01x05 - The Final

[bunniefuu]

This programme
contains strong language

and references to drug taking
and discussion about suicide

which some viewers
might find upsetting.

We've searched for Britain's
most talented amateur pianists.

At railway stations
across the country,

we've heard musicians from
all backgrounds...

A truck mechanic,
and you do THAT at the weekend?

..and of all ages.

Am I allowed to ask?
No, I won't ask.

94. 94.

What they didn't know was that
Lang Lang and Mika were watching...

Whoa!

..hoping to unearth incredible,
undiscovered talent.

This is such good raw material.

Can we get it ready? I don't know.

Now, they need to prepare
for a spectacular concert.

Tonight, you are going to see
four amazing pianists.

And they have just a few weeks

to prove that amateur street
pianists...

Sh!

..can learn what it takes to
perform on a professional stage...

Lang Lang, sing.

..in front of an audience
of thousands...

KNOCK ON DOOR
Ready to go side of stage.

..at the renowned
Royal Festival Hall.

The Royal Festival Hall is
a life-changing experience.

Please welcome to the stage, Danny!

20 seconds.

Playing street piano is terrifying.

Playing in a concert hall...

It's Jay!

Oh, my God!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Man! Woo!

It's been two months since our
pianists played at railway stations

across Britain and were chosen

by Lang Lang and Mika to perform
at the concert of a lifetime.

BOTH: That person is...

..Lucy!

What?! Ah! No!

For them to see
something in her was like,

you saw in my daughter

what I've seen for years.

It's a great honour.

It's going to be incredible for
her.

Lucy's going to... To London.

To London.

The person who's going to
perform on that stage is...

..Jay!

Yes.

Sweet!

The fact that Lang Lang and Mika
chose me, it blew me away a bit.

It's like a dream come true.

When he told us that he'd won,

it was incredible.

You know? We're just so proud.

What was Jay like when he came back?

Hard to come back down
to reality with work

and labouring and bar jobs and all
that kind of thing at the minute

but, erm, yeah, he's just
so excited.

The person that we have chosen...

Is Danny!

You're joking!

My anxiety's been through the roof.

One thing that's been supporting me

the most has been playing the piano
again and practising,

because I have been more connected
to music

than I've been in a good while.

To see what we've been through,
you know, as a family

and to actually see him

at the Royal Festival Hall,

it'll make me just incredibly
grateful for his life,

for who he is, and also
incredibly joyful for him.

MIKA: So, the person that we've
chosen is, in fact, Sean.

Woo!

SEAN: So, we get to play
in the Royal Festival Hall.

Wonderful, isn't it?

This has given me so much fulfilment

and, erm, purpose,

as well as...a new level of focus.

Oh, let me tell you,
I'm a happy guy right now.

Now, the hard work begins.

We are five weeks out.

We currently have nothing.

We've announced that the
tickets are available.

Our performance is already
selling out.

We've got a full house with more
than 2,000 people.

We need to get a concert together.

Today, Mika and Lang Lang will begin
preparing their chosen four...

You're finally here!

..and try to turn our street
pianists...

Hey, Lucy!

Lang Lang.

..into concert pianists.

This is Jay. Pleasure to meet you.
Nice to meet you, man. Sean.

Nice to see you. This is Danny.
Nice to meet you, mate.

Now, we have to prepare a show,

and today we cannot leave this place

without knowing what each
one of you is going to be playing.

We met Jay in London.

Jay!

Nice to meet you.

Whose life has been
transformed by songwriting.

We was always going to raves
and I used to do a lot of MDMA.

I watched most of my friends
f*ck up their lives

and I watched what drugs do
to people.

I've just seen a lot of people
crumble around me,

like, I've seen a lot of people die.

So, I just stopped.

I've just put
all my energy into music.

And in three minutes at St Pancras,
his song Fire changed everything.

# She takes the fire with me

# She takes the fire with me... #

That is interesting.

This is a unique experience.

Are you set on Fire being the song

that you're going to sing
at the Royal Festival Hall? No.

Show me what else you can do. OK.

I don't even know if I remember
this one - I'm going to go for it.

All right. What's the song called?
A Heart That's Cold.

# A heart that's cold

# She saw me crying, yeah, she's on
a roll

# She saw me dying
She, she's all alone

# She thinks she's flying

# We lost what we had
Needs to know I'm trying

# Oh

# You want to go... #

No, I forgot it again, man!
I forgot that one...

It's all right. Just go for it.

# Sunlight
Say to go

# And live her fine life... #

OK. It's... This, it's a really
good song.

What it sounds like to me is that

it's about something
really, really sad.

