On this day in 2007, the first episode of Any Dream Will Do aired...

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...an unknown understudy took his first steps on the road to Stardom...

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...Denise Van Outen was reduced to a puddle of goo and Graham Norton demonstrated astonishing psychic powers!



It's hard to believe that it was five years ago!

Hah, that expression on Denise's face is one of my favorite memories of ADWD.

Wow, 5 years. He's done so much and come so far.

Thanks Jo I never get tired of watching that,I too love the look on Denise's face,I wonder if they have shown it to Betsy yet? maybe another year because she still thinks Stephen Fry is her Dad!!!!

I just found this ADWD promo thing on youtube. It doesn't feature the contestants, so it must have been used to promote the show before the first audition episode aired:-

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Ironically, Lee didn't quite fit the idea of the promo (i.e. 'any bin man, cafe worker or cab driver could be Joseph').

Here's another (brief) promo for the first live show, which does feature the contestants:-

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Thanks for the reminder, Jo.
In some ways it seems like only yesterday but what wonderful memories he's given us over the last 5 years.

Another, longer, promo thing, featuring all 12 'Could-be Joes':-

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Judging by his muscular arms, Lee had been eating his steaks!

Thanks for bringing back those memories. Where are they now? Has anyone made a followup thing for Youtube?
Five years on, sometimes it feels like five minutes!

Around Christmas, I compiled a 'Where Are They Now?' list for the BBC Casting Show contestants (as much to satisfy my own curiosity than anything). This is the ADWD section (bare in mind, this was done in December 2012, so there's no mention of 'Bedlam' in Lee's bit:-

ANY DREAM WILL DO

Lee Mead (Winner)
Joseph in Joseph & The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, released single (Any Dream Will Do) for Children In Need which got to number 2 in the charts, appeared in the BBC Special When Joseph Met Maria with six Marias (TV), released two albums (Lee Mead and Nothing Else Matters), voted Rear Of The Year 2007, recorded two songs (Somebody Help Me and You’ve Got A Friend) for the soundtrack of the film Three & Out, recorded duet (Next Time We Fall In Love) with Connie Fisher for her Album Secret Love, three month film acting course at Lee Strasberg Institute in New York, Lord Arthur in Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime (tour), Fiyero in Wicked, UK concert tour, guest starred as Harry Timms in Casualty (TV), Probation Officer (voice over) in Thrill Me (off-West End), Emmett Forrest in Legally Blonde, three week concert tour of Japan, third album scheduled for release in February 2012, concert tour to promote album in February. Nominated for two What’s On Stage.com Awards (Best Actor for Joseph and Best Takover for Wicked), winner of Most Promising Newcomer award at 2007 Variety Club Awards, various one-off concerts.

Keith Jack (2nd)
Narrator in Joseph & The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat (tour), Only The Brave (regional), appeared in the BBC Special When Joseph Met Maria with six Marias (TV), Peter Pan (Panto), Aladdin (Panto), recorded/released two albums (This Time and A Night At The Musicals), set up Gie It Laldy (Theatre arts school) in Scotland, performed on the soundtrack of the animated film The Dreams Of Kings, Joseph in Joseph & The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat (tour), Prince in Sleeping Beauty (Panto), various one-off concerts.

Lewis Bradley (3rd)
Principal singer in Chicago & Beyond (tour), u/s Joseph in Joseph & The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, appeared in the BBC Special When Joseph Met Maria with six Marias (TV), part of Dream On group (with Craig Chalmers, Chris C, Chris B and Antony Hansen) who recorded an album of the same name and did a concert at the London Palladium, Jack in Jack & The Beanstalk (Panto), Narcissus in Myths (TV), Prince in Sleeping Beauty (Panto), u/s Fiyero & ensemble in Wicked, Principal singer on cruise ship Azura, Prince Charming in Cinderella (Panto), various one-off concerts.

Ben Ellis (4th)
Principal singer in Dirty Dancing concert tour, Link Larkin in Hairspray, West End Weakest Link special (TV), presenter - Hairspray: High School Musical (TV), support artist on Michael Ball’s UK tour, The Hostage (off-West End), Prince Harry in Snow White (Panto), Peter Pan in Peter Pan (Panto), Got To Dance Live (host), Norman in Dreamboats & Petticoats (tour & West End) Brother Love’s Travelling Salvation Show (tour). Various one-off concerts.

