon Cowell, who stepped in and asked him to try singing and playing again without the strange facial expressions. Gamely complying, Graham resolutely carried on with the embarrassing, unorthodox performance that left the crowd unsure of how to respond and further perplexed the judges.
In the end, the act’s utter strangeness divided the judges. In his harsh but memorable review, Simon Cowell called the performance “hideous” and likened the odd pairing of singing and organ music to “eating vanilla ice cream with a sausage.” But Graham’s charm turned out to be his greatest asset. Alesha Dixon said that she adored Graham despite buzzing before, and David Walliams acknowledged that he “quite enjoyed” the act in an odd manner. Graham amazingly advanced to the next round of the tournament by obtaining the necessary three “Yes” votes in spite of Simon’s “No.”