Right? Yeah.

More than just a heartbreak,

it's like something profoundly
life-changing.

And what I love about it is that you
make your message more powerful

by contrasting the jolliness...
The two... ..of the music

and the sadness of the subject.

That's what's weird about me,
though.

I feel like my life's
sort of black and white, like,

good and bad - always.

Life is complicated for everyone

but especially for Jay.

He's got a job that makes him wake
up at five o'clock in the morning.

He's working on a construction site
every day from 6am.

There's a...a lot of life going on.

And the guy adores the piano.

It's a refuge but it is also

a way of articulating things that he
finds very hard to say out loud.

You know, some of the happiest songs

that I've written are
about the saddest things...

Saddest things, yeah. ..that have
happened to me in my life.

I was so unhappy
when I was a teenager.

The only medicine that I had was to
write. To write music.

Cos I was like, "If this melody
sticks in someone's head,

"maybe they'll actually listen to
me.

"Because if I tell them my problems,
they seem to not care."

Yeah. Maybe if I sing 'em...
They do care.

So, sit up straight.

Breathe, open up your shoulders.

Be proud of yourself.

You're a storyteller and you're here
to tell us a story that's important.

OK.

You're already playing better.

Let go.

Use your hands, use your arms.

Yeah!

Jay's not the only pianist hoping
to play something new.

Hi, Lucy. It's Claudia.

At Leeds city station,
Lucy stunned Mika

and Lang Lang with Chopin's
Nocturne.

It's unbelievable that she can
play this piece.

Lucy was diagnosed with cancerous
tumours of the eyes.

She hasn't got any vision at all.

She's globally developmentally
delayed as well,

so she struggles with communication.

She can't hold a conversation -
not really.

But everything changed for Lucy when
she found her piano teacher, Daniel.

DANIEL: I've never met anybody who
has the same depth of understanding

of music.

Music is the way
that she communicates.

Since Leeds station, we've been
sort of working on Arabesque.

Like this.

So, the main thing, initially,
is that she knows which hand

is playing which notes.

Teachers like Daniel I have
only the great respect

because Daniel work with her
since Lucy was three years old.

At the Royal Festival Hall,
Lucy's hoping to perform

Arabesque by Debussy.

This piece is slightly harder.

because the Chopin Nocturne,
it's easier to control the speed.

This piece has to be...

GENTLE VOCALISATION

It's like you open a treasure box.

# Dee dah dee

# Tee... #

Wow! What is this?

So, I need a little bit more
openness,

to release energy, rather than...

Sometimes the wrist goes up -

then, the sound quality
become a little bit harsh.

In music, you need
to breathe in and out.

If you're playing like this,
it's like...
SHARP BREATH

So, this has to be worked.

LUCY PLAYS: Arabesque
by Claude Debussy

This is a challenge, this piece.

But no challenge, no fun, right?

We met Sean at
Glasgow Central Station.

Whoa!

By the time he was diagnosed as
neurodivergent at the age of four,

he'd already begun to show
a remarkable talent.

Music was an absolute
bingo moment for me.

The piano was such a crystal-clear
way of expressing my internal world

and to understand
the internal world of others.

Playing his own composition
Meat Machine, Sean's performance

was the most expl*sive Lang Lang and
Mika had seen during their search.

It's everything -
one moment it's a lullaby,

the other moment it's like
a dance track.

Yes, it has everything.
All the styles.

Then, all of a sudden,
it's brilliant anarchy. Yeah.

The big things for Sean
are understanding that

fireworks are great on the piano

but it's got to come from the heart.

I'm a very passionate person.

Well, yeah, but I think you're
just a big softie as well.

Uh-huh. And you can't hide that.
Uh-huh.

You need to let it out
a little bit more.

So, in three minutes, I want to hear
angry Sean,

I want to hear happy Sean

and I want to hear absolutely
tender lullaby Sean.

And if you are able to do that,

you will be a much more powerful
performer.

And breathe, man.

You are not breathing
when you're playing.

Let's go.

SEAN PLAYS RAPID STACATTO

Breathe.

Breathe. Take it down.

Sh!

Play softly. Soft, soft, soft.

Super soft.

Even softer.

The smallest little change,
either of attitude or of technique,

can have the most enormous
impact on a crowd.

SEAN PLAYS POUNDING MELODY
And then, sh!

SEAN MELLOWS THE MELODY

I want to help them find the nuances

that can make a performance
even more effective.

Play me one note softly.

Softer.

I don't know if it's possible.

It is. Oh! It's possible!

