Golden moment: Taylor Bennett, 17, embraces his rap partner Quacey Goodman (back to camera) as they are sent through to the live semi-finals of Britain’s Got Talent
A 22-year-old dental technician from Croydon, partnered with a musical mate he’d met on Instagram during lockdown, was awarded the last “Golden Buzzer” of the Britain’s Got Talent series in last night’s ITV show.
Rapper Quacey Goodman, who goes by the name Flintz, and 17-year-old pianist Taylor Bennett, from Birmingham, wowed the judges with their impromptu, under-rehearsed number, which clearly emotionally affected many in the audience.
After performing their song, written by Flintz, before an audience of more than 2,000 at the London Palladium in their audition, the duo were showered in golden confetti. Flintz and Taylor have now been a guaranteed place in this year’s live semi-finals.
The golden buzzer was sounded by judge Alesha Dixon.
“Nothing makes me happier than seeing young musicians, you had something to say,” Dixon said. “We’ve had no one on the show before like you which is brilliant and they say in life save the best to last.”
“Can’t wait to see what you’re going to do in the live shows now.”
Two stars are born: Flintz (right) and Taylor had only met earlier in the day before their Palladium audition
Chief judge Simon Cowell was equally admiring in his praise. “It was real, that’s what I loved about it. It was like a scene from a great movie. This shouldn’t have worked, bearing in mind you had never met before today, everything was just brilliant.
“It was absolutely a perfect audition.”
Flintz’s rap, he said, was his appeal to his younger brothers – both in the audience with their family – to do the right things and lead decent life. The moving lyrics had resonance that extends well beyond the often troubled streets of Croydon.
There was more than a touch of a showbiz fairy tale about how the act came to perform together, almost by accident. Or fate.
The duo had only met for the first time on the day of their audition. The rapper/pianist duo had never intended to become a double-act, with a microphone mix-up leading them to team up.
Flintz and Taylor managed a brief run-through of the piano-backed lyrics just before going on to one of the world of entertainment’s biggest stages.
The pair originally connected via Instagram during the 2020 covid-19 lockdown, when Goodman asked Bennett to create a melody to accompany his rap. Living about 100 miles apart, the musical liaison remained a virtual one, until the big day of the BGT auditions threw them together.
According to reports, they only officially became a double act when the talent show’s producers accidentally offered both of them microphones before sending them on stage.
Flintz and Taylor was born.
“A week before the audition,” Flintz said, “I told Taylor to keep it on the down-low but asked if he could help me out with the keys on the piano.
“He came up with a melody. We had one run-through to sound-check.
“Then the producer asked if we both wanted a microphone, it just happened we came out and introduced ourselves and they thought we were a duo and it just worked.”
The new act will have had a little time to polish their performance before the live shows, which are yet to be scheduled, hoping for a place in the final where first prize is £250,000 and a spot on this year’s Royal Variety Performance.
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