Craig Chalmers (5th)
Joseph in Joseph & The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat (tour), appeared in the BBC Special When Joseph Met Maria with six Marias (TV), recorded/released album with Chris B, Chris C, Lewis Bradley and Antony Hansen as the group Dream On, did concert at London Palladium with Dream On group, Prince Will Barrow in Sleeping Beauty (Panto), Aladdin in Aladdin (Panto), singer with G*Mania group.

Daniel Boys (6th)
Anthony in Sweeney Todd (concerts), Rod/Princeton in Ave Q, appeared in the BBC Special When Joseph Met Maria with six Marias (TV), Recorded/released album (So Close), Jason in Ordinary Days (off-West End), Austin in I Love You Because (off-West End), Christian in Wolfboy (off-West End), supported John Barrowman on his 2009 concert tour and recorded duet (I know Him So Well) for JB’s album, recorded duet for Helena Blackman’s album, various one-off concerts, including one in LA and an appearance at an Australian music festival, recorded a track for Disney that can be heard in all their stores world-wide.

Rob McVeigh (7th)
Guest Star vocalist at Sir Tom Finney Gala performance (regional), appeared in the BBC Special When Joseph Met Maria with six Marias (TV), appeared on BBC’s Eurovision National Final 2008 Eurovision – Your Decision (with a song called Owe It All To You), ‘victim’ in Tonight With Trevor McDonald (TV), Prince Charming in Cindarella (Panto), Billy Pearce Laughter Show (regional), Movie Musical Magic (tour), Rock Shock Horror Tour (tour), guest vocalist in It’s Magic: Paul Daniels Show (tour), lead vocalist in Beyond The Dream: Rob McVeigh Show (tour), concert at London Palladium with Dream On group, Prince Rupert in Snow White (Panto), Dandini in Cindarella (Panto), Bundles/Bert Healey/Howe in Annie (tour), Aladdin in Aladdin (Panto).

Chris Barton (8th)
Part of Dream On group (with Craig Chalmers, Chris C, Antony Hansen and Lewis Bradley) who recorded an album of the same name and did a concert at the London Palladium, Benjamin/alt narrator/alt Joseph in Joseph & The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (tour), ‘Older Benny’ in Our Benny (regional), ensemble and u/s in Spring Awakening, Sketch in Hairspray, Rolf in The Sound Of Music (tour), recorded track (Please Don’t Go) for album of songs by composer Gareth Peter Dicks - The Music Box.


Seamus Cullen (9th)
Recorded/released EP with his band Mosquito, appeared in London Palladium concert with the Dream On group, played Che in Evita (tour), currently doing an acting course.

Antony Hansen (10th)
Part of Dream On group (with Craig Chalmers, Chris C, Chris B and Lewis Bradley) who recorded an album of the same name and did a concert at the London Palladium, Joseph/Pharoah/Brother in Joseph & The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat (tour), Fred in Gutter Press (regional), u/s Marius in Les Miserables, ensemble in Les Miserables 25th anniversary concert, LIVE from the West End (tour), u/s Fiyero in Wicked.

Johndeep Moore (11th)
Dandini in Cindarella (Panto), joined the Dream On boys for their London Palladium concert, Ajay in Bollywoodland: Love Never Dies (Madrid), Saleem Khan in East Is East (regional), Detective Sergeant Francis Benton Smith in The Private Patient (play on Radio 4), vocalist in Sondheim at 80 prom (Radio 2), Rajeev in The Blue Line (short film), backing singer for Il Divo at Classical Brit Awards – 2011.


Chris Crosby (12th)
Part of Dream On group (with Craig Chalmers, Chris B, Antony Hansen and Lewis Bradley) who recorded an album of the same name and did a concert at the London Palladium, Cinderella (panto), u/s Kipps in Half A Sixpence (tour), Scott in All The Fun Of The Fair (tour),

It's amazing the stuff that surfaced. Who'd have thought that Johndeep would have been singing backing vocals for Il Divo? I just youtubed their Classical Brits performance - I'm assuming that Johndeep is part of the choir for that song.

I'd love to see the BBC do 'Where Are They Now?' shows for each group of contestants, complete with performances and interviews with each contestant (so a similar format to 'When Joseph Met Maria'). It would be fascinating to see how their voices have matured and how they've matured as performers.

Thanks Jo very interesting,they have all done very well haven't they,I have often wondered what they were all doing

Thanks Jo. I found that really interesting to read.

OK, I'm trying to find recent youtube vids of the ADWD boys - I suspect some will be easier to find on youtube than others.

