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The second series of New Zealand's Got Talent aired on TV One on 9 September 2012 and ended on 2 December 2012. The series was won by 15-year-old singer-songwriter Clara van Wel from Blenheim who performed her own song "Where Do You Find Love?". 11-year-old singer Jessie Hillel from Wellington was the runner-up, with 17-year-old singer-songwriter Evan Sinton from Auckland in third place.[1]
Contestants competed for the grand prize of NZ$100,000 cash and a 2013 Toyota Corolla car.[2] In addition, winner Clara van Wel was signed to Sony Music New Zealand, with a single of "Where Do You Find Love?" due to be released five days after she was announced the winner, and an album scheduled for February 2013.[3]
In April 2013, Sony Music New Zealand released runner-up Jessie Hillel's full-length debut album With Love, which peaked at number three in the New Zealand Top 40 and number two in the New Zealand Top 20 charts.[4] [5]
In February 2012, Television New Zealand announced it was producing a version of New Zealand's Got Talent, which would screen later in the year on TV One. At the same time New Zealand broadcast funding agency NZ On Air committed to NZ$1.6 million of funding for the production of 14 episodes of 60 minutes each. New Zealand's Got Talent had last screened in 2008 on Prime.[6]
In April 2012, Breakfast weather presenter Tāmati Coffey was announced as the show's host[7] and in June 2012 the show's three judges were named as supermodel Rachel Hunter, Opshop singer-songwriter Jason Kerrison and former UB40 lead singer Ali Campbell.[8]
The initial phase of open auditions was called the Toyota Talent Tour. In May and early June 2012, the show's producers toured around New Zealand towns and cities and held non-televised open auditions, where more than 5000 applicants auditioned. The audition locations were Invercargill, Dunedin, Timaru, Christchurch, Greymouth, Nelson, New Plymouth, Wellington, Napier, Hamilton, Rotorua, Tauranga, Whangarei and Auckland. The top 200 applicants then went through to the judges auditions.[9] [10]
The judges auditions took place in Dunedin at the Regent Theatre on 14 and 15 July, in Wellington at the St James Theatre on 21 and 22 July and in Auckland at the TelstraClear Pacific Events Centre on 25–28 July.[11] The first episode aired on 9 September, starting five weeks of audition episodes which included footage from all three audition locations. After the judges auditions, the successful contestants were further reduced down to a group of 30 for the semi-finals.[12]
There were six semi-finals, with the first episode broadcast on 14 October. The semi-finals were pre-recorded the Wednesday before broadcast at the City Impact Church in Albany, Auckland. The winners of each week's semi-final were revealed at the beginning of the next week's episode.[13]
Three semi-finalists had also appeared in the semi-finals of the first series of New Zealand's Got Talent in 2008: Andre Vegas and Company, Dogmatic (as Chelsea and Quest) and the All Star Cheerleaders (with a different line-up).
In addition to the 30 semi-finalists, one wildcard entry was chosen by a public competition. The Head & Shoulders Above the Rest competition was open to any act who had previously auditioned. Acts uploaded a video to the Above the Rest website and were voted on by the public. The top five contestants then performed for the judges, who chose singing act Arihia and Tahu to join the line-up of semi-final 6.[14] [15]
| Key | Semi-Finalist (lost judges' vote) | Finalist | Winner | Runner-up | Third place |
|---|
| Name | Genre | Act | Age | From | Semi | Position reached |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connor Masseurs | Dance | Dancer | 15 | Wellington | 1 | Eliminated |
| Ari Laine | Singing | Singer | 23 | Wellington | 1 | Eliminated |
| Andre Vegas and Company | Magic | Illusionists | 29-48 | Ngāruawāhia, Nelson and Gisborne | 1 | Eliminated |
| Jessie Hillel | Singing | Singer | 11 | Wellington | 1 | Runner-up |
| Bethany Waugh | Music | Musician | 21 | Timaru | 1 | Eliminated |
| Big Dane | Singing | Singer | 22 | Hamilton | 1 | Finalist |
| Tawaroa Kawana | Singing | Singer | 17 | Palmerston North | 2 | Finalist |
| Chris Olwage | Dance | Dancer | 26 | Auckland | 2 | Eliminated |
| Rosie Roulette | Singing | Singer | 19 | Christchurch | 2 | Eliminated |
| Dogmatic | Animals | Dog Act | 4-60 | Rotorua | 2 | Eliminated |
| Olivia Turner | Singing | Singer | 91 | Christchurch | 2 | Finalist |