MIKA LAUGHS

SEAN TAPS KEY GENTLY

You see? By playing more delicately,
we're going to create something

that's a lot more powerful.

SEAN PLAYS GENTLE CHORD

And play progressively louder.

SEAN PLAYS SLIGHTLY LOUDER

Keep going. Play a sequence.

And breathe in!

Go!

SEAN PLAYS WITH ENERGY

Intense not loud. Yeah, there.

Listen to that.

Clarity. Yeah, like that!

Good man!
That's so different!

Do you understand how much...?
It's so different.

It makes so much more sense.

You sound like you're playing
the piano now. Wow.

You don't sound like
you're just showing off.

And every single time
I say to you "breathe",

you release a little bit of emotion
that you're trying to hide.

Funny you've noticed.

And you do all these
acrobatics on the piano

to try and protect yourself -
like it's some kind of armour.

But you're not provoking any
emotion.

But I can tell that you're almost
about to burst into tears

every time I say "breathe"

because, every time you breathe,
the emotion escapes.

It's crazy to think how much
I've been bottling that up.

Cos it's... It is, it's robot mode,
in a way.

I've not wanted to show that.
You know what I mean?

Well, what's the point of making
music if you don't?

Precisely.

So, shall I play a little bit for
her and she can...?

DANIEL: Listen in carefully.

It's Lang Lang playing.

LANG LANG PLAYS TENDERLY

That's right.

LANG LANG SINGS

Yeah, so it's...
Can you play it like Lang Lang?

Cos of everything Lucy's been
through in her life, to this point,

watching her play with someone like
Lang Lang, it just blew me away.

And he found a way in
when she said, "Lang Lang, sing."

Lang Lang, sing.

LANG LANG SINGS

That does mean she was
getting to know him properly,

cos that's how she communicates.

# Dah dah dee dah-dah-dah... #

Direction!

# Dee dee... #

Nobody can get me to sing
because I'm not a good singer.

But Lucy, she's like a DJ, you know?
It's like, "Lang Lang, sing!"

She's really into her world

and she want to connect
that with you.

I'm so amazed by how she learn.

She gets it very fast.

Lang Lang, sing.

# Dah dee dahhhhh derr

# Dah dee rahhhhhh! #

Today, you see such a joyful person
came out on this performance.

Yay!

Yeah!

Hi, Danny! It's a long walk.
I'm sorry. It's a long walk.

At Birmingham New Street Station,

Danny performed a song he'd
written after his father's suicide.

For that to come out of nowhere was,
erm, yeah, it was tough.

# Cos I fell

# So far beneath... #

I didn't speak to anyone.

And then, I started taking
drugs at kind of 17.

Then, obviously, the alcohol
comes along with that.

And I began to just break,
basically - physically, mentally.

The piano has been the constant
through it all.

And it's interesting, the moments
that have been most difficult

have been the moments where
I stopped writing music.

# Maybe I could learn to live

# Maybe I could learn to live... #

And then, there was Danny. Mm.

# Maybe I could paint the sky

# From these tears I've cried... #

The thing about Danny is that
he seems the most prepared

and the most cool with the situation

but he's by far the most anxious.

Close your eyes and sing.

# Cos I fell... #

Pedal.

# So far beneath... #

Breathe.

# I thought these heights
I would never reach... #

Don't play too loud -
you're going to squish your voice.

# Cos I... #
OK.

If you... Keep playing.
Don't stop.

OK. Don't stop.

# Cos I fell... #

The number one thing people always
say to me is, "Dan, just relax."

I know there's things to work on
and I am a perfectionist, as well,

and I really want this
to be as impactful as possible.

Breathe with the pedal.

He just has to work on letting
us in.

If he lets us in,
he'll transport 2,000 people

that do not know him
at the Royal Festival Hall.

He's got three minutes

to provoke emotion.

If he doesn't do it,

that would be such a shame.

There's just one day to go

before the concert.

Tonight, you are going to see
four amazing pianists...

Play the piano.

Yeah. Come on, then.

This is the pianists' last chance
to rehearse before performing

in front of an audience
of thousands.

Oh, my God!

That's a bit crazy!

Shall we go this way, yeah?

We've got a show to put together.
It's going to be excellent.

Cannot wait.

sh1tting it.

Normally, when you prepare for,
like, a big show,

it's all about fireworks and being
loud. Yeah. Yeah.

And being flashy.
Not this one. Yeah. Not this one.

This is about nuance
and subtlety and detail.

SEAN PLAYS DELICATELY

And Sean was the biggest risk and...
All over the place.

It was all over the place

but he realised that, by being
a little bit more controlled,

that he could be so much more
expressive as a performer.

