Swiss sensation on "Britain's Got Talent" The morning after - "The Blackouts" prepare for the future

Unfortunately, it wasn't quite enough for the top step of the "Britain's Got Talent" podium. But with their second place in the final of Europe's most popular TV talent show, the Swiss LED dance troupe "The Blackouts" exceeded their own expectations by miles and can now count on worldwide attention.

It is the morning of the day after. With an absolutely perfect light and dance show, "The Blackouts" sent the audience and judges at London's Hammersmith Apollo into a storm of enthusiasm.

However, it was neither the audience in the auditorium nor the judges who decided who would win the competition, which was rewarded with a quarter of a million pounds, but the audience at home on the sofa armed with a cell phone.

And they voted for the magician, who somehow managed to incorporate a genuine marriage proposal into his show. So second place for the ingenious LED performers from Lake Walen.

We arranged to meet outside the doors of the Hammersmith Odeon for a morning-after interview at 11:30 on Sunday morning. When I get out of bed in the morning, I find a message from "Blackouts" co-founder Raphael Broder, sent at 4:38 am. They've just returned from partying and he wants to suggest that we reschedule later.

"We've had a unique journey

I expect to be hours late. But lo and behold: the group is already waiting at the agreed meeting point at 12 noon. And this is after they have already completed an official interview with BGT.

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The café in the corner serves burgers and Coke. "No, we really don't need to look at the line after this show," laughs Robin Bless, who is responsible for social media behind the scenes. "I can't wait to see how many kilos I've lost during this week."

No doubt about it: this ensemble has itself under control

No, no one among the dozen "blackouts" who have finally gathered around the tables seems sad. "We have a unique journey behind us," says the second co-founder andmanager Elias Schneider, summing up the feelings:

"Of course, at first it was a bit of a disappointment. You stood there, had the feeling, 'cool, now we can really win this thing', and then our name didn't come up.

But that didn't last long. We are extremely proud of what we have achieved. First the "Group Golden Buzzer" (editor's note: where the jury can click an act straight through to the next round by hitting the buzzer), then the Golden Buzzer again in the semi-final, which had never happened before in the history of this show. And finally second place as a "non-British" act, it's a unique story that we've experienced."

No time to get nervous

Five weeks between the semi-final and the final - not exactly a lot of time to plan and stage a completely new performance. Two weeks also passed before the BGT organization was able to secure the rights for the songs that were planned for the performance. Perhaps the time pressure was actually a good thing: nobody had time to get nervous until just before the crucial performance.

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"It was the most complex show we've ever put together," reports Schneider, "everything was last minute. It was a huge challenge for the technicians to ensure that everything worked together smoothly and that we could all stay calm and enjoy the performance."

The atmosphere among the competition participants was also truly peaceful. "We sat together in the lobby, exchanged ideas and watched the show live on the monitor," reports Broder, "We didn't sense any competition. Now we have lots of new addresses on the agenda."

"It's really nice to be back home"

The next show is just a few days away: "The Blackouts" are headlining a festival stage in Luxembourg at the weekend. In between, they have to somehow get over the euphoric "High" from Britain's Got Talent.

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The hot night came to an end in a bar in Hammersmith. They were the last ones to leave, they were literally thrown out, laughs Allegra Müller. "It was light when we went to bed. It was a wonderful ending." Broder: "We were all together until the end. It shows that a mega-cool team has come together here, one where everyone stands by everyone else."

The impression is that the "Blackouts" have their feet firmly on the ground. Schneider: "When you're back at the train station in Walenstadt, you can see the mountains in front of you, there are no people on the street and you can hear the cowbells - then it's really nice to be home again. This feeling is grounding. Nature gives you back your energy."

Everyone knows that the future has only just begun. Even during the GBT cycle, requests were pouring in. For example, they flew to China at the invitation of a large theater to check whether it would be suitable for a "Blackout" show. There have also already been new commitments from the UK. The group's aim is to be able to offer full-length programs under its own direction in the future.

But beware: "There may be people who now believe that we are so busy that we can no longer be booked," Broder is keen to point out: "But that's not true! We love performing in Switzerland. You can always book us! We really look forward to every gig!"

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