Don't stop him now... Rafferty Coope turns magic into music! | Semi-Finals | BGT 2026

I've got this. Thank you. It is so great to be back. I really cannot believe that I'm here right now. Tonight, I want to share the joy of music and magic. But above all, make sure we all have a good time. Music doesn't start with sound. It starts with silence, with nothing. But then, with the help of beats, a pattern can emerge. But that's just the beginning, because if you add some bass and then some harmony, everything starts to come together. You've got a structure, but that's not all. Because the magic only happens when you don't just hear it, but you feel it. I want you to see that all of these cards are completely different. You're each going to pick one, but do not look at it. Just leave it on the table, face down. So starting with you, Simon, just touch a card. Just anyone, quick, quick, quick. Quick. We're not here all day. All right. Take care. All right. Amanda. Okay. There we go. A bit easier. Thank you. And Alicia. Perfect. Just that one over there. And KSI just goes over there. Perfect. Absolutely perfect. Now. Timing is everything. It's what gives music its energy. It's the difference between something feeling fast or slow. It's like a pulse. In fact, let's try something. KSI, on the side of my watch, there's a dial. And as you know, when you turn it, it changes the time. Can you see? Yes. KSI, can you please place your left hand for me face up? I'm going to place the watch face down on your hand. With your other hand, can you please turn the dial as much as you want? Fast or slow, it's really up to you. And then whenever you want, just stop. Happy? Yes. Cool. Now, Amanda, if you were going to name any number between 1 and 12, what would you say? 9. 9. And, Alicia, if you were going to name any number between 1 and 60, what would you say? 47. 47. So what was that? That was 9:47. KSI, you could have stopped anywhere. We just created a time. No, we didn't. Watch. 9:47. 9:47. 9:47. Do you know a thing or two about music? A bit. I've got a list of a hundred of my favourite songs by different artists here. Look here, they're all different. You've got Hey Jude, Back in Black, Viva La Vida, Fix You, and recently added Thick of It. Simon, you're going to just take the phone and scroll through to see that they're all different. You're going to pick a song completely at random, but the way that we're going to do this is by using Amanda and Alicia's randomly selected time. What was that? It was... I picked nine. Nine? Forty-seven. Forty-seven. If we add nine plus forty-seven... Sorry, maths is not my strongest point, but... Is that fifty-six? Simon, can you take a look at whatever number a song is at number fifty-six, but do not tell me what it is. Have you got it? Uh, yeah, I've got it. Do you know the song? I do actually, yeah. Show it to Amanda as well. And once you've got it, just place my phone down. Now, Simon, just place the phone down. I do feel like me and you have a special connection with our love of music. I want you to think about all the elements that make up your song. I'm going to try build your song layer by layer using these three loop pedals. I can record myself playing any instrument and then play it back on repeat. First, we need a beat. Simon, can you please just focus about what the drums are doing in your song? Don't just hear it, feel it. Okay, I think I'm getting something. Simon, I need some bass. Please just focus on what the bass is doing. Cool, I think I've got it. Now, Simon, we're nearly getting there. Can you finally just focus on the melody? In your head. Okay, okay. Actually, Amanda, can you help me out here? Can you sing it in your head as well? That's better. Song, yes. Don't stop me now! I'm so grateful for having this opportunity to share what I love about music and magic. I believe that music and magic are a universal language. It connects us all in the moments that truly matter. They bring us together even when times are tough. And I think that's the real magic. Thank you. I've had such a good time tonight. Why? I didn't, I didn't stop you. Who is, don't, don't stop me now, why? Queen. Queen, that's right. Remember at the very beginning, each of you picked playing cards? Yes. For the first time, can you turn them over, starting with you, Simon. Da-da-da. Amanda. Did you love it? To this day, I still don't know how you do any of the things you do, but oh my god. You are special, bro. Thank you so much. You are special. enthusiasm than this entire room, which is absolutely adorable. I love how confident you are. I love how just passionate you are about what you do. And there were so many lovely little moments throughout. And I really enjoyed the whole music side of it. It kept it light. It kept it fun. I think you're great. I think you're really great. You're joyful. And just what just a lovely boy you are. I mean, without sounding patronizing, your parents must be like through Through the roof, proud of you. It couldn't have gone any better. You're a shining light on that stage. It's where you're meant to be. It's brilliant. I can't believe it. I've got to hand it to you. That was, bearing in mind this was live. How old are you? I'm 17 years old. Okay, this is crazy. I was just about to say. I was just about to say. What I love about you is that you're having as much fun as the audience are. You always have this feeling it might go wrong, but it doesn't. You're not copying other magicians. You've got your own thing going. Didn't love the singing. Apart from that... I was just enjoying it. I know. You know, however... However... By the way, as it stands, you are going to make it through to the final. Wow. Thank you judges. Rafferty, you look like you're having the best time up here. Honestly, this is an absolute dream. I've grown up watching the show, I've never missed a season and all of these magicians have inspired me. I've grown up watching your faces. Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. But honestly, I can't quite thank everyone enough who supports me. Everyone in the audience, you were absolutely amazing. I am literally living a dream right now. Thank you, really. You know what? You're the loveliest kid as well. You really are. Thank you for auditioning. The parents were going mad over here. They were loving it. You got some great support tonight and you did a great job. Well done. Well done, Rafferty.