This is the inside of ‘Got Talent All Stars’, the first division of the show, where only those who have already succeeded have a place.
A huge strong man, he must be two meters tall and weigh 150 kilos of pure muscle, approaches a small dancer with a scowl on his face. Who is waiting sitting on a black box of recording material. When he is at her height he says “BUH” and she screams. They both laugh. Around them swarm a dozen Asian children dressed in kimonos, a flamenco troupe of Latin origin, an acrobat warming up, a couple of contortionist-looking performers…. and no one speaks the same language. This is what is not seen of Got Talent All Starsthe program that premieres on Telecinco on Saturday at 22:00 h.
It is the first time this version of the popular talent show has been produced outside the U.S. following its successful premiere on NBC. last January. This edition features performers who have made it to the finals or semifinals of other editions of Got Talent worldwide, it is the main difference with a Got Talent to use.
Hence this tower of Babel into which a recording of the format turns, to which 20minutes has had exclusive access to and produced by Fremantle Spain. Mario Briongos is the Entertainment Director of Fremantle Media. He explains the difference between the contestants in the regular and star edition.
“In Got Talent people show up looking for an opportunity, looking for it to change their lives, at All Star people are coming to whom Got Talent has already changed their livesa, they are already professional people, who work in the best shows in the worldwhich have become famous thanks to Got Talent and they succeed in Las Vegas, with their shows, for example.”
How do people understand each other in this jumble of cultures and languages? Right behind the stage, backstage, there is an essential figure, the simultaneous translator. She is a woman, sees and hears everything that happens on stage and translates in real time.usually from English to Spanish, everything that is said. The contestants wear an earpiece through which they receive the translated audio of what the jury says, and the jury hears on the set and in Spanish what the artists say.
She is not the only professional who works in the shadows among the 200 people who carry out the program. Stylists, make-up artists, hairdressers… watch the program in real time. on a screen next to the set, so they can see if the judges or any of the protagonists need a touch-up.
A recording day of Got Talent All Stars actually begins the day before, when the 12 contestants or groups of performers who will perform the next day rehearse their numbers. Work has already been done beforehand to analyze the performances and the stage, lighting or technical requirements. “There are circus performers, acrobatic performers that require a lot of preparation, as well as some magicians… and we prepare the camera shots, the realization…”, explains Briongos.
The work of Freemantle’s writing and production team is “incredible.” It’s not just finding the artists halfway around the world and dozens of versions of Got Talentbut also to bring them in, something that is “a real bobbin lacework of permits and visas.“and because of all the materials that have to be transported from other countries because they belong to a number. Sometimes large structures.
Got Talent All Stars is recorded on a large set at Mediaset’s Picasso Studios, in Villaviciosa de Odón, just outside Madrid. It is a large space of 1,400 square meters.where a monumental theater has been recreated with a stalls, elevated stalls and modern boxes. The audience gradually enters and fills the stands. It is at that moment that an animator speaks to the audience over the loudspeaker: “I’m going to see you!Don’t repress your emotions, if you are surprised, say oh… but above all, have fun!“, he tells them.
When all the audience is already seated, the members of the jury, Edurne, Paula Echevarría and Risto Mejide, arrive. Next to them, a fourth judge, who in each gala will be different. There will be Fernando Tejero, Leo Harlem, Jorge Blass, Carlos Areces, Dani Fernández, Luis Zahera and TheGrefg in the Grand Final. They will be joined by Santi Millán as host.
In this All Stars there is no one who does not have a high level and despite the fact that only two artists qualify for each gala, “it is a pleasure not to have to tell someone who comes with all his illusion that illusion is not enough”.“, explains Risto Mejide.
The level of Spain (with artists such as La ventriloquist Celia Muñoz, or the singer Cristina Ramos, winners of Got Talent, who have later triumphed in other international editions) is extremely high. “We are realizing that in many cases we can eat the toast to other countries.“, says Mejide.
Edurne has an international side, as she spends a lot of time abroad and can give an objective view: “When I’m in Manchester I see Got Talentbut I’ll stick with Risto as a judge, sorry, Simon.“, he jokes about Simon Cowell, judge of the British edition and creator of the franchise.
“In Got Talent All Stars Every night we see the most disparate things and you never know what’s going to excite you,” Paula Echevarría adds. The jury is taken to their dressing rooms when there is a change of scenery that could reveal the next number. That’s how the mystery is kept.
The changes of scenery are dizzying. “We have done many, many years in Got Talent live stream of the semifinals and in the final and there the only thing you have to change the scenery is a 2-minute video or a 5-minute advertisement. There is no tutorial to say ‘wait, I don’t have this set up’,” Brihongos explains.
