Who is Innocent Masuku and could he be the next winner of Britain’s Got Talent?-Pierra Willix-Entertainment – Metro

Innocent Masuku is one of the finalists on this season of Britain’s Got Talent (Picture: Dymond/ Thames/ Shutterstock)

As the Britain’s Got Talent final gets closer, the first two acts competing for the £250,000 prize have been revealed.

After weeks of auditions, the competition is now down to the pointy end, with the first semi-final this week seeing Innocent Masuku and Ssaulabi Performance Troupe sent through.

Opera singing powerhouse Innocent received the most votes from the public after an incredible closing performance of Hans Zimmer’s Now We Are Free.

Many watching on at home said his ‘incredible voice’ left them with ‘goosebumps’ and that he was their pick to win this season.

Judge Simon Cowell said Innocent was ‘incredibly talented’ and his performance was ‘immaculate’.

But before he takes to the stage again, here’s everything we know about the South African opera singer.

What is Innocent Masuku’s act?

Nkululeko Innocent Masuku is a South African operatic tenor, who is now based in London.

The South African opera singer auditioned with a rendition of Caruso by Lucio Dalla (Picture: Dymond/ Thames/ REX/ Shutterstock)

The 33-year-old is a former studio member of the Cape Town opera where he made his first public performance in a production of Porgy and Bess set in Argentina and in which he played Crabman.

He followed this up by playing Borsa in Rigoletto and has also played Tamino in the Magic flute.

The tenor has performed in master classes led by Maestro Kamal Khan and Willard White.

He is currently working at Garsington Opera, based near Oxford.

Innocent has received various accolades including a Merit award in the 2019 SAMRO competition, a Drake Calleja trust award, and sponsorship by The Tillet Trust fund.

Who is his wife?

When first appearing on BGT, Innocent went along to the audition with his fiancé, who is a nurse and whom he joked ‘had a proper job’.

She was seen sitting in the audience and excitedly pointing out Innocent to the man seated next to her when her fiancé appeared on stage.

In the semi-final, hosts Ant & Dec revealed Innocent had since tied the knot, with the performer saying married life was ‘wonderful and amazing’.

What have the judges said about him so far?

In his audition, Innocent said opportunities in London were ‘vast’, however he faced some rejection and was told ‘maybe next time’ when chasing opportunities.

He has impressed the judges with his performances (Picture: Dymond/ Thames/ Shutterstock)

But filled with plenty of confidence, he said he had what it took to win the competition when questioned about his talent by Simon.

He went on to perform a rendition of Caruso by Lucio Dalla, with the first moments seeing judge Bruno look taken aback by his powerful voice.

After receiving a standing ovation from the judges and audience, Alesha Dixon said she was ‘lost for words’.

‘This is your calling,’ she added.

Meanwhile Bruno Tonioli added it was ‘very very special’ and Amanda Holden added that Innocent was ‘hands down in the seventeen years that we’ve been doing BGT, you are by far the best opera singer we have ever had’.

‘You deserve this break. You really do,’ Simon shared.

Innocent then went on to receive four yes’ from the panel.

In this week’s semi-final he was again praised, and then won the public vote to be sent through to the final.

What are his chances of winning the BGT final?

This week there will be 40 acts performing across five semi-finals.

He is now in the running to take home the £250,000 prize (Picture: Dymond/Thames/Shutterstock)

On Monday, Innocent was one of the two acts sent through after eight of them performed for a chance in the final.

By the end of the week, the group will have been whittled down to eight, who will then perform for the last time on Sunday, with Innocent in with a 1 in 8 chance to take out the title.

The day after he was sent through to the final, Innocent shared a message of thanks to his fans on social media.

‘Thank you so much for the love and support and all of the votes. I thank you. Looking forward to Sunday – let’s keep the buzz going!’ he said in the video.

Britain’s Got Talent live semi-finals will air each day until Friday at 8pm, with Sunday’s final at 7.30pm on ITV1 and ITVX.

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