for USAHere is a video of Hollie Steel and Nina being interviewed by Stephen Mulhern after her amazing come back in the semi finals of Britain’s Got Talent. Nevin has very kindly uploaded this video onto YouTube so that we can all watch it. Thanks Nevin x
Update: Nevin has uploaded the complete interview to YouTube, which includes interviews with Hollie’s dad Jason and Hollie’s Grandma. You can view it here:
2 Grand album Audition Bournemouth Britain's Got Talent tour bully bullying Burnley cd chat Christmas Dave D'Mello Edelweiss forum HMV Hollie Steel Hong Kong I Could Have Danced All Night interview Josh Joshua JSG Top 10 Awards July 5th Manchester musical Nessun Dorma Nina Nina Steel opera Other BGT Piers Morgan Pop 4 Diabetes Preston quiz record contract record deal Rolf Harris semi final Simon Cowell single TV video Where are you Christmas Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again YouTube
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July 22nd, 2009 | 
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was a big day for hollie, i felt so sorry for her, because normally she can do a performance in front of many people, but anyone told her that 15 million people will watch her. i loved simon on that nigth that he said they will find the time anywere.
Pretty tough to keep a dry eye watching that. All the more remarkable that Hollie could calm down & do a great performance the next night. Her resiliency is amazing.
Hollie still was a bundle of nerves for her final song. She is very good at hiding it. You can tell, though, by watching her hands. Instead of her usual well-choreographed movements she justs twists her fingers and her dress. She did the same thing in her semi-final performances. Because of her nervousness, I thought she was a little tenuous at the start of “Wishing…” but grew more confident as she went on. I believe dancers have less problems with stage fright because its easier for them to release their pent-up nervous energy in the physical activity of the dance.
Mick,
Ashley Banjo of Diversity has been a life-long dancer. His mother is a choreographer. Ashley, together with his older mates from Diversity, has competed in dancing competitions for many years – you can watch their videos on YouTube. The elements from the choreography they performed at BGT were studied a long time ago and have been performed a number of times.
I think dancers experience the sense of togetherness which provides them with confidence to perform. As far as the young guys from Diversity go – Mitchell and Perry, their confidence is strengthened because of the older guys.
Flawless are a professional dance trouppe.
This is not to depreciate the success of Diversity. They were my fav because they did a very entertaining show. Unfortunately, BGT show is all about popularity, and not so much about talent, otherwise Hollie should have won because she has the best chances of all finalist to have a successful and long-standing career.
Oh, my, it’s almost 2 months after BGT has ended and I still think of Hollie’s performances. Do I suffer Holliemania?
Lots and lots of smiles to everyone.
Georgi
i can´t believe this hollimania of me too, normally i have no spezial kind of music that i like but now i have, and its not the kind of musik of the songs hollie sings, no, its the kind of music how she sing it. before hollie i had no spezial singer but now she is my one and only spezial singer although she is only 11.
wish her much of luck.
kevin (16)
Holliemania? LOL. Because of the work I did in So Cal I’ve been in Paul Newman’s, Liberaci’s (sp?), Lucille Ball’s, Elke Sommer’s houses & had conversations with them. Ran into Gregory Peck 1 night at the Greek Theatre. For you youngsters they were famous in their day, they’ve all passed on. Maybe because of growing up in California but never once did I feel inclined to get an autograph. I was never particular fan of anybody’s before.
But now I’m a big fan of Hollie’s. Ever since I came across her audition by accident I’ve been watching her videos just about every day. That great voice coming out of such a petite little lady is amazing.
Thanks for posting the video. It shows what a lot of courage Hollie has to be able to perform. It has been lovely to see her progress on the BGT tour. I look forward to hearing and seeing Hollie in the future as she develops into a wonderful singer.Lots of love, Sharon in NZ.
I agree with Kevin. I 1st heard of Hollie, when I heard Susan Bayle all over the news in the USA, I never heard off Hollie at that time. So then I went on youtubes to hear Susan sing “I Dreamed A Dream” & I thought wow she got a good voice. As I was looking through the channels playlists I saw Hollie Steel which I almost overlooked, & decided she looks cute, so I guess I’ll check out a cute little girl’s act. I randomly choose the 2nd “Edelweiss” & I watched in my biggest amazement as my heart melted & my eyes started to water with tears, my thought was, she’s the best singer that I’ve ever heard in my life, and the only singer to bring tears to my eye. Although Jamie Pugh did make my eyes water also with “Bring Him Home” but not as much as Hollie.
