This year’s Royal Variety Performance received backlash online as fans criticised the annual bash.
Britain’s Got Talent winner Sydnie Christmas couldn’t avoid the fume of viewers with her performance being branded a “letdown”. The singer, 29, had bagged herself a performance slot on the glitzy event after her impressive win on the ITV talent contest earlier in the year. She looked amazing as she turned up in a shimmering silver sequin shoulder less and strapless dress.
However, while her appearance was roundly praised, her performance wasn’t offered the same luxury. Her impeccable version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow from The Wizard of Oz saw her take home the £250,000 prize fund on BGT, but for the Royal Variety show, she opted to sing her own new song, Believer, from her debut album, My Way, which was released in October.
Sydnie Christmas attends the Royal Variety Performance (
Samir Hussein/WireImage)
Sydnie’s performance divided viewers (
Matt Crossick/REX/Shutterstock)
One disgruntled Twitter/X user wrote following the performance: “What a terrible song Sydnie Christmas sang. What a letdown after her performances on BGT. Apologies if it is a well-known song – I didn’t know it.” Another added: “Eeesh, that song wasn’t right for her. Really didn’t showcase her voice as well as the ones she performed on BGT,” and a third said “Sydnie Christmas performance on Royal Variety justified her one week at position 71 before burning. Terrible.”
The view was echoed by others online, with another claiming: “Not a great choice of song for Sydnie Christmas.”
However, despite the negative vibes from some, others were quick to praise the performance. One user gushed: “Forgot how amazing sydnie is… wow,” while a second agreed, saying: “I stand by Sydnie Christmas being one of the best Britain’s Got Talent winners ever. THAT is what you call a performance fit for the #RoyalVarietyPerformance!”
Sydnie had earlier shared peeks of her performance on her Instagram Stories, showing her pride at the accolade. She also revealed the design behind her glam look which revealed the look “from drawing” to the end product.
Elsewhere on the show, viewers ripped into presenters Amanda Holden and Alan Carr. The criticism of the duo also led to some fans pleading for a former presenter to return to hosting duties next time. In 2023, Bradley Walsh presented the charity event and viewers are yearning for him to return, with some going as far as calling him the “perfect” option. One user claimed: “Honestly, who thought Alan Carr and Amanda Holden were the right choice for this? They might be great at other things but the Royal Variety Performance needs presenters with the right balance of class and charisma. Bradley Walsh would have been perfect for the job.”