JOHNDEEP
(I think this is him - it's just audio and is from 2009)

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ANTONY
(Singing 'Empty Chairs At Empty Tables' from 'Les Mis' in 2009)

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SEAMUS
(Firstly, a recent vid of Seamus talking about singing...he's a vocal coach now)

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(Secondly, Seamus in Evita, 2008, with Louise Dearman as Eva Peron)

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CHRIS B
(Singing 'All That's Known' from 'Spring Awakening')

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ROB
(Singing 'I Owe It All To You' on the 2008 Eurovision selection show - 'Eurovision: Your Decision')

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(2010, With the cast of 'Pop Star: The Musical' - a musical about a TV talent show!)

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DANIEL
(Duet with John Barrowman - 'I Know Him So You' 200

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(Audio recording of the song 'Out Of Your World' from 'The Inbetween' - 2012)

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CRAIG
(Singing 'Dream On' with Chris C, Chris B, Lewis and Antony - 200

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(Craig with a Rat Pack tribute act called 'The Flat Pack' - 2011)

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('The Flat Pack intro - check out the song they're using...didn't someone win ADWD singing that? )

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BEN
(Singing 'It Takes Two' from Hairspray)

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(Audio of 'On The Street Where You Live' - 2010)

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LEWIS
(Singing 'Dancing Through Life' from Wicked - 2010)

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(Singing 'Any Dream Will Do' at a concert - 2011

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KEITH
(Singing 'If An Angel Falls From Heaven' - 200

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(Singing 'This Is The Moment' at a concert - 2012)

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LEE

(Singing 'Close Every Door' during the run of 'Joseph' - 2007 to 2009)

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(Singing 'Dancing Through Life' from Wicked - 2010)

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(Singing 'Take It Like A Man' with the cast of Legally Blonde - 2011)

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(Singing Anthem - 2012)

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Wow - fascinating stuff, Jo - thanks!

Jo, thanks for tracking down all the clips for everyone. I was surprised about Johndeep (I thought he had sunk without trace) very enterprising of him to go on the radio. A reunion would be a good idea.

Thanks, Jo, very interesting. TBH, it was a chore to listen all the way through for most of the other Joe's numbers. I think Rob is much improved and Chris B shows a lot of promise. Ben, Ben, as before, loads of charisma, but the vocals were still weak. OTOH, most of them are still quite young and learning.

Lee is STILL in another league of his own.

Thanks for all your hard work on this Jo. Very interesting
I saw Anthony Hanson as Marius in Les Mis several times and he was very good indeed. One of the best I have seen in fact. Also saw Ben in Hairspray in the W/E as Link Larkin. He was great, made for the part.

Just managing to catch up with this thread, and finding it very interesting...

I do agree that Lee is STILL in another league of his own. He puts his heart and soul into everything he does, and has this wonderful natural talent, of being able to embrace the audience into his performances, whether it be Musicals, Plays or Concerts.
This indeed is very clever, because not everyone who performs has such a natural ability...Lee has it in 'bucket loads'...and he's gorgeous too!
It will be so exciting to see his career unfold.

Thanks Jo for all your research...

I was thinking about my favourite ADWD moments. There are quite a lot, but I thought I'd list a few (with YT links where available).

LEE'S 'FIRST' AUDITION
The one where Lee sang 'Anthem' in front of ALW, Tim Rice and David Grindrod...and he failed to recognise Tim Rice! As it turns out, this wasn't actually Lee's first audition, because according to him, he was offered the chance to sing in front of ALW et al, after he got through his initial audition! Naughty TV bods!

LEE'S CALLBACK AUDITION
The one where he reduced his future wife to a puddle of goo, Graham Norton predicted the future with uncanny accuracy and Lee sang 'When You Say Nothing At All'!

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He sounds very posh in this clip and looks like Mr Darcy.

A SNIPPET OF LEE SINGING AT JOSEPH SCHOOL
He sang 'Don't Go Changing' and those few seconds of footage showed that he really was a league apart.

THE WHITTLING DOWN TO THE FINAL 20
This was purely done for dramatic effect - the 'Gladiator' theme music, John Barrowman striding along the rows of nervous young men, shattering their dreams by the placing of his hand on their shoulder. Oddly, Lee isn't shown in this sequence, leading some people at the time to theorise that, as the 'Chosen One', Lee didn't have to go through the final wittling process. However, you can clearly hear Lee's voice at the end, as he holds on that last note.