SEAN PLAYS GENTLY

SEAN PLAYS WITH URGENCY

It's so organised now.
Yeah, exactly.

Stopped all this. Yeah.

And I hear so much humour there...

..also, you know? So much
humour, so much happiness,

so much sadness, so much discipline.
Yeah.

So much emotion.

It's a real piece of art.
What has happened, Sean?

LUCY PLAYS SUBTLY

Back in London, when we first met

Jay and Sean and, obviously,
she couldn't be there.

To watch her this morning -
that was powerful.

And I was sat there

and, honestly, it just seems like
she's at another level.

I'm hearing
so many new things... From you.

No, no...
She remembered everything you said.

It's fantastic!

Oh, that was mind-blowing.

I could, I could, literally...
I could watch her for hours.

I'll burst into tears.

Honestly, mate, I actually got
fully...like, fully emotional.

Yeah, I know, mate. Fully.

Take a moment, Danny, man.
I know, mate. It's...

WHISPERS: Bro, the way she plays.

The way that she plays. Yeah.

MIKA: Lang Lang, show people how
to take a bow

at the Royal Festival Hall.

Like, you do this.
He's taking a bow.

Lang Lang's bowing. Oh, oh, sorry.

She wants to feel you.
This is Lang Lang. Yeah. So, here.

He's doing a bow. Yeah.

That's what you're going to do.
Yeah. There we go. Applause. Yeah.

When there's applause, yeah.
OK, is that good? Yeah?

For his performance, Jay has agreed
with Mika

to make another change to his song.

Are we, uh, bringing the other
musicians in?

SINGERS: # Sunshine... #

That is the chorus. That's sick!

MIKA: All right, cool.

# Sunlight... #

It's not easy for Jay

because this is his first time
working with the choir.

Ah! Yeah, so, so he... So, that's
something new to learn.

Yeah. He has to...to kind of
balance and to lead.

To lead. To lead.

But not with his voice. But with
the piano. With the piano.

Which is not that easy.

You need to be the boss.

It's up to you, and you've
got about 18 hours

to assume that responsibility now.

To have strings alongside
something I've written,

it's been like a childhood dream.

So, to have... Yeah, to be able to
hear this in a second,

I don't think
I'm fully prepped for it so...

# And so my days

# Hmm, turned into weeks... #

Wow!

This is the same string quartet

that plays on pretty much all
the finest pop, folk, rock albums

coming out of London right now.

And they're going to treat him
exactly the same way

that they're going to treat
Chris Martin or Michael Kiwanuka.

So I've got... That's...That's
better. That's good. The first time

you did it was better. Yes, it was.

It was a little slower. Shall we go
one more? And it's really poignant.

When you slow it down, everyone's
going to listen to every note. Yeah.

So, it really works. It draws their
attention back to you. Cool.

There's this thing about the stage.

It doesn't matter whether this is

your second gig... Yeah.
..or whether you're Coldplay -

once you're on the stage,
everyone's treated the same.

Everybody's treated the same, yeah.

# Cos maybe I could learn to... #

I've done the wrong thing. Sorry.

I've...I've played the wrong, erm...

I've played the...
I've sang the wrong bit. Sorry.

It's the day of the concert.

Do you see what that says?

It's the Artists' Entrance.

So, I take you in here

and you are following in some
extraordinary footsteps.

That's what I will be doing.
THEY LAUGH

And I'm excited to hear that,
as well.

That is exactly what I'll be doing!

All the greatest world musicians
played on that stage.

The Royal Festival Hall is
so iconic.

Good. One...

Good girl. Another one. Yeah. Yeah.

Even professional musicians get
really nervous

when they perform there, by the way.
I just want you to know.

I mean, I play several times there.
You do the top part.

INDISTINCT

Mm-hm.

Every time I want to bring the best
and I get a little bit nervous.

I mean, seriously, it's not an easy
place to perform.

OK, so this is the way we come.

Right.

Jesus!

Wow!

Wow! It's not small, that, is it?
It's not small!

Wow!

Jesus Christ!

That's...That's...

That's sick!

Look at the size of it, mate.
Oh, my God!

It's amazing.

This room is enormous.

Do you feel how big the sound is
when I do this? Listen.

CLAP ECHOES

Mika - big clap.

It's a really big hall.
Do you see?

So, the sound is really beautiful.

Every single part of the
architecture is designed for sound.

It's about having absolutely perfect
sound,

no matter where you're sitting
in the venue.

So, we're going to be having, like,
a lighting arrangement

as we're playing - is that correct?

Yeah. So, in the evening, the
audience parts will be much darker.