By the way Jamie Pugh also has inhumane cowerdly cyber bullies picking on him too, calling him a liar & fake. Those cyber bullies need to live together on a remote island in the middle of the ocean with no internet.
for me hollie´s performances are the only ones that make me cry, because of the story behind it and also she was only 10 were she started at BGT and she has got the best and most powerfull voice.
but i reely liked other performer of BGT too, but not as much as hollie steel.
Georgi,
I caught Beatlemania when I was 16 (you can now calculate my age) and now I have just contracted a virulent case of Holliemania. There’s been nobody in between who has caught my fancy to this extent although the Rolling Stones came close. Being an introspective person, I’ve thought why I like Hollie so much. I’ve concluded it’s because of her extraordinary promise. I have no trouble imagining a career for her to match (if not exceed) that of Julie Andrews, Barbra Streisand, or Angela Lansbury. She has the looks and talent to succeed in film, theatre, and television.
I have, sometimes, wondered how the 10 finalists will do after BGT.
I’ve already predicted the greatest future of all of them for Hollie.
Of the rest, I think Ashley Banjo will have a career as a choreographer. He is brilliant at this. In fact, I saw no dance troupe in America’s Got Talent this year that comes close to the innovations of Diversity (the auditions just finished this past Wednesday). I think, if Diversity had performed on AGT this year, they would win there, too.
Julian Smith will likely get an album or two out of this but it’s hard to visualize stardom for a saxophone player.
Will any more doors open for Flawless? I don’t think so. They are already champions in their field and well-known.
With his performance at Michael Jackson’s funeral, Shaheen seems to have a strong career marked out for him for the next several years. What happens when he becomes an adult, though? I think he may suffer the obscurity that has been the fate of many child stars. I hope I’m wrong, because I really like Shaheen’s voice and style.
I give a lot of credit to Aidan because he had the determination to teach himself how to dance but, for a dancer, he hasn’t learned to move his feet very well. Like Hollie, he could have a long career (if he can sing) but, at this point, he needs professional training.
Two Grand, Shaun Smith, and Stavros Flatley were all very enjoyable but I don’t foresee successful careers for them. I do think that Shaun and Sallie could fare well as part of a group, though.
I think Susan Boyle will have a great success for two or three albums with attendant large concerts. That will be enough to set her for the rest of her life. Then she will settle down to more intimate appearances which she probably would prefer, anyway.
Mick
i think hollie is the only one of the BGT finlalist who will have a big career for as long she wants to have, because all of the fackts mick uhl said she could work in the theatre (musicals), as a actor, television or of course a singer, but thats hollie´s choise, maybe later she want´s to work as something else and i think she can work as what she wants. and i agree with what you said mick uhl about the careers of the other finalists
I agree with Mick that Hollie, being a classical/musical singer and dancer has the best chance of a long-lasting career of all this year’s BGT finalists. Last year there was Faryl Smith, another child who is a classical singer who had achieved greatly in het first year. She could even afford making a powerfull enemy (Simon Cowell) and still be very succesfull. I’ve seen a few interviews with her and she is also still a very nice, normal and happy girl, what is even more important than being succesfull IMO. If Nina and Jason ever want to exchange ideas about parenting a gifted kid, it may be a good idea to meet Faryls parents. Probably Hollie won’t be succesfull so fast as Faryl, who was 2 years older and unusually mature for her age, so taking things a little slower with Hollie may be better. But who knows were she’ll stand when she has reached Faryls present age (14).
By the way, Faryl also got her share of cruel online critisism for no other reason than being a little esthetically challenged, but her defenders outnumber the bullies at least 10 to 1.
Wouter
Mick,
My parents were both 16 when they caught Beatlemania, too. I still keep my mother’s favourite album, ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’. Personally, I like the early Beatles songs (Love Me Do, Please Please me and so on) because of the energy they put into those songs.
Perhaps I was wrong in saying that BGT was a show about popularity and not about talent. Actually, the skill to entertain people is also a talent. But the entertaining value of the performers soon diminishes and they return into obscurity in (less than) a year’s time – the next show provides another portion of stars. You are absolutely right that only 1 or 2 of them will be remembered in the long run and will succeed in a long-standing career.
