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Diversity dance group that 'beat' Susan Boyle has waltzed into oblivion

Whatever happened to the 'winners'?

By
NIALL O'DOWD,
IrishCentral.com Publisher
Published Tuesday, November 24, 2009, 3:44 PM
Updated Tuesday, November 24, 2009, 5:12 PM

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Where are they now? Diversity, aka the dance troupe who beat out Susan Boyle for the final of 'Britain's Got Talent'
Where are they now? Diversity, aka the dance troupe who beat out Susan Boyle for the final of 'Britain's Got Talent'


Even as the amazing Susan Boyle's debut album, "I Dreamed a Dream," is frantically being delivered around the world to the millions of people who made it Amazon.com's biggest pre-order of all time — who could ever forget the Diversity Dance group who beat her on the finale of last season's "Britain's Got Talent?"

Well, the answer seems to be: just about everybody everywhere.

Try using Google to find news results about them, and compare them with those about Boyle.

In fact, just try finding news about them, period. You'd be better off using a private detective.

You may recall that despite 20-1 odds, the troupe beat Boyle, though almost certainly with the help of a wireless cell phone company that beamed out special instructions on the Internet about how to text in mass votes for them.

Celebrity guru Simon Cowell of "BGT,"  "America's Got Talent" and  "American Idol" gushed  at the time that he had never seen anything Ike Diversity's performance. Nobody else deserved to win, he said.

Famous last words! Talk about betting on a three-legged horse!

He has certainly never seen anything like them since!

Cowell has since come to his dollars and senses, and seen the light about Boyle.

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12 Comments

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Temerity | May 28, 2010, 02:30 AM EDT
The reason Simon Cowell was so supportive and lyrical about Diversity is because he new they had to win?Why? When he was so obviously behind Susan Boyle prior to the Semi Final?When he saw the unprecedented tsunami of love and support she got from the world his head was reeling probably with the $$$$ signs in his eyes . There were a lot of rumours flying around about wrong numbers being given out for Susan Boyle lines blocked fans not being able to get through to vote .ect.Why they said it was because the London gambling syndicate financially couldn't handle Susan Boyle winning when she lost they made millions ect.Just rumours ofcourse and many people pointed out that what diversity did wasn't anything different from what cheers leaders did all over America every weekend for their favourite football team.(Only the cheer leaders did it better!)!Only rumours and opinions ofcourse.I am not saying it is true. In anycase Susan Triumphed which is very heartening and in fact even it there wasn't the case it just goes to show you cannot defeat one who is on the side of the Angels can you!.*smile*

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PaulaMarie | Nov 29, 2009, 03:28 PM EST
Mr. O'Dowd, being a bunch of young guys, Diversity announces all their upcoming perfromances on Twitter and Facebook. They are performing several times per week in big, often televised venues. Go here to keep up with them. http://www.facebook.com/Diversity?ref=share Asley Banjo, lead dancer and choreographer, is also their computer expert and he is just too busy creating new routines constantly to do anything with their "Official Website" right now. He has also been hired to be a judge on a new TV show by Sky Dance called "Just Dance". They have performed at 10 Downing Street for the Prime Minister, and countless big awards shows as well as other entertainment venues such as T4 at the Beach in front of 50,000 people, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80GjyWcSmoI , as well as major sold sporting events in stadiums holding 80,000 people. They on going on Tour in March and in about 48 hours the tickets all sold out requiring them to add on a lot of extra dates. To date they have made far, far more concerts and public appearances than Susan Boyle. Mind you, I am a huge fan of hers and have her new CD. But let's not take anything away from these talented boys. And don't forget, several of them are still in school and have to work all of their shows around their school schedules.

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Respectfully | Nov 28, 2009, 03:50 PM EST
Diversity followers can spin street dancing in any form they want. A group of young boys or young girls can learn street dancing in their driveways and perform (with daily practice) at the level as Diversity with within a year or less. In fact, there were a number of this type act on “America’s Got Talent” this past summer, but none made it to the finals. Even a 75-year old beat out the street dancers. Niall, you got it right; if there’s a demand for street dancers, where are they?