You'll still see them.

It's kind of like Monet's painting,
you know - it's very blurry.

LAUGHTER

Yeah, but you'll still see them.

This is all going to become real
and full of people.

So, take it all in.

Get as scared as possible now

so, then, later, you can just enjoy
it... That... ..as much as possible.

That's what I was trying to say -
ride those nerves now

and, then, tonight it's just you

and the piano.

Live in Festival Hall. Yeah.

Yeah, live at the Festival Hall.
Absolutely! Oh, wow!

One, two, two - ladies
and gents, can you hear me?

CHEERING

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to
the Royal Festival Hall

and to the final of The Piano.

We were both just saying
how fortunate we feel

to have been part of this. Yeah.

It's been really...

Our time of life, you know?

What do you mean OUR time?

You're nowhere near my time of life!

At the train station, people can
come over,

I guess, like, if they want to,
if they want to see it.

Right? But, like, in here,

it's like everyone has, like, booked
tickets to come here and that.

So, like, you know that there's
going to be a lot of people there.

MIKA DOES VOCAL EXERCISES

I'm nervous for them
but I'm even more excited.

OK. OK, let's go.

Sorry about the hold-up.

Breathing in and out.

And just enjoy. That's it.

Yeah, they will do it beautifully.

In all honesty, I'm even
nervous for Claudia.

I'm going to be sick on myself.

This place, it's scary even for
someone like her

who's done absolutely everything
in this country.

TECHNICIAN: We're all set.
Standing by.

COMPERE: Ladies and gentlemen,

please welcome your host -
Claudia Winkleman!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Good evening!

KNOCK ON DOOR
Ready to go side of stage.

This story started about a year ago

when we invited amateur pianists
just to come to train stations

and give it a go.

What they didn't know is that
they were being secretly watched

by two of the most respected

and loved piano performers
in the world today.

They are Mika and Lang Lang.

Ladies and gentlemen,

please go nuts

for the one and only Mika!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

MIKA PLAYS: Grace Kelly

# I could be brown, I could be blue
violet sky

# I could hurtful, I could be purple
I could be anything you like

# Gotta be green, gotta be mean
Gotta be everything more

# Why don't you like me? Why don't
you like me? Walk out the door... #

That's right. We're going to up the
steps now, into the wings.

You ready?

CHEERING

Good evening, everybody.

My new best friend -

Lang Lang, ladies and gentlemen!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

You all right, boys?

Yeah, yeah. They're on your side.

Enjoy it now.

First, it's Jay, and then Lucy.

LANG LANG PLAYS: Ritual Fire Dance
by Manuel de Falla

It's pretty surreal, to be fair,

watching them and, then, to think

that I'm coming out after them
is just mind-blowing. It's... Yeah.

CHEERING

Lang Lang and Mika!

So, before we meet our
four amateurs,

you saw over 80 pianists -

they are here with us tonight.

Please will you stand up,
all of you, for a round of applause.

These were our pianists.

Hi, Harry!

Thank you so much for playing then

and for being with us tonight.

Talk to me
about the performance of the night.

You would like to mark one of
our amateurs this evening.

So, there is no winner as such.

In a performance, inevitably, there
will be some magic that happens.

We're just going to tip our hat
and recognise it

and underline it with
the performance of the night.

It's almost our provocation -

make magic.

This is an incredible opportunity.

Now, take us somewhere special.

Ladies and gentlemen,
Lang Lang and Mika!

We're going to ask you, please,
to take to your seats.

Thank you, Claudia.

You've got three minutes. All right?
Yeah.

So, we started off at St Pancras
and we met Jay.

What are you going to play for us
today?

I'm going to play a song that
I wrote.

It's just about everything
that's sort of happened to me

in the last couple of months.

Thank you.

# I guess I don't know
a thing about living

# Good and the bad... #

20 seconds, yeah? 20 seconds.

Remember the end - just take
your time.

Oh, my God!

Yeah.

Please welcome to the stage,

it's Jay!

CHEERS AND APPLAUSE

f*cking hell, man!

Woo!

f*cking hell!

Woo!

Thank you.

All right, I ain't going to do
much speaking.

I'm just going to get
straight to it.

This is my song,
A Heart That's Cold.

All right.

# A heart that's cold
She saw me crying

# Now she's on a roll
and she saw me dying

# Yeah, she's all alone
Thinks she's flying

# We lost what we had
Please know I'm trying

# No

# She's stopped on a road
and she can't let him go

# She's taken my heart
Now she's taken her soul

# Oh, yeah

# We're heading away from the way
we're going

# She's heading to hellfire
and you know

# Now that we find it in time

# Before then I'm losing my mind

# I've always said that I'd take
you places you want to go

# Then I'll be waiting

# I never said we'd be forever

# She's always dreamed we'd be
together

# Cold, yeah

# It's all right
Yeah

# I hope to find an angel from
your sunlight

# Yea-ah-eah

# Moonlight... #

Go on, son!

