My thoughts on the Hollie Steel BGT Backlash
I was doing our live coverage of BGT on Twitter last night when Hollie Steel had her breakdown on stage. I don’t know about you, but it was very fraught and emotional, and even I had tears in my eyes. She genuinely looked devastated. Amanda looked devastated. Ant & Dec were – for once – speechless. Piers was conspicuously quiet, and Cowell was put on the spot to give the girl a second chance.
For Simon, it was a Catch 22 situation: Hollie and her mother were pleading for a second chance LIVE on national TV. What was he to do? Break the girl’s heart and take his Mr Nasty persona to new heights, or give her a second chance and risk the wrath of the nation for jeopardising another contestant’s chances? Faced with a tough decision, he didn’t really have much choice – he needed to promise Hollie a second chance to get her off the stage and keep the show running. You can’t really criticise Simon’s actions last night: he took the best action possible given the circumstances.
For Hollie, let me remind you of this: none of us know this kid. I’ve seen some supposedly adult people write some extremely nasty things about this girl. Whether she was genuinely upset or not, whether it was a tantrum or not, she doesn’t deserve all this vitriol. The Internet has a long memory, and I’d hate to think this child has a string of hateful messages left about her on various sites and message boards that she’ll discover and read as she grows up.
I’ve seen theories about her lack of tears, her pushy mother, her spoilt tantrum onstage
So, citizens of the Internet and Britain’s Got Talent fans: let’s get some perspective, shall we? Take a deep breath and prep yourselves for tonight’s final.
I know I can be as harsh as anyone else when it comes to critiquing reality TV contestants, but it’s not a proud day for the Internet when grown men and women start a #hatehollie campaign on Twitter. And accuse the child of being a spoilt stage school brat. And question her ability to produce tears when crying. I mean, do we honestly think that her breakdown was staged? She became overwhelmed and upset. Sure, she pushed the line between upset and tantrumming at one point, but let’s give her a break this once.
Even if it was staged, our noble tabloid press will no doubt find someone among the other acts who’ll give the story from backstage. There’ll be a disgruntled contestant or family member somewhere who’ll speak out and reveal if your suspicions are true. Until then, let’s assume we’re dealing with a 10 year old girl who got a little stage struck and simply wanted asecond chance.
I don’t, however, believe Hollie deserves to win tonight: the chaff has been removed and only the wheat remains apparently. Aiden Davies looks like a brilliant prospect. Stavros Flatley are a personal favourite of mine – funny, cute and irreverant. Susan Boyle, the Scottish internet sensation may also prove difficult to beat, although news reports in recent days may have tarnished her chances somewhat. This will be a tough final.
Unreality TV will be having a Britain’s Got Talent extravaganza tonight – we’ll be live on the Unreality TV Forum chatting about the show live, and I’ll be manning the Twitter desk, sharing the best tweets about tonight’s final! Feel free to join us!
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I take my hat off to anyone that can stand on that stage and perform, regardless of whether they mess up or not.
It takes guts to do a show like BGT and she’s had to take quite a lot for a girl of her age so I salute her and say well done.
I don’t believe she has the potential to win but I still wish her the best of luck for tonight!
It is not being personal about Hollie, but such as Callum with his Jungle Book songs, had confidence but he didn’t make it and he accepted it. I just hope that Hollie can come through tonight, if it should happen again it will be so sad and uncomfortable TV watching. A finalist should not be selected or ever win just on sympathy, however it may upset someone.
Hollie is far too young to cope with this competition and displaced someone who deservedly should have reached the semi-final. She will have lots more opportunities and the person she displaced had a real talent and a wonderful voice. The age limit should be raised to 14 then they could have a separate one for younger people.
Gerard, I agree I was appalled to read the nasty things that were being said about Holly. Whether you think it was right or wrong, she is good or not good there is no need to write such nasty things about a child. You can get your point across without being nasty, cruel etc.
she didnt deserve another go. if the dancers had fell or say a dog act [if one had got through] had not done a trick, they would never of got another chance. and piers square out said that he was voting for her purely because of the breakdown. its terrible! poor girl for the breakdown. but she didnt deserve another chance.
