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Featured era: 2007
Paul Potts' Audition
“Nessun dorma.”
- Featured era
- 2007
- Peak era
- 2007
- Company
- Paul Potts / Britain's Got Talent (ITV)
- Category
- Viral Videos
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On Video
Paul Potts's "Nessun dorma" audition
Plays from YouTube when you press play. Views, length and date from YouTube, October 2026.
About This Video
- From:
- Britain's Got Talent
- Added:
- March 17, 2017
- Length:
- 4:17
What Was It?
Paul Potts was a mobile phone salesman when he auditioned for the first series of ITV's Britain's Got Talent at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff on March 17, 2007. He sang Puccini's "Nessun dorma", and the audience of 2,000 rose to give him a standing ovation.
The audition aired on June 9, 2007, and the clip spread quickly on YouTube. NPR put its appeal down to the surprise of an ordinary phone salesman singing opera. Time named it the top live performance of the year, calling it "the most pure and hopeful moment in entertainment all year." Potts went on to win the final on June 17.
His debut album, One Chance, went to number one in the UK, and his story became a 2013 film starring James Corden.
Things You Probably Forgot
- A mobile phone salesman singing Puccini
- Simon Cowell's jaw dropping mid-aria
- The first series of Britain's Got Talent
- One Chance at the top of the UK album chart
The Story
- 2007 Potts auditioned in Cardiff on March 17, and the audition aired on ITV on June 9.
- 2007 He won the first series of Britain's Got Talent on June 17.
- 2013 His life story became the film One Chance, starring James Corden.
Its Legacy
The audition is still online, including this upload on the official Britain's Got Talent channel. Potts has kept performing ever since, and this first audition remains the clip that made his name.
Memories
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