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George Sampson

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George Sampson

George William Sampson (born 29 June 1993[1]) is a street dancer from Warrington, England, and was the winner of the second series of Britain's Got Talent on 31 May 2008, aged 14.[3] As the prize for the competition, he received £100,000 and the opportunity to perform at the 2008 Royal Variety Performance, to be staged at the London Palladium on 11th December.

Background

Coming from a poor background, George had to dance on the streets in his home town in order to raise money to travel to London for auditions. He would often be seen in Manchester City Centre, attracting large crowds, performing on Market Street.[4] After succeeding through the audition round, George then made it through to the semi-finals, which he very nearly missed by missing his train to London. He eventually reached London the morning of his semi-final.[5] George's parents, Brian and Lesley, split up when George was 10; George lives with his mother, sister Rosie and his brother Luke while his other siblings, Chelsea and Emily, live with George's father.[6]

Britain's Got Talent

2007 series

In 2007, Sampson auditioned during the first round of Britain's Got Talent, dancing to Drop (Timbaland feat. Magoo & Fatman Scoop). However, despite Simon Cowell's willingness for him to be moved onto the semi-finals, the other judges Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan did not think he was ready for the live stage. Despite this, the experience made him more determined to enter the 2008 auditions by dancing on the streets of Warrington to improve his technique, and to raise money for his family.

2008 series

Sampson got through the Britain's Got Talent auditions in 2008 by dancing to "Rock This Party (Everybody Dance Now)". He then came top in the audience's vote in his semi-final with his arrangement of Mint Royale's big beat remix of "Singin' in the Rain", complete with an artificial rain machine onstage, a formula that had previously been produced in a television advertisement for the Volkswagen Golf GTI.[7] He subsequently won the audience's vote, coming first overall. He broke into tears when the winner was announced[8] Sampson was due to perform a different routine for the final, to a track by the Bee Gees,[9] which he described as involving "a lot of movement without me actually doing anything".[4] An hour before the final started he changed his mind and, after consulting Simon Cowell, opted to perform his winning act from the semi-final again.[9]

After the event

In an interview the following day, Sampson told of his return to normality the Monday after the event.[10] He also told of his friendship with younger finalists, Andrew Johnston and Faryl Smith, saying that they weren't jealous of him winning. George has stated several times that he will use his money to pay off his mother's mortgage despite her refusal, and possibly take his friends who also busk with him to LA as "it's always been their dream". He also stated that he might buy a Volkswagen Camper for his Mum to drive around in until he is old enough to do so himself.

He will appear at the next Royal Variety Performance. Although George hoped to do his "Singin' in the Rain" routine again, it is said that Simon Cowell has bigger and better ideas.[11]

The Mint Royale version of "Singin' In The Rain" went to number 1 in the UK on download sales alone in the week following George's performance.

Fame after BGT

NatWest deal

On 26 June 2008, it was announced that George was to be the face of a new 11-18 account for NatWest bank, in a deal reportedly worth £1million[12]

Music/ Dance video

George is releasing a music and dance DVD on 1 December 2008.[13] It will include 5 backing dancers who won a competition on George's official Bebo; George will also be dancing in a recently decided song - 'HEADZ UP'.homepage

George held a competition in which contenders had to come up with an official logo for George to use, with George choosing the winner himself. It offered the winner the chance to meet George Sampson, an Apple Macbook with Photoshop installed, use of the logo on his upcoming posters, music DVDs and official websites and a signed poster of the logo. The competition entries were to be in by the 14th July 2008 at midday and the winner was to be posted as soon as George had time to look through the entries.[14] On 6th November 2008 the results were announced on the George Sampson website.

Into the Hoods

Sampson is making a debut in the West End show Into the Hoods. He will star in the show from 4 August until 30 August; however, he will not be performing on 11 August, 18 August, 25 August or 6 August matinee. Of his new role, he said: “This year is getting better and better - Into the Hoods show is funky and young and I love the music in it – I can’t wait to get dancing on that stage!” Into the Hoods takes place at the Novello Theatre in London and features music from the likes of the Gorillaz, Massive Attack, Basement Jaxx and many more. George is currently in rehearsals. He acts as one of the lost boys.[15]

Other appearances

On 20 July, 2008, George appeared on T4 On The Beach to try and teach two of the T4 presenters how to breakdance. He also performed a routine to the song "Dance Wiv Me" by Dizzee Rascal.

George is to be a guest on the UK Kids Choice Awards 2008 which will be broadcast on 20 September 2008 on the children's channel Nickelodeon.

Health

Sampson suffers from a rare condition called Scheuermann's disease, which affects developing bones in children and teenagers and can cause a curvature of the spine. The condition even caused him to go temporarily blind in one eye for two months around Christmas time, Sampson said to The Sun Newspaper. "The eye was all inflamed. I'd been using Deep Heat for my sore back, so at first I just thought I'd got it in my eye. But I ended up blind," he said. "The spinal nerves were trapped and it affected my optic nerves, I lost all my coordination and it was really hard to dance, as I didn't have my balance. I kept bumping into everything." Although his eyesight was restored, doctors have said he must immediately go to hospital at the first sign of any soreness in his right eye. Despite the scare, Sampson went ahead to compete and win the talent show, and has said nothing will prevent him from performing. "There's no way I'd ever give up dancing. Nothing would stop me," he told the paper. However, since the revelation George said "It's not that bad." and claims that his doctor has said he's allowed to dance.[16]

References

  1. ^ a b "BGT star to reunite with father?". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2008-06-29.
  2. ^ George Sampson: I'd love girls to go crazy over me | Teen Now | Now Magazine
  3. ^ "Finalist Profile: George Sampson". itv.com. Retrieved 2008-06-24.
  4. ^ a b "George is winnin' in the rain". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 2008-05-31.
  5. ^ "'Talent' star George worries about money". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2008-05-31.
  6. ^ "Dad never wanted to see me dance". Now Magazine. Retrieved 2008-05-31.
  7. ^ Brook, Stephen. "Blingin' in the Rain". The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-05-31. {{cite news}}: Text "date 2005-01-27" ignored (help)
  8. ^ "King George Rains". News of the World. Retrieved 2008-05-31.
  9. ^ a b "Song change helped George win show". Daily Star. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
  10. ^ "Back to school". itv.com. Retrieved 2008-05-31.
  11. ^ "George Sampson Q&A pt.1". itv.com. Retrieved 2008-05-31.
  12. ^ "George Sampson signs £1million deal with NatWest". The Sun. Retrieved 2008-06-26.
  13. ^ "George Sampson releasing music DVD". In Entertainment. Retrieved 2008-06-25.
  14. ^ "George Sampson Logo Competition". Syco. Retrieved 2008-06-25.
  15. ^ "George Sampson Makes West End Debut". Into the Hoods. Retrieved 2008-06-25.
  16. ^ "Dancing could cripple 'Talent' winner: report". Retrieved 2008-06-02. {{cite news}}: Text "date 2008-06-02" ignored (help)

External links

Preceded by Winner of Britain's Got Talent
2008 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
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