I think that Holly has a good voice and has done well in this competition however i don’t think that she is ready for this emotionally.
What happened to her on stage was very awkward for everyone.
I don’t think she deserved a second chance, but I don’t think the show could afford to deny her. They couldn’t win either way. If they stuck with no then she might have caused problems on stage and possibly got a bashing in the press, and since they said yes it feels unfair and they get a bashing.
I would point out that Cowell didn’t have to do anything. Given some of the things he’s done in his time it wouldn’t have hurt him any more to just stay quiet.
I don’t know about if it was faked. I didn’t see any tears but then fright doesn’t necessarily bring tears.
ha! also a lesson: pay attention to the leave a reply input boxes before submitting
She sang in the final like a young Sarah Brightman so perhaps there are incredibly special things ahead for her as her voice develops and matures. Shes certainly got courage to stand and perform in front of so many and she is only 10. Whatever happened yesterday, we all make mistakes and some more in public than others, its very wrong to jump to conclusions about her as people have. I felt bad when I saw her sort of jump happily after her performance and had not been happy about what we assumed was a foot stomping move yesterday but I think shes a dancer, agile, very dinky and expresses herself bodily a little when speaking as lots of little girls do anyway so was too quick to judge -leave it to the judges, they are the experts in the performing arts, live tv and the show.Her rendition tonight was stunning so best to her in future years.
As a childrens nurse what bothers me is the total disregard shown for Hollie’s mental welfare. There is supposed to be psycoligists watching out for the contestants, so where were they?. The producers said no to a second chance, but Simon,who has no medical knowledge,over ruled them. So she went to the final,did her best and failed.The reaction she had in the semis showed she hasnt learned to cope with stress. So how do you think she feels now? she seems a very immature 10 yr old and would have done better comming back next year when she has better coping skills.
All I can say is that Hollie is a fabulous little girl with a lot of talent.I hope that all the nay sayers put their knives away and wish her all the best for her very bright future.
She has brought so much joy to many people with her innocence and pure voice. Go for it Hollie! We love you and you will always be a winner.
Come and stay with us any time.
I am a mother, grandmother and a teacher and hope that everyone encourages this great talent. Too many negatives already in this world. GO HOLLIE from NZ.
It’s understandable it’s a big pressure sing in front of millions people. What happen to Hollie can happen anyone, but with age she hopefully will learn to ignore mistakes and just continue. Hollie got a second chance and that was nice to see. It was maybe not fair, but just at that moment i think it was right decision. She is just a kid and it’s terrible reading what so many people write about her. I wonder why they are so angry and full of hate. In the end, i think all fine with the 5th place in the final.
About Hollie, she is my personal favourite and her voice is stunning. She is very emotional and i hope she can show that in future songs as many good songs touch our hearts. It was also great sing a new song all time.
I wish Hollie all luck in future.
If I may quote Frances as I type this. I have seen the videos of Hollies performances; her audition, her semi-final shot, and the finals.
First, as Frances assumes there was a “total disregard shown for Hollie’s mental welfare” I have to disagree. I can guarantee you there were plenty of people ready to intervene in whatever way was necessary, but having Hollie’s mother come to her was better than what any one of them could have done. I would say that the show was definitely looking out for her welfare.
Second, Frances says, “but Simon,who has no medical knowledge,over ruled them.” Simon has that authority and power on that show, and I can guarantee you that he knew she needed the 2nd chance. Frances: “So she went to the final,did her best and failed. The reaction she had in the semis showed she hasnt learned to cope with stress.”
Again, you are wrong Frances. You obviously do not understand child psychology. Her stumble and failure at her first attempt in the semi-final would have been devastating if she had NOT returned with a second chance. She may never have pursued another dream because of the fear of failing. It’s like riding a horse, as an example. If you fall off, or get thrown off, you must get back on again RIGHT AWAY!, otherwise, you never will.