| JGeeks | Dance | Dance Group | 19-27 | Auckland | 3 | Finalist |
| Lili Latham | Singing | Singer | 22 | Whakatane | 3 | Eliminated |
| Monica Orbe | Singing | Singer | 15 | Hamilton | 3 | Eliminated |
| Hitmen Percussion | Music | Percussionists | 20 | Wellington | 3 | Eliminated |
| Evan Sinton | Singing | Singer | 17 | Auckland | 3 | Third place |
| Prestige | Dance | Dance Group | 21-29 | Auckland | 4 | Eliminated |
| Kale Simpson | Singing | Singer | 17 | Waitara | 4 | Eliminated |
| William Fairbairn | Singing | Singer | 15 | Nelson | 4 | Eliminated |
| Zane and Degge | Variety | Juggling Duo | 19 & 20 | Wellington | 4 | Finalist |
| Clara van Wel | Singing | Singer | 14 | Blenheim | 4 | Winner |
| All-Star Cheerleaders | Dance | Cheerleading Group | 7-22 | Auckland | 5 | Eliminated |
| Fletcher Oxford | Singing | Singer | 12 | Tauranga | 5 | Finalist |
| Giancarlo and Masha | Dance | Dance Duo | 37 & 31 | Auckland | 5 | Eliminated |
| Jack Fraser | Singing | Singer | 20 | Invercargill | 5 | Eliminated |
| Mihirangi Fleming | Music | Musician | 29 | Waitara | 5 | Finalist |
| Alfred the Circus Nerd | Acrobatics | Acrobat | 16 | Waitetuna | 6 | Eliminated |
| Arihia and Tahu | Singing | Singing Duo | 17 | South Auckland | 6 | Eliminated |
| Dudley Fairbrass | Singing | Singer | 19 | Canterbury | 6 | Finalist |
| Limit Break Dance Crew | Dance | Dance Group | 18-25 | Auckland | 6 | Eliminated |
| Logan Walker | Singing | Singer | 18 | Auckland | 6 | Finalist |
| Key | Judges' choice | Buzzed out |
|---|
| Order | Contestant | Judges' choices | Finished | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Campbell | Hunter | Kerrison | |||
| 1 | Big Dane | Won Public Vote | |||
| 2 | Andre Vegas and Company | Eliminated | |||
| 3 | Connor Massuers | Lost Judges Vote | |||
| 4 | Ari Laine | Eliminated | |||
| 5 | Bethany Waugh | Eliminated | |||
| 6 | Jessie Hillel | Won Judges Vote | |||
| Order | Contestant | Judges' choices | Finished | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Campbell | Hunter | Kerrison | |||
| 1 | Tawaroa Kawana | Won Judges Vote | |||
| 2 | Chris Olwage | Eliminated | |||
| 3 | Rosie Roulette | Eliminated | |||
| 4 | Dogmatic | Lost Judges Vote | |||
| 5 | Olivia Turner | Won Public Vote | |||
| Order | Contestant | Judges' choices | Finished | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Campbell | Hunter | Kerrison | |||
| 1 | JGeeks | Won Public Vote | |||
| 2 | Lili Latham | Eliminated | |||
| 3 | Monica Orbe | Lost Judges Vote | |||
| 4 | Hitmen Percussion | Eliminated | |||
| 5 | Evan Sinton | Won Judges Vote | |||
| Order | Contestant | Judges' choices | Finished | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Campbell | Hunter | Kerrison | |||
| 1 | Prestige | Lost Judges Vote | |||
| 2 | Kale Simpson | Eliminated | |||
| 3 | William Fairbairn | Eliminated | |||
| 4 | Zane and Degge | Won Judges Vote | |||
| 5 | Clara van Wel | Won Public Vote | |||
| Order | Contestant | Judges' choices | Finished | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Campbell | Hunter | Kerrison | |||
| 1 | Fletcher Oxford | Won Public Vote | |||
| 2 | All-Star Cheerleaders | Lost Judges Vote | |||
| 3 | Jack Fraser | Eliminated | |||
| 4 | Giancarlo and Masha | Eliminated | |||
| 5 | Mihirangi Fleming | Won Judges Vote | |||
| Order | Contestant | Judges' choices | Finished | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Campbell | Hunter | Kerrison | |||
| 1 | Limit Break Dance Crew | Eliminated | |||
| 2 | Alfred the Circus Nerd | Eliminated | |||
| 3 | Logan Walker | Won Judges Vote | |||
| 4 | Arihia and Tahu | Lost Judges Vote | |||
| 5 | Dudley Fairbrass | Won Public Vote | |||
The two-hour grand final was broadcast on 25 November with the results show on 2 December.
| Artist | Order | Act | Finished |
|---|---|---|---|
| JGeeks | 1 | Dance Group | 4 |
| Fletcher Oxford | 2 | Singer | 5 |
| Olivia Turner | 3 | Singer | 8 |
| Logan Walker | 4 | Singer | 11 |
| Clara van Wel | 5 | Singer | 1 |
| Zane and Degge | 6 | Juggling Duo | 12 |
| Big Dane | 7 | Singer | 6 |
| Tawaroa Kawana | 8 | Singer | 10 |
| Evan Sinton | 9 | Singer | 3 |
| Mihirangi Fleming | 10 | Musician | 7 |
| Dudley Fairbrass | 11 | Singer | 9 |
| Jessie Hillel | 12 | Singer | 2 |
The series consistently rated well, being the most watched show on New Zealand television every week. At the series end, TVNZ revealed it had been the most watched show on New Zealand television in 10 years.[16]