Should it have been Hollie or Greg? Semi 5 of Britain's Got Talent, mired in controversy

Oh dear, oh dear!

Last night (early this morning Australian EST) the fifth and last semi-final of Britain's Got Talent went to air in the UK. The final two positions in the Grand Final were up for grabs.

In semi 5, ten-year-old singer Hollie Steel apparently started crying. I say 'apparently' because I haven't seen video of this incident. Anyway, the judges took pity on young Hollie and gave her a second chance to perform her song 'Edelweiss' (if the judges knew what song she was going to sing, I wonder if they would have been so generous).

So Hollie gets another bite at the cherry. She sings without the waterworks. A little shakily, but OK. All judges gush praise...how brave, blah blah.

After all the acts have performed and the votes have been tallied, the judges must choose between Hollie, and countertenor Greg Pritchard - who did a rousing, albeit nervy, rendition of 'Barcelona'.

Well, guess who the judges chose? Sob story or unique talent? Uh, huh.

I believe Greg was robbed blind of a chance to be in the final. And from what I have read on forums and other blogs, I'm not the only one. 

There is talk out there of how you should only get one chance in the semi-finals to sing your song, and how ten is far too young to be a contestant when you don't have the emotional maturity at that age to deal with the pressure of being on stage.

Someone has even started an online petition called 'noholliesteel' - which is a tad harsh - after all, she did get enough votes from the public to allow her to be in the final two spots. 

But in betraying their partiality, it was the judges' decision to allow Hollie to go on at all, to the clear disadvantage of Greg, that should cause a fair bit of discussion in the UK when they wake up in a couple of hours' time.

**UPDATE**

On telegraph.co.uk I read where Simon Cowell overruled the producers when Hollie broke down. One of the co-presenters said he didn't think there would be time for her to complete her routine, and Cowell apparently proffered "we'll find the time."

As it would be technically impossible at such a late stage to put on a 13-act final - something that would have the producers and the phone voting company in complete apoplexy - the only fair thing to do, therefore, would be to allow Greg Pritchard to sing at (rather than in) the final. It would be a very small consolation, but the poor guy deserves at least that much.

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