by Jonathan Antoine is known as one of Britain’s Got Talent’s most famous contestants.
The hit ITV show is returning to our screens for its 17th season tonight. Alesha Dixon, Amanda Holden, Simon Cowell and Bruno Tonioli aim to find the next big star to perform at the Royal Variety Show.
Jonathan was one of the show’s breakout stars when he finished second on season six of the show, which aired 12 years ago. The classical singer was 17 years old at the time and surprised the judges with his performance of ‘The Prayer’ at the audition stage, alongside Charlotte Jaconelli.
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Jonathan’s powerful voice was praised by Simon Cowell, who compared him to the legendary Luciano Pavarotti. The singer sent them through to the final, but the actor’s dancing dogs Ashleigh and Pudsey beat them to the prize.
Simon was shocked by the performance and compared Jonathan to the superhero Luciano Pavarotti. Jonathan and Charlotte were beaten in the final by dog act Ashleigh and Pudsey.
The contestant previously admitted that he was to blame for not winning the show. He told our sister site, Mirror Online: “I remember the feeling of the organs sinking. I wasn’t crying on stage.
“You have to think then, with Ashleigh and Pudsey, their mission with animals, they’ll probably do more responsible things with that than I ever would. Great people too. Remembering everyone who comes above or below you, it’s made of the same stuff. We’re all flesh and blood and electricity coursing through them.
The second place seemed to kick-start Jonathan and Charlotte’s careers as they signed up to a £1m deal with Simon’s record label, Syco, just days after the show finished. Jonathan and Charlotte released their first album Together in September 2012 and their second album Maybe Love in August 2013, but decided to split in February the following year after Sony Classical offered them individual record deals.
Simon encouraged Jonathan to go solo during his time on Britain’s Got Talent and Jonathan explained that this had always been his goal. He said: “Charlotte raised my confidence to the level where I could go on BGT and we did something beautiful.
“Neither of us were ensemble artists, we loved solo performances, so it was a natural evolution. There’s only so much a classic crossover duo can really do without starting the whole thing. Reinventing. At the point I had the confidence and understood myself a little more I felt it was time to make the leap.”
Jonathan’s solo career was successful and his first album, Tenore, reached number one in the Classical Artists Album chart and he began touring the UK and the US. He is now 29 years old and keeps regular updates on his Instagram channel.
He took to the social media platform earlier this month on Autism Awareness Day and revealed that he was diagnosed two years ago. He said: “I got my diagnosis in 2022, not long after my 27th birthday, and for a little while I fell into it like a daydream. It’s a scary thing to re-contextualize a life that was lived already, but things are already decided – there is no going back from here!
He added: “I still don’t know exactly what to add to the wider discussion, I’m in the process of finding out what it all means to me first, but maybe the naiveties of the process that’s brand new. a lot to write down, so i try regardless
“As in our ideological leanings, I’d wager that the vast majority of people lie somewhere off the extreme ends of a given spectrum, and indeed those ‘ends’ really blur together in strange ways interesting and loop back around by hiding. channels – although I only have anecdotal evidence to support my opinion. I’ve met a lot of ‘normal’ people, but I don’t know that I’ve ever met someone who was completely ‘neurotypical’.
“Our inner and outer worlds are therefore very different, and by ‘our’ here I mean people in general. We cultivate inner spaces that reflect our material outer world and then expect that outer world to conform to our personal interpretations of it. The filter Our essential atypical perceptions, variations from ‘basic reality’ We all find our own little ‘Matrix’ hidden just behind our eyes, and each of us sees a different tint of the real world a lens through which someone else is viewing the world.
“Be kind then, look a while through another’s glasses, and feel how different we are together. All my love, as honestly as it can be given.”
Jonathan also talked about how he recently adopted a healthier lifestyle in an effort to lose weight. He added: “I still have a lot to lose but I’m making my way. I feel stronger and healthier than I have in 10 years, which is a lot. This year I’ve made an active choice. I felt that I lacked control enough.
“When I was out in America it’s fast food everywhere. I was in terrible shape at the beginning of the year and managed to claw my way back doing light exercise.”
He added: “I’m a big fella so heavy exercise would wear me out. I’m working my way up, thinking about what I eat because that’s important.” Jonathan is taking 10,000 steps a day, even if it means walking around the room, and feels like he’s living his life now.
He said: “For a long time I was just experiencing life, letting life live on, trying to find the next pleasure. It’s very satisfying to be in control of your own life, to seize life with your hands.”
Britain’s Got Talent is on ITV tonight at 7.30pm
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