As for “So how do you think she feels now? she seems a very immature 10 yr old and would have done better comming back next year when she has better coping skills.” Frances, if she had not been given the chance, she may well never have tried again. And, a very immature 10 yr old? I think Hollie is a very shy child and had a sudden fear because she may have forgotten a line or word in the song and did not want to fail. She is a sweet girl that was rightly given the opportunity to try one more time and she succeeded the second time around. I think she feels quite good, regardless of losing in the finals. After all, she wasn’t the only one competing, wasn’t the only loser. She learned a lesson. Do your best and you can go far, but there is not guarantee that you will succeed the first time. Never give up, and the chance to be successful will come again.
Finally, since we do NOT know what was going on in her mind, what fears she may have had, and how she normally reacts to stress or anything else, I think it would be safe to assume that those who wish to speak badly of her, or any other person they do not know, are people that make snap judgements and have a miserable life. Never assume anything as many have done. After all, as this saying I learned many years ago says, “Assumption is the mother of all Fu#$-ups.”
Hollie Steel is a sweet girl with a beautiful voice and watching her in the finals one can see that her confidence level rose by her eventual success in the semi-final. She is one to watch in the future as I believe that she will be given the opportunity to continue this dream and she will succeed.
Side note: No disrespect was intended toward anyone posting here. Do not take my comments the wrong way. I have studied child psychology and a childs mind is very fragile. The lesson I believe learned by Hollie was that if you fall, you CAN get back up and try again. Her break in the semi-final was a lesson that I think she learned from after watching her finals performance.
She was superb in the finals and that speaks volumes about her and what she learned after her fall in the semi’s.
Again, she’s one to watch in the future. If she continues to pursue singing, she will most likely go far and be a huge success.
Robert you spent a long time disecting my arguements. so i will reply.
1)“total disregard shown for Hollie’s mental welfare- I have to disagree. I can guarantee you there were plenty of people ready to intervene in whatever way was necessary”
Oh really Robert? and how do you guarantee it? Were you there? or maybe the producers told you or you saw them hovering in the wings.?? You really dont know for sure do you?
2) Hollie’s mother come to her was better than what any one of them could have done”.
From what I saw,mum was more concerned with begging the judges to let her sing again then how upset her child was. And after the first few minutes, most of the comforting was done by Amanda and Dec while mum sat on the side of the stage.
3) “And I would say that the show was definitely looking out for her welfare”
by “the show”, i presume you mean these mythical experts who simon didnt consult before he risked damaging an already fragile childs mental health.
4) “Simon has that authority and power on that show, and I can guarantee you that he knew she needed the 2nd chance”
robert you sure guarantee a lot of things you have no real knowledge about dont you?.I ask you again,since he knows nothing about medician or the special needs of children, what gives him the right to make that decision?. But he does know what makes good television. I really think thats why he let her sing again – would have been even better if it happened again.
5) Robert disagress with me when i said “The reaction she had in the semis showed she hasnt learned to cope with stress”.
Now Robert dont you think what happened proved that. Of course she cant cope with stress, shes 10 yrs old for goodness sake. It should be years before she faced that sort of pressure
6) “You obviously do not understand child psychology. Her stumble and failure at her first attempt in the semi-final would have been devastating if she had NOT returned with a second chance. She may never have pursued another dream because of the fear of failing.”
And if on her return it happened again? that would have made things so much worse wouldnt it?. And have you thought that maybe she isnt cut out to be on the stage?
7)She learned a lesson. Do your best and you can go far, but there is not guarantee that you will succeed the first time. Never give up, and the chance to be successful will come again.
She learned that if you get upsetenough,cry and get hysterical, you will have people falling over themselves to give you another chance. That it doesnt matter that this second chance distroyed the dream of other people who at the time did better then you.
8)”I have studied child psychology and a childs mind is very fragile”.
