Julian Smith is a Saxophonist who advanced onto the Second Round in Series 2 and to the Final of Britain's Got Talent in Series 3. He is also known as Joolz Gianni. He was a twenty nine year old music teacher at the time of his second audition.
Series 2[]
Smith's Series 2 audition card.
In Series 2, Smith impressed the judges and advanced onto the following round, however he failed to reach the Semi-Finals. Smith's first audition was never televised, however he was shown upon a card that the judges used whilst deliberating.
Series 3[]
In Series 3 he auditioned by performing a rendition of 'Somewhere' by Barbra Steisand upon his saxophone. Amanda described Smith's performance as 'stunning', with Simon adding his belief that Smith were someone with a 'huge talent', who probably needed a break.
In the Semi-Finals he performed a rendition of 'All by Myself' by Celine Dion. Piers described Smith as 'probably the coolest contestant [the judges had] had on [the] show', with Simon describing his act as 'ambitious' & 'unique' and added that without the show he wouldn't have a 'cat in hell's chance'. He won his Semi-Final and directly advanced onto the Final due to this.
Smith was the closing act during the Final. In the Final he once again performed a rendition of 'Somewhere' by Barbra Streisand. After his performance he stated that he 'really wanted to round the show off, an item for everyone'. Simon commented that Smith 'gave the performance of [his] life', with Amanda adding her belief that Smith pertained 'a career' after the show. He ultimately placed third in the final, finishing behind both Susan Boyle & Diversity.
Before BGT[]
In 2001 Smith appeared upon both 'The Classic Chillout Album' & 'The Classic Chillout Album 2' which were both compilation albums. In 2002 he appeared upon a further two compilation albums entitled 'The New Classic Chillout Album' & 'Open Space - The Classic Chillout Album 2'. In 2003 he released an album entitled 'Chilled 2 the Sax' as Joolz Gianni.
After BGT[]
In 2009 Smith released an album entitled 'Take a Breath'. In 2010 he released three albums entitled 'Somewhere', 'Ibiza Summer Sax', & 'Christmas Songs & Lullabies', played a headlining gig at the Birmingham International Jazz and Blues Festival, was featured on the charitable single "The Prayer" for Classical Relief for Haiti, and toured with The Stylistics. Additionally in 2010 he performed a duet with Kenny G at the Royal Albert Hall and played for Prince Charles at Clarence House.
In 2011, he went on a 48-date tour throughout the United Kingdom, and in 2012, he toured with Diversity on their "Digitized" tour. Smith continued touring throughout 2013, including a show with the winner of the first series of UK Version of 'The X Factor', Steve Brookstein. In 2015 he released an album entitled 'Wonderful World' independently, which was followed by the independent release of his final recorded album entitled 'At The Movies' in 2017.[1]
Trivia[]
- Smith is the highest placing act to have returned to the show after being Untelevised in a previous Series, due to the fact that he made the Series 3 Final, after having been Untelevised and only making the Second Round during the duration of Series 2.
- Like New Bounce in Series 5 and Donchez Dacres in Series 12, he was the last act in the Final to perform in his respective series and also finished third in the competition like the earlier two did.
- He is the highest placing Saxophonist in Britain’s Got Talent History.
- He is the first act in the history of Britain’s Got Talent to win a semi final despite not performing last .