THE CONCERT AT ALW'S CASTLE
I loved that whole section where the boys travelled to Ireland for the concert. We got some nice glimpses of Lee - walking towards the castle with his hair blowing in the wind, standing on the stage looking all clenchy jawed and intense as ALW gave the boys a lecture and singing 'Patience' at the concert. Just enough to whet our appetites.
Unfortunately, we were only given a tantalising glimpse of the concert, but it allowed us to hear some of the boys' voices in a concert setting, rather than in auditions.

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YOU COULD BE JOSEPH
Lee looked as if he was about to keel over when ALW gave him the good news!

LEE'S FIRST PERFORMANCE - MACK THE KNIFE
Lee's first performance set the benchmark for everyone else. It was slick, polished and showed just what a good performer he was! I particularly liked the descent down the starcase to the rhythm of the music!
Some people thought he was arrogant after seeing this performance, but what they failed to realise was that the swaggering 'I'm The Dog's Doo-dahs' persona displayed in this performance was an act. Which really showed what a good actor Lee actually was!

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I DON'T WANNA TALK ABOUT IT
For me, this was the moment when I realised that Lee really was something special. His performance was simple and understated - no vocal acrobatics or OTT acting. You could see the pain and sadness in his eyes.

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ACTING MISSION
Lewis - "Do You like hospital food?"
Ben (to Lee) - "What I don't like is the fact that you think you've won!"
Ben slapping the other boys
Lee - "GUARDS! SEIZE HIM! LOCK HIM IN A CELL...!"

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LEAVE RIGHT NOW
A great comeback after the poor boy had been ill. He was back on form and wearing a waistcoat and tight trousers!

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PAINT IT BLACK
It started with a trip into the world of Lee Mead ("Body For Life! When You're Alone, work on your Body For Life!") and ended with praise from the judges. This was the song that probably won ADWD for Lee! From the 'so tight they look sprayed on' t-shirt and jeans (with metal studded belt) to the intense, mesmeric performance of PIB was just spot-on!

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JOSH GROBANGATE VT/YOU RAISE ME UP
The VT is classic positive/negative editing by the TV bods. We see a humble, thankful Lee and four peed off 'backing singers'. It's like they deliberately stuck the Lee bits in to make the others look even more churlish. A bit unfair, maybe, but makes for a classic VT!
I loved Lee's performance with Josh. Lovely vocal and a great demonstration of duet singing. Incidentally, when watching that vid just now, I noticed for the first time how see-through Lee's shirt was!

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OH WHAT A CIRCUS
This was an interesting duet, contrastic Lee's confident and natural acting style with Lewis' mannered and 'by the numbers' style. I always felt that Lee was never given the credit he deserved by the judges for his performance in this. They were falling over themselves to praise Lewis for achieving in the semi-final what Lee was achieving in Week 1!

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK
The performance that almost certainly sealed the win for Lee - lyrical flubs and all.

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WHO IS JOSEPH?
I remember that moment being unbelievably tense...I knew that Lee was the best performer on the night and throughout the series, but I didn't completely trust the British public. Luckily, the result went Lee's way!
Love the shot of Lee's parents hugging and Casey going bananas in the row behind!
Incidentally, Keith was an absolute star at that point - I don't know how he held it together, but he did, and behaved with good grace.

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ANY DREAM WILL DO
The winner's song. I love this - everyone seems so happy, inclduing the 11 non-Joes, who hoist Lee onto their shoulders at the end!

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As the hoisting onto shoulders bit is missing from that vid, here's another that has it on the end.

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I was watching Loose Women today and Paul Nicholas was on he is doing A Tale Of Two Cities and he was saying one of the cast is in the search for JCS,and he said Antony Hansen who was in the search for Joseph is in the cast,he has done well.

'Singing us out of the show ane all the way into the West End, it your Joseph, Lee.....'

I love those words from Graham. I still get a high from watching that clip. Its so full of excitement and energy and happiness!

There's one moment I forgot when compiling my list. It's the 'blink-and-you'll-miss-it' moment in the 'Hard Work' VT when Lee stripped down to his undies!

0.07 seconds in

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*THUD*

Thanks so much for these links as since I changed my TV, my video links no longer work so I can't play my old ADWD tapes any more.

Thanks Jo
Referring to your last 'Linky Thing', (a few times!...for research purposes you understand)

Oooh! yes indeedy...haven't seen that little beauty for awhile...
Definitely worth a *THUD*...and possibly a *PHWOAR*!!! too...