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nagatje | Nov 25, 2009, 02:07 PM EST
For all the people who say that diversity disappeared, let me just give you some examples of the work they have done so far. They worked for , mtv, ITV, disney, the cartoon, network, and more. They performed at several big festivals in the UK and are booked for more. They have just announced their first UK nationwide tour, which is so succesfull they are adding more dates as I write this down. They did not choice to win Britains got talent the public did and for a dancegroup (who don't release cd's) they are doing pretty well. Susan Boyle is a nice lady and I wish her all the best in her carreer. But don't belittle diversity to make her look better, she deserves better fans than that.

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katmc1149 | Nov 25, 2009, 01:33 PM EST
Diversity did not deserve to win Britains Got Talent .. what they did was not a talent..! All they did was jump over each other waving their arms around and had a fantastic light and sound show in the background that made them look good ..that is not a talent...!! Susan should have won BGT she had the vocals and sang IDTD better then I have ever heard it sung ...that is talent.. but being the wonderful person that Susan is she was gracious even in defeat..it is only fair that she is now getting the recognition she so deserves...and she will be around for a long long time...Diversity though yes they are a great group of young men they haven't done anything with their win to become recognized...you must grab the brass ring when it presents itself they have not done that and Susan has ...so in the end who was the winner?? lol I won't even bother to answer that..!! Kat

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ganjadec | Nov 25, 2009, 12:39 PM EST
Diversity were indeed the best act of the night, and deserved their win. Most members of the dance troupe are either in the middle of their education or heading into it. Ashley Banjo HIMself has publicly stated that his education comes before anything else. He is at university studying physics. Let's see Susan Boyle do that. It does not matter what anybody thinks of what they do, it just matters that it keeps young men off the streets and out of trouble.

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belfastjames | Nov 25, 2009, 12:01 PM EST
Diversity was the best act of the night, over 1million more votes than Susan. There was no phone controversy, Ofcom checked it and found nothing. If anything it was People from other countrys phoning and blocking the lines. I wish people would move on from this, but them America just wont let it drop. Susan came second and the best act won on the night.

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ORourkes | Nov 25, 2009, 11:50 AM EST
YOU HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD ON THIS STORY. I WAS SHOCKED THAT THEY BEAT OUT SUSAN'S PERFORMANCE....AND WHERE WOULD THEY GO FROM THERE??? THEY HAD A LOT OF ENERGY AND DANCE ABILITY, BUT I DON'T SEE THE FUTURE OF THE HIP HOP DANCING COMPARED TO THE HUGE MUSICAL TALENT OF SUSAN.

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Gingercat | Nov 25, 2009, 10:42 AM EST
Hi Niall, the boys put on a fantastic performance for BGT, and I admire them for creating something instead of sitting around doing nothing with their energy and youth. They will always share this memory, and I will always remember their enthusiasm and joy at winning. But they have other plans for their individual lives, and I hope they will be successful. Susan, on the other hand, was looking for a singing career which she now has. They both won! Will another talent show competition ever beat this one?

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beachline | Nov 25, 2009, 10:13 AM EST
Niall, the dance troup Diversity danced Simon Cowell into a mega-million dollar empire builder. Simon is one of the smartest business person I have ever seen. Think about it--by coming in second in the BGT competition Susan Boyle is free to pursue her career, and Simon Cowell is the right person to manage her career. The lady is a gifted singer and needed someone to guide her through the nasty maze of show business. I watched her NBC performance and am so happy to see how she has grown emotionally so that she can handle the fame. Thank you Simon for helping her attain her dream.

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alioops | Nov 25, 2009, 07:34 AM EST
It may be true that Diversity has "waltzed into oblivion" while Susan has become world famous but let's don't be too tough on the boys. Let's hope they are using their winnings wisely and getting on with their educations.

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RetInKalifornia | Nov 25, 2009, 02:17 AM EST
In its own way "Diversity" helped stoked the Susan Boyle Legend for she "lost" to them in competition, including the controversy over the telephone voting plus the fact that the audience demographics were not entirely in Susan's favor on the last night of the competition. They will be always remembered in connection with Susan so in that sense they've garnered immortality albeit that of MAKING the legend.

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