# She's always told me that
I'm happy... #

Ah, his foot's going as well -
he's enjoying it!

# Your sunshine, yeah

# Go and live a fine life

# Yea-ah-eah... #

Jay playing the piano.

# All my life all I wanted was the
fame

# And now I'm looking in the mirror
Man, I know it's gonna change

# It's kind of mad I feel this lost
I was afraid

# Now, I'm sitting on this piano
and I'm playing on this stage

# Time's ticking out of chances
I have one left

# I had a vision I'm going to
head off through the sunset

# I said I love you like no other
Now I let you go

# Hard to keep the straight face
when you're on the road

# And everyone around is changing
but you're changing slow

# You try and make it to the end
You never made it home

# Home
All right

# Yeah

# Hope to find an angel
from that... #

Oh, yes.

# All right

# Yeah, moonlight she rocks
She's always told me

# That-a your heartbeat don't
stop

# She's been heading for the
Your sunshine, yeah

# All right, all right... #

CHEERING

Yeah! Woo!

Good on you, son!

And meet my choir.

Thank you.

Thank you. That was brilliant.

Woo!

Damn, man!

Woo!

How was that?

Oh! Could've went better,
I feel like.

It was a bit rusty but...
I was a bit rusty that time

but I thought it was good. Yeah.
Glad I've actually done it, though.

Can we have another
round of applause for Jay?

With his own composition.

Phew! Thank you, everyone.
That was brilliant.

Must feel so good.
Yeah, I feel good.

You did amazing. Well done.

Thank you. Thank you, Laura.

So, next we went to Leeds.

And I cannot wait for you
to meet Lucy.

I'm more nervous, actually, for her.

When she was born, we were
told that there was something wrong.

It's sensory so it can be
mental health. Yeah. It can be...

Getting ready to go onstage. Stand
up. Yeah, stand up. Come on, then.

You've really been through it,

but there is one thing that makes
Lucy feel calm and happy.

The piano.

Nervous.

Nervous for her.

You know what? Yeah?

I think she's going to be great.
Yeah, great.

I think she's going to be amazing.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Ready?

Lucy.

Please welcome Lucy
and her teacher, Daniel.

We're nearly at the piano.

Nearly at the piano. Hold your cane
properly.

Hold your cane properly.

Well done. Holding it properly.

Hold your cane properly. OK.

Right, nearly at the piano.

Get ready.
There's the piano stool.

WHISPERS: OK, treasure.

Now, find the pedal.

Find the pedal.

OK. Now, wait. Wait.

That's right.

Come on, Lucy!

Come on, baby.

All right. Here we go.

Sean.

Danny.

Claudia.

Oh, Lucy!

Mate.

God!

Wow!

Mummy's here. That's right, yes.
Mummy's here. Yeah.

It's so delicate.

Wow!

Bravo! Bravo!

Oh, my God!

Bravo! Bravo!

Can I have a look?

Can I have a look?

Oh!

Oh, my God!

Another bow. Yay!

Look at how happy she is as well.
I've not seen her smile like that

throughout the whole thing.

Oh, my God! I can't believe it.

Isn't that amazing?

She's unreal.

Bless her.

Well done, Lucy. That was brilliant.

I'm so proud of you. Well done,
treasure.

Well done, you were brilliant.

Lucy!

Lucy you just got a
standing ovation. Yay! Yeah.

Oh, well done! Well done!

Ladies and gentlemen, that is Lucy.

THUNDEROUS APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Unreal. Tell me about it.

You were amazing!
You were incredible!

Erm, yeah, I am, actually. Yeah.

It's... But, mind you,

Lucy's playing always has that
effect on me.

So it's, erm... Cos it's wonderful.

It's just a fabulous thing that

makes you glad to be alive, really.

Incredible!

Yeah, you did get a big...

You got more than a big round of
applause, darling.

Next, we went to Glasgow

and we met the very wonderful Sean.

Thank you.

Tell me all about you and the piano.

Ah, well, I'm 26 now so I've been
playing the piano for 20 years

and it's, erm, very important to me.

Good luck.

You OK? 30 seconds.

He's letting us into his head. Yeah.

You know, we're literally
stepping into this guy's brain.

Ladies and gentlemen,
please welcome to the stage - Sean!