Lest we forget, five years ago, the first ADWD live show aired. Lee was second to perform.

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A strong first performance, I thought.

The charm, the chops, the moves, the charisma, the voice -- it was all there.

Thank you for all the links that year was a very special year,I dn't beleive it will ever be topped.

do you remenmber this girls http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj268/tint48/100_351410-1.jpg

Yes! Great portrait!

Yes, brilliant work!

Five years ago today, Lee gave his second performance in ADWD - 'Bad Day':-

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It was a perfect example of subtle, understated acting. No OTT gurning or movement. I think it was at this point that it started to become obvious that Lee was the strongest actor of the 12 would-be Joes.

It was at that moment that my obsession kicked in! Such a heart grabbing performance and sealed with a kiss. Thud....

Tanith Panic I have just been reading through all the posts and have just noticed that you said you can't play your ADWD video's now you have changed your TV well, I don't know whether you know or not but you can get them changed to DVD's I have done that

Thanks Acer, I'll look into that!

Five years ago today, it was week 3 of the ADWD live shows. Lee's song was 'I Don't Wanna Talk About It', and once again he showed his acting talent:-

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I think it was this performance that made me think "Wow! This lad is something special!" It was a subtle performance in which Lee managed to convey the emotions of heart-break without the need for shouting, gurning or OTT gestures. It actually felt like I was watching a scene in a WE show (I felt the same with his previous two performances, also).

I'm currently browsing the 2007 bit of the Timeline. There are some real gems!

April 28th 2007....Loincloth article (with photo ) plus a snippet from TVTimes (nice photo they've chosen to illustrate it) :-

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April 28th...radio interview with local radio station. This one is interesting because it was done while ADWD was ongoing:-

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April 30th...article from a local paper about three local hopefuls - two in the 'Grease' show (I don't remember them, probably because I was too busy ogling...er...watching Lee over on BBC1!) and a certain young man who was competing in ADWD!:-

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Thanks Jo that was great,is there a video of them all in their loincloths only I have never seen one

On this day in 2007, the fourth episode of ADWD was broadcast. Lee performed the rock classic Alright Now:-

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Despite being ill, he still managed to produce a sexy and energetic performance. Unfortunately, Zoe Tyler lost the plot and delivered her now infamous comment "That was a bit rubbish!" (at which point, Casey looked as if he was on the verge of leaping from the audience and letting rip with a stream of expletives). Zoe then lost the plot again in the results show when she named Lee as the contestant who wasn't Joseph (i.e. the worst performer of the evening)! Luckily, the audience at home didn't agree and Lee avoided the bottom two.

On this day, there was also an article in the Sun:-

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Five years ago today we were onto week 5 of ADWD. Lee put 'Bitrubbishgate' behind him and returned with a stonking performance of 'Leave Right Now':-

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A strong performance from Lee, who was back on form! Plus, a great choice of outfit - I wonder if someone in the wardrobe department had been to see 'Wicked' that week? Lee's outfit does look Fiyero inspired!

Also, this was the week of the Acting Mission. Classic stuff, though I did think it was slightly unfair that they kept cutting to shots of Lee giggling, when no doubt everyone else was doing the same! I was disappointed that we didn't get to see what Lee said to Ben. Good acting from Lee in the 'Guards! Seize him!' bit though. That's how it's done, boys!

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Thanks for the clips. I could watch "Leave right now" over and over again. As to the wardrobe, I remember Donna referring to it as waistcoat porn, which made me hoot. Happy days!

On this day in 2007 it was week 6 of ADWD. Two weeks ago, Zoe Tyler called Lee's performance 'a bit rubbish'. This week, she was forced to eat her words when Lee delivered what was, for many (including me), the performance of the series:-

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I must admit, when I heard that Lee was going to be singing PIB, I did think "Are they trying to throw Lee under a bus?" But if they were, they failed spectacularly because everything about that performance was awesome!

As a bonus, we also got 'trio' performances from the boys. This is Lee, Daniel and Craig:-

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Lee and Daniel really show their professional experience in this one. The contrast between their voices and Craig's is very evident.

Lee mentioned in an interview (after winning ADWD), that when he was assigned that song the others laughed because they thought it was an impossible song to do. But Pete Gallagher, the acting coach that worked on ADWD (with all the Joes) said this:

“It came to a head about three weeks before the end of the series,” Pete recalled. “Lee Mead was going to sing the song Paint It Black, which I directed as a theatre piece, and he was really quite scared. I told him, if you get this right you will win the series. He did get it right and Bill Kenwright said it was the finest interpretation he had ever heard."