Thousands of peopel have ’studied’ psychology, few actually deal with patients suffering from mental problems. a childs mind is so fragile that only experts could have decided what was the best thing to be done for her, not judges,producers or even her mother
Robert no offense ment
Holly was seen by a psychologist before singing in the
final to make sure she was okay. Also Simon does a lot
of work with special needs children so he does know
something about children. Surely its the mothers place
to make sure that her daughter was ready and she applied
for her to go on the show a mother is supposed to know her
child better than anyone else. In a interview with the mum
Holly has sung in front of many audiences of hundreds of people
this was not new which is why she was surprised at Hollies
reaction on the night. All children are different so you cannot
generalise whether something is right or not for them. Personally
I think the problem was that for Hollie it was all about winning
and not about having fun and enjoying the experience, and her mum
is very pushy. The first year we had little Connie singing who was
much younger than Holly but a completely different attitude she was enjoying herself and anything else was a bonus, which is why she was
not fazed by nerves etc the winning was not most important thing to her and her parents kept her grounded.
Mostly agree with Trudy.It was all or nothing for Hollie so shes not able to contemplate not winning. so want able to just enjoy being- no wonder she freaked out. But she should have seen a psychologist before the second attempt in the semis not before the finais. And again just because simon has worked somehow with special needs children he isnt any sort of expert on childrens mental welfare is he.
I wish Hollie didn’t have that tantrum, I used to really like her.
Her mother should have taken her off the stage to calm her down. Instead it all escalated into a full-blown tantrum.
Neither Hollie or her mother said ‘Thank You’ for being given a 2nd chance.
I don’t think that’s fair to say. You simply didn’t see them say “Thank You” on screen.
i think hollie did well
she hasent got her spoit brat mood
shes a lovey girl
i think she was soo breath to go back on
i wish you all the best hollie baby girl
your a star
xx hope you read this
and hope you wach me on stage next year xxx
love leah xx
Remember then 6-year old BGT finalist Connie Talbot? She was calmly poised through out the competition. Can anyone explained her composure?
Just a short note.
The person that wanted the second chance more than anyone was Hollie herself. Her mother only voiced what Hollie wanted. Go back and watch the performance and you can see that. Hollie was determined. No doubt in my mind that she was definitely determined. If she was so set on winning, she would have broke down and cried after losing in the finals. She definitely wanted the chance to go on to the finals.
A show such as this has to have the proper personnel to cover all age ranges in a psychological manner, otherwise face the possibilities of lawsuits that could end the show permanently. As for Simon working with special needs children, big applause for him. And this DOES give him some credibility in making the decision to allow a second performance. He, of all the judges present, or the producers, would have a better understanding of a childs mind, special needs or not.
Her breakdown was for forgetting the words and she was upset with herself and instead of carrying on she stopped. That’s quite normal for a child. She was not taken advantage of, she was not forced to try again, she was never once put into a real danger. If she truly has performed before an audience before, she knows and understands what it is to be on stage.
I support Hollie’s desire to try again, and I am happy for the successful finals performance that she gave. Once she got past the issue, she was really very calm and really enjoyed herself. I could not deny that child the right to perform, as she wanted to do, anymore than I could deny myself of breathing.
I am not going to disect Frances’s reply to my last post, but its obvious to me that he missed my point and I will continue to disagree with some of his point
And Trudy, you make good points here.
Enough said from me before I open a really big can of worms on my opinions of “experts” in the field of psychology. No offense intended Frances.
I was annoyed at her second chance as nobody else got that chance. Personally I would never have voted for her after the first round. Her voice is not remarkable from that of other children I have heard in church choirs. As for the crocodile ‘tears’ when she was initially told there was no time for a second chance. Come back in a few years Holly. You are not ready for this yet.
To be honest, I don’t think it had ANYTHING to do with her mental health. I’m not an expert or anything on child phycology but I am a teenager and I performed to large people when I was younger, it’s nerve racking, especially if you’re not used to it and if you mess up it can be really hard to try again, but she did! All she got was stage-fright. She’s a shy little girl and was scared that she’d ruined her chances. Good on her for trying again though
(y)
Having a break down on stage is easily done, but she seemed abit mardy to me, well not just me. When they said they didnt have time she kind of acted like Veruca Salt. I did think she was abit younger than ten so i was rather shocked when i found out she was ten. I know what it’s like to perform on stage though it is a nervy phase. Hollie Steel does have an amazing voice there is no doubt about it. But if floral high notes had a break down on stage i dont think Simon would give them another chance.
But hollie did so well on the tour last night along with 2 Grand.