Enjoy it.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Wow!

Oh, brilliant!

Woo!

Thank you. Thank you
so much for being here.

It certainly means a lot to myself.

Oh! Watching Lucy play certainly
makes me emotional, I have to say.

Lucy, it's Claudia.

You were amazing!

You see, I am indeed
also on the autistic spectrum.

There's a lot of people
that have our condition

but yet you're able to see us here
because we're able to make a noise.

But there's a lot of us that don't.

Beautiful.

Throughout my life,
emotion - to understand it

and to communicate it has been
extremely important to me

and it's why music has been
my paramount fascination.

And today I cannot wait to play
for you

my favourite instrument. Oh, yes!

Fantastic.

Woo!

This composition I'm about to
play for you is called Meat Machine

and I, uh, hope you enjoy listening
to it as much as I do playing it.

OK.

There you go, man. Yeah.

Love this one. I love that, yeah.
Yeah. It's sick, innit? Yeah.

Go on, son.

CHEERING

Oh, bless him!

Bravo!

Very good. Excellent. Super solid.
So... Oh, my God! So solid.

Ladies and gentlemen,
one more time for Sean.

CHEERING

And when's the next one?
When's the next show?

It was too short -
it's not enough time.

More! I have more pieces! Let's go!

It's time for our final
amateur pianist.

We went to Birmingham and I cannot
wait for you to meet Danny.

I lost my father to suicide
when I was nine years old

which completely changed my course
through... through life.

Ladies and gentlemen, please
welcome to the stage - Danny!

Good luck, Danny!
Thank you very much.

Good luck.

You'll be brill.

20 seconds.

Thank you.

Ladies and gentlemen, please
welcome to the stage - Danny!

Go on. Good luck!
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

So, hello, everyone. It's a pleasure
to be here with you this evening.

In order for this piece of music
to really do its job,

I think it's important that I give
some context

as to why it was written.

A few years ago, after losing a
parent to suicide, I was faced

with my own battle with depression
and anxiety

and things got pretty dark.

If I could travel back in time
and visit 20-year-old Daniel

and give him something, anything,

that could provide him with some
hope,

it would be what I'm about to
play for you guys in a moment.

Oh, my God! It makes me cry.

And, finally, I'd also like to
dedicate this performance

to a very special lady in this room
who's been waiting a long time

to see me on a stage like this.

So, if everyone can give a
round of applause to my mum,

that'd be brilliant.

Thank you very much.

Oh, my God! Oh!

SHE CLEARS HER THROAT

This song is called Learn To Live.

# And cos I fell

# So far beneath

# I thought these heights
I would never reach

# And so my days turned into weeks

# I was so tired from life
but I could barely sleep

# What if I found the words
to speak

# And put down all this pain?

# And maybe I'd find a life worth
living calling out my name

# What if I've learned
I'm tired of running

# From what I can't escape?

# Cos maybe I can paint
the skies

# From these tears I cry

# Maybe I could learn to live

# Maybe I could learn to live
Mm-mm

# Maybe I could learn to live
Hi-ni-ni

# Cos maybe I can paint the skies

# From these tears I've cried

# Maybe I can paint the sky

# Hey, you

# With you. #

Beautiful. Beautiful.

CHEERING

That was amazing!
Thought that was amazing, yeah.

Really emotional. Yeah, I'm very
proud of him, very proud of him.

Thank you very much. Cheers. Yay!
Thank you.

Yeah, childhood dreams!
I'm thinking,

like, where's the next one
coming from now?

Um, that's where my head's going
because, again, that was, erm,

that was special. Really, really,
really, really, really special.

I just want to be out there again.

Wow! Wow! What an amazing concert!
You did it!

Yay! Well done!

Lucy! My God!

Who was your favourite
performance of the night?

Oh!

We were just discussing it.

Ooh, erm, that's difficult.

Erm...

Beautiful!

My favourite has been...Sean,
I think.

Yeah, cos I really like his style
of music.

He reminds me
of one of my favourite creators.

Brilliant! I really appreciate that.

You did so well! Well done!

I think I'd have to say Lucy.

Lucy, you were amazing. Ah, thank
you, Lang Lang. Amazing.

We were saying it's impossible to
choose... You can't.

..because they're
all so special in different ways.

Thank you very much. Appreciate it.

No, darling. You were brilliant.
That was special.

That was brilliant, Daniel. Did you
enjoy it? It was fantastic.

Gorgeous song. I appreciate that.

She loved it, too. Good. Yeah.

While our pianists wait backstage...

What a night! What a performance!

..Mika and Lang Lang have a decision
to make.

