When Stacey Leadbeatter walked onto the Britain’s Got Talent stage in 2025, her normal working life was a long way from show business.
Stacey worked in a supermarket in Yorkshire.
Part of that job involved preparing and cooking chickens.
Outside work, she loved singing, but her performance experience had mostly been limited to places like local pubs.
Then she found herself standing in front of Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and guest judge KSI.
It was easily one of the biggest stages she had ever faced.
Her Family Was Watching
Stacey wasn’t alone that day.
Her daughter, mother and a close friend were in the audience supporting her.
Her young daughter was especially excited because she was already a fan of Britain’s Got Talent — and of KSI.
That detail would become especially meaningful only a few minutes later.
Stacey introduced herself modestly.
She didn’t talk like someone expecting a career-changing moment.
Then she began to sing.
She Chose “Run”
For her audition, Stacey performed “Run,” originally by Snow Patrol and famously covered by Leona Lewis.
It is not an easy song.
The performance begins relatively quietly but builds toward much bigger vocal moments.
Stacey started carefully.
Then her voice opened up.
The audience began reacting more strongly.
By the end, the room was completely behind her. ITV described the performance as effortless and emotional enough to earn one of the biggest reactions of the audition stage.
Simon Saw the Confidence Issue
After the song, Simon Cowell praised Stacey’s performance but also noticed something else.
She did not seem completely convinced of her own ability.
Simon told her she was better than she seemed to believe and encouraged her to have more confidence in herself.
Amanda Holden was also impressed by the emotion Stacey had put into the song.
Then the audience began chanting for something more.
The Golden Buzzer.
KSI Made the Decision
KSI listened to the crowd.
Then he got up and pressed the Golden Buzzer.
Gold confetti fell across the stage as Stacey tried to process what had just happened.
KSI later explained that he had been in awe of the voice he heard and felt she had earned the moment.
For Stacey, the result was immediate.
She was going straight to the live semifinals.
A supermarket worker who had mostly sung in pubs had just received one of the biggest honors on the show.
She Proved It Wasn’t Just One Good Audition
The Golden Buzzer gave Stacey a place in the semifinal, but she still had to prove herself again.
This time, she chose “Anyone” by Demi Lovato.
The performance was emotional and demanding, but Stacey delivered strongly enough to win the public vote, sending her into the BGT Grand Final.
That was an important part of her story.
The Golden Buzzer had helped her reach the semifinals.
But the viewers themselves chose to keep her in the competition after that.
From Supermarket Work to the BGT Final
In the Grand Final, Stacey performed “Angels” by Robbie Williams.
Once again, she took a familiar song and reshaped it around her own voice.
By that point, the woman who had originally described a very ordinary supermarket job was performing live as one of the finalists of Britain’s Got Talent.
She eventually finished 11th in the Final, while magician Harry Moulding won the season.
But Stacey’s position in the results does not really explain why her audition became memorable.
Sometimes Talent Is Hiding in an Ordinary Job
Before BGT, Stacey’s daily routine didn’t look glamorous.
She worked.
She raised her daughter.
She sang when she had the opportunity.
Then one audition gave her the chance to show a much larger audience what she could do.
A few minutes of singing changed her path from supermarket worker to Golden Buzzer act and eventually BGT finalist.
The surprise was never that someone who cooked chickens could sing.
It was simply that such a powerful voice had been there all along, waiting for the right stage.