Even though I prefer his album version of the song now, there's no denying that he blew everyone away with that number. In hindsight, he kept upping his game with every challenge which nobody else was able to do. They threw everything at him and he didn't just get through each time, he made every song his own in different ways and proved he was a bigger star than anyone imagined.

'Paint it Black! ...Oh! Phew!...Lovely to watch that again...
A perfect Monday morning treat.
Thanks Jo

That's interesting PKP. It would explain the other boys' stunned expressions at the end of the song! They were all sat in a row looking like this---->

I think performers have to be adaptable in these competitions in order to win, and Lee was.

One thing that disappointed me about ADWD is that we never got a week in which all the contestants sang an MT song for their solo performance. I'd love to have heard Lee sing 'This Is The Moment', or 'Oh What A Circus' as a solo. Seamus got 'Being Alive' for one of his performances and that's another I'd love for Lee to have been given. Unfortunately, they seemed to make sure that Lee was kept well away from the MT songs. I'd guess because if he had been given one, he'd have blown everyone else off the stage!

While I agree it would've been wonderful to have an all-MT slate of solos, I have to agree with what Scott Mathewman said in his Stage blog about the previous week:

"The gods of irony give Lee, who was on the verge of walking out earlier this week, the song Leave Right Now. And for me, his performance demonstrates just why there’s no real need for every song in the competition to have originated in musical theatre. It’s delivered with the passion and conviction that we expect from an MT performer, and something that is intrinsic to the performer, not the song. Bill praises his consummate interpretation, and both Zoe and Andrew think he’s awesome."

As with the PIB number, and all of his numbers, Lee approached them all as theatre pieces not just vocal ones. I can't think why Daniel wouldn't have done the same considering he'd have worked with the same drama coach each week as well. Maybe the clue is in the line "intrinsic to the performer" -- you've got to be gutsy enough to put yourself into every performance. I always felt that Daniel was holding back or wasn't ready to give that extra something, whereas Lee did bring it and every time as well.

Agree about the reactions from the others after Lee did PIB. Kiddies, that's how it's done! Hilarious.

Versatility is absolutely necessary for an MT performer, but for the X-Factor/Voice/Idol type shows I don't think it makes a bit of difference. Very, very few pop/rock stars are versatile, genre-spanning performers.

I think Lee had that ability to turn pretty much any song into a scene from a musical. 'I Don't Wanna Talk About It' and 'Bad Day' were two prime examples. He seemed to have a natural acting style, as opposed to Daniel who seemed to struggle to get away from his stage roots. Perhaps Daniel couldn't just 'let go' because of his Performing Arts training (he went to one of the top PA establishments), whereas Lee's training (such as it was) meant that he had to pretty much learn his craft 'on the job' and develop his own style.

In the real world, performers tend to stick with their own genres, but in the world of TV talent shows, they're forced to sing all sorts of songs or risk being branded 'one trick ponies'. Ridiculous, but I think that's why so many struggle. Lee seemed to be able to adapt, whereas others like Daniel and Keith struggled.

On this day in 2007, it was the ADWD quarter final! It was all very tense, and when I first heard Lee's song choice, my reaction was "He's singing WHAT???" Needless to say, my worries were groundless as Lee showed his dreamy side with Daydream Believer!

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Some excellent stairwork (was that a response to the barricade mission?) and a polished performance!

Not only that, but we had the added bonus of one of the Josephs being chosen to sing with Josh Groban!

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Again, this performance showed that Lee was in a different league!

Oh, and just in case all that wasn't enough, we got the classic 'heights' mission!

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"Naaannnnnaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

On this day in 2007, it was the ADWD Semi-final! Lee came out fighting with his solo song Living On A Prayer:-

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Another odd song choice, but Lee did well. I had no idea he'd even made a mistake until Zoe Tyler pointed it out!

As well as the solos, the boys paired up to sing duets. Lee was paired with Lewis to perform Oh What A Circus:-

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I loved Lee in this. Unfortunately, Lewis was rather stiff and 'by the numbers'.

After a tense Semi-final, we got the results and Lee was through to the final!

A Southend newspaper columnist explains why the public should vote for Lee in the ADWD final:-

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Thanks Jo he got that right a star in the making,I don't go along with the other two were prettier I never thought Keith was pretty,Lewis was ok