You can tell that Britain’s Got Talent is back on our screens because there seems to be so much controversy making the news already.
No sooner was the show off air on Saturday night and reports emerged about rip offs and scandals.
Now it has been revealed that a viewer favourite might not be quite the innocent young wannabe they thought she was.
On Saturday, 15 year old Sarah Ikumu dazzled viewers and judges alike with her sensational vocal talent as she blasted out the ever-so-hard-to-sing Dreamgirls number And I Am Telling You.
READ MORE: Ferne McCann’s boyfriend hunted by police for vile acid attack
Simon Cowell was so in awe of the schoolgirl’s immense talent that he didn’t waste time in pounding the golden buzzer, which means she goes straight through to the semi-finals in a few weeks time.
But in spite of her youth, it appears that Sarah is no stranger to the limelight and big audiences and winning competitions.
In fact, she has competed in many singing competitions and has performed at various events.
While that’s not entirely surprising, as singers are after all allowed to build up their confidence by performing in public, the shock revelation is that Sarah was actually scouted by the show’s producers and asked to join the show.
This means that researchers for the show tracked down and approached the young singer to “audition” for the show.
“A BGT scout spotted Sarah towards the end of last year, when she was performing at a local event. She was asked to audition on the show,” a snitch told The Sun!
“She auditioned shortly after, and of course completely blew the producers away. There was no special treatment and she had to audition like every other act from then on.”
The troublemaking source added: “Simon Cowell had no idea who Sarah was when she first stepped on stage, the scouts worked completely separately, and he was unaware of her and her history.”
But this scouting procedure is a common practise that takes places on all shows of this nature but doesn’t mean that contestants are given any kind of preferential treatment.
“As the only show of its kind in the country, we want to showcase the best talent around and therefore, we travel the length and breadth of the country to find the best talent and make them aware of the show and auditions.
“We do then encourage acts to apply but any such acts will be required to audition on the same basis as any other applicant and normal programme rules apply.
All acts are judged on their performance during their audition.”
Sarah, who star has shun brighter and brighter as the aspiring singer went on to compete in local talent competitions
Sarah apparently started singing at the tender age of five in the church choir.
Her father, a pastor at the church, could hear that she had a potentially awesome voice and has encouraged her to perform ever since.
READ MORE: Peter Andre slams parents who disagree with his parenting methods
In 2015, she sang an Aretha Frankin track for the Teen Star competition and went on to win a talent show held at her school, Hazel Academy.
Sarah, now in Year 11, is currently studying for her GCSE’s but has already set up her own Soundcloud page and official Facebook account as she pursues her singing career.