You must be immensely proud

but you're going to have to -
I bet you regret it now -

choose a performance of the night.

Do you? A bit. A bit.

The audience reactions were slightly
different.

You felt like the audience
wanted to hug... Yeah.

..the performer. Yeah.
Like with Jay.

Mate, you need to just get a demo or
something and send it. Yeah, I do.

Cos I'm going to miss
listening to you. Oh, man!

And they really relished the humour
of someone like Sean. Sean.

And, also,
his technical prowess. Yeah.

And then, there was really
surprising reactions for Danny.

Someone told me you'll only be able
to see row four. I saw everyone!

Yeah, every single... Like,
"Hi, mate. You all right?"

It was real, it was authentic.
You can't cheat. Yes.

On an acoustic setting, there's no
lying. You can't hide anything here.

And, then, that moment happened

that not a single person
will ever forget.

Lucy. Lucy. Yeah.

Can't cry with this much eyeliner
on? But, of course.

How are you feeling? Claudia first.
Claudia first!

She is a real genius, I would say.
Yeah. And her teacher is phenomenal.

This is kind of a life-experience
concert. A life-changing concert.

Yeah, life-changing concert.

Yeah.You can imagine...
KNOCK ON DOOR

Guys, we really do need you now...
OK. OK.

We're ready. OK. Let's do this.

Yeah, good luck also. Don't ever say
that! I told you, we never say that!

You have to say break a leg.
Oh, yeah. Come on, babes.

THEY LAUGH

Lucy was taking everything in

and she thought you were all
amazing.

Hmm. She did. No, honestly, Sean,
she did.

I was crying. I was literally.
Aw, Sean!

We were listening and watching you

and we thought you were,
all of you, amazing.

Please welcome back to the stage

Mika, Lang Lang and our performers
Jay, Lucy, Sean and Danny.

CHEERING

Can everyone also please just hello
to Lucy's mum? Thank you.

APPLAUSE

Erm, Mika and Lang Lang, you chose

these four brilliant amateur
pianists. How do you think they did?

I think they were extraordinary.
We feel very lucky to have been able

to share this experience with the
four of you.

You played so wonderful tonight.

Really. I mean, it touched
our heart.

I know you wanted to give somebody
performance of the night -

just as a nod, if you like.

Yes, and it was about just
highlighting

if something extraordinary was
to happen,

something that no-one would forget.

No-one on this stage but also no-one
in the audience. And that happened.

So, we have chosen the person. Yes.

And that person is...

Lucy!

CHEERING

I'm going to give these to you.
Yeah. Is that OK? Yeah. Thank you.

Congratulations, Lucy. Thank you!
That was fabulous. Thank you.

Good girl! You're welcome.

Our four brilliant pianists
have worked so hard

and we wanted to give them something
else. Of course.

AUDIENCE LAUGHS

We, erm, we realised they don't
have a piano at home.

Exactly. They only
plays keyboard.

Erm, and, erm...

So, we decided that the best thing
is to have a piano at home

for each and every one of you.

And so we're gifting you each
a piano.

Whoa!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

You deserve it.

Appreciate that, Lang Lang,
so much, mate. Wow!

Danny, Sean, Lucy
and Jay, thank you so much.

One last round of applause
please for our finalists.

CHEERING

# This is the way you left me
I'm not pretending

# No hope, no love, no glory
No happy ending... #

Are you joking me? A piano!

Are you joking me? An actual piano?

Yes!

An actual piano? A real one? What?!

Ooh! Sorry, but that's crazy!

# Wake up in the morning,
stumble on my life... #

Lucy, well done. Well done, Lucy.

It's Danny - congratulations!
Amazing. Wonderful. Thank you.

Amazing, wonderful. Amazing
wonderful, you are, indeed.

Yay! Congratulations.

# No hope, no love, no glory
Happy ending's gone

# And I...

I've learnt so much from it,
that's the best thing.

Like, I'm just going to take
so much home with me.

This ain't the end of anything,

this is the start for me -
that's what I'm saying.

It means the world to me for us
to be able to show people

the beauty and the...the
multi-faceted, the depth, you know?

# And I... #

To learn from other musicians
and to be involved in that process,

and then to have this at the end,
it still feels very, very surreal.

Genuinely won't ever forget it
for my entire life.

I just want to be back
out there. Genuinely.

# Just a little bit of love

# With a little bit of love... #

I am beyond proud of
my little girl - beyond proud.

Oh, there's a big truck outside.

JAY: And here it is.

# No happy ending. #

Bravo.

MUSIC: Arabesques, L. 66 No.1
In E Andantino con moto