Britain's Got Talent / Mike Norman / 24 May 2009 / Leave a comment

The auditions are finally over and the live semi-finals are upon us, all of which means a week of being a couch potato for Betfair's Britain's Got Talent correspondent "Mystical" Mike Norman...

Boylemania is set to reignite this evening as the first semi-final of Britain's Got Talent hits our screens. Eight acts will perform in front of the live cameras with the top two, as voted for by the public, making it to Saturday's live final.

Susan Boyle is undoubtedly the star attraction tonight, the Youtube sensation being available to back at just [1.27] in the Public Vote Winner market.

Boyle will almost certainly win tonight, but at the very least she will qualify to the final for which she is available to back at just [1.07] - those odds highlighting her popularity, her talent, and the expectation heaped on her. Of course, there is always the danger of the public thinking she will easily make it through and as a result don't pick up the phone and vote for her. I'd be very surprised if that were to happen however.

So with Boyle being unopposable in the Public Vote Winner market, a chance is taken on violinist Sue Sun to also qualify, for which she is available to back at [8.0] in the To Qualify market.

Talented dance group Diversity ([2.12] to qualify) and cute little singer Natalie Okri ([2.14]) are likely to be Boyle's closet pursuers tonight, but their odds are a little prohibited considering how good Sue Sun actually is. She impressed massively in her audition and received some fantastic comments, most notably from Mr Nasty himself Simon Cowell. If Cowell gives similar compliments tonight, the public might just be tempted to give her the nod.

The other four acts competing this evening are Faces of Disco ([18.0] to qualify), Julia Naidaneko ([32.0]), Nick Hell ([55.0]) and Darth Jackson ([55.0]) - all of which will make the night an entertaining one, but aren't anywhere near good enough to make Saturday's final.