I agree with you for the most part about what you said about the future of the BGT finalists.
The bit I do not agree with you is that Mr. Stavros actually does not aspire for a career in music/dancing because he is a restaurant owner. I am certain that his restaurant will have (or has already had) an increase in visitors because of Stavros Flatley popularity. Perhaps he’ll make a chain of restaurants or something and his family will hugely benefit from their appearance in BGT 2009.
Julian Smith had already been a professional sax player who had released a few albums prior to his appearance in BGT. His stage name is Gools Gianny or something like that. You can check out his Wikipedia page. In my opinion this guy, as a sax player and performer, will return into obscurity soon – otherwise, he must prove he is better than Kenny G. Does Julian writes his own music? He might get more students and be better recognized by other musicians, though.
So, my 2 picks from BGT 2009 are Ashley Banjo, Stavros and Hollie. Ops, I’ve picked 3. Yeah, like I said, Stavros has a chance to succeed as a restaurant enterpreneur.
Georgi
Hello Georgi,
I like the early Beatles for the same reason that you do – they were very exciting. In fact, ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’ has been my favorite song since I first heard it in Jan. 1964 over 45 years ago.
I have just placed Hollie’s version of ‘Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again’ in my top 10 favorite songs. It has such a beautiful melody. Its sad tone reminds me of Dvorak’s ‘Song To The Moon’, another favorite of mine. Hollie’s rendition of the song was my first introduction to it. I really love the feeling she puts into her delivery. Since then, I’ve listened to Sarah Brightman’s rendition and, even though the song is probably better suited to a lower soprano register like hers, I prefer Hollie’s more emotional interpretation.
Have you heard of the possible collaboration of Hollie and Rolf Harris on a new CD? I hope it won’t simply be an imitation of 2 Grand. How well can a 79 year old sing any more? If the record does come about, he should let her do most, if not all, of the singing. In the US, Rolf is primarily known for his 47 year old comedic song, ‘Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport”. That’s not much of a recommendation. I’ve just read his wikipedia biography, though, and he appears to be famous in the UK with many honors and awards. I guess it will all depend on how sincere he is to accomplish something really good.
Mick
Hello all, to Joe Culbert above, I can still remember as a teen listening to “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” by the Beatles while washing dishes at the Pink Cafe in Sun Valley Ca.
I too found Hollie a couple weeks ago while checking out Ms. Boyle – I saw the first one with her dancing and was about to skip to the next when she started singing – I too, like Simon, do not care that much for the dance all night song; however, I was blown away by Hollie’s rendition. I, of course, had to watch the rest of Hollie’s video’s and am amazed at her talent and genuine humbleness. I have to watch the final at least once a day now. I even put in on my myspace page.
Personally, I belive Hollie should have won BGT, but I do agree that she will probably have the largest and most lasting success of all the participants. If I were rich, she would already have a contract.
So, Hollie (and all you fans), wish me luck to win the lotto so I can finance your prosperous career.
How many who visit this site count themselves true Hollie fans? I’ll know by the responses to this post. Watch carefully Britain’s Got More Talent episode 3 (broadcast the same day Hollie’s audition aired). Who are sitting behind Dec when he is joking with Stephen Mulhern in the holding room? Who are sitting behind the Bret Domino Trio when Stephen is interviewing them in the holding room prior to their audition? Just keep your eye out for a lilac and pink ballerina outfit.
Hello Mick.
Do you mean the bit where Hollies brother Josh is sitting with dad Jason . You are very observant Mick you can see nina and Hollie sitting behind the one in the green shirt
thanks for bringing that to our attention ,for spotting that in such a short clip you qualify as a true fan
thanks David N.
Hell David,
Very good. You spotted the two segments of the Steels waiting for Hollie to audition. In the first, I could see Hollie’s father and brother but could only spot Hollie’s foot and leg. In the second, you can actually see Hollie behind the Brett Domino Trio. She speaks something here but is unintelligble. You are the only one who responded so I guess I was getting too esoteric.
Mick
hey she’s like a little girl and for a girl at that age to sing in front of all those people, well i’m very IMPRESSED!
she has a lovely vocie and i bet i could hear her from 80 feet because shes so got and this is for her mom to.
hollie KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.
WELL DONE