Wesley Williams is a unicyclist from Florida in the USA who made the Semi-Finals during Series 14 of Britain's Got Talent. Prior to his BGT audition Williams, received the Guinness World Record for 'The World's Tallest Rideable Unicycle' by riding a Unicycle that was 29 Feet and an Inch long in Girona, Spain on February 10th 2020.[1]
Before his audition, he revealed that this audition was the first time he had come to Europe. When asked why he had auditioned for the show, he explained that his grandma was his biggest supporter, and that she told him ‘If you can make it in Europe, you can make it anywhere'.
In his audition, he performed tricks with four unicycles of differing sizes to 'Centuries' by Fall Out Boy. With the first, he 'climbed' a set of stairs onto a platform, jumped onto a trampoline and back onto the platform. With the second, he 'climbed' the stairs once again before sliding back down. He struggled to mount the third unicycle, nearly riding off the stage, however he then proceeded to juggle knives whilst riding the unicycle. The fourth unicycle was the size of the stage, and he was required to climb a ladder to mount it; for this he simply rode around the stage. When his audition was complete, he announced that the largest unicycle was 22 feet high; 3 feet higher than the current world record. David described the act as 'One of the best things we've ever had on [BGT]', with Alesha adding 'I think your gran would be super super proud'.
In the interim between the BGT auditions and the BGT Semi-Finals, Wesley auditioned for the fifteenth Series of AGT thus auditioning for AGT a second time, however auditioned for the show alone this time, where he received 3 yesses. He was later cut during the Judge Cuts, but brought back as a wildcard. However, the act he replaced came back and the producers sent him home despite performing.
In his Semi-Final performance, Williams once again performed on a number of different unicycles; an initial 'smaller' unicycle, a medium-length unicycle which he initially fell off, and a unicycle made up of four wheels which he used to 'skip' over a flaming rope. Finally, he mounted a 30ft unicycle, was blindfolded, and rode from one side of the stage to the other with direction from the Judges. David remarked 'It was utterly thrilling but I [couldn't] wait for it to end', with Amanda describing the performance as 'A thrill from start to end'. He advanced onto the Judge’s Top 3, however he failed to reach the Final.
Before BGT[]
In 2015, Willams competed on the 10th season of ‘America’s Got Talent’ as part of a duo named The One Wheel Wonders, yet both he and his act partner Ella Warner failed to make it to the Judge Cuts. The duo had previously been members of a non-profit award-winning, international youth circus, known as the Circus Smirkus.
Since 2016, Williams has performed in Circus' worldwide.
In 2017, Williams toured with 'Billy Martin's Cole All Star Circus'.
In July 2018, Williams was a guest on the American version of 'The Gong Show'.
After BGT[]
In 2020, Williams competed on the 7th season of Italian competition series ‘Tu Si Que Vales’ in which he was a finalist.[2]
In 2021, Williams auditioned for the 7th season of ‘Spain's Got Talent’, where he received the Golden Buzzer from judge Dani Martinez during the Series Premiere, yet was forced to withdraw after sustaining an injury whilst practising his performance by falling off of his unicycle from 27 feet in the air, with the severity of his injury preventing him from performing for at least a further six months. However, Williams was informed that he could return to perform in the Semi-Finals of the 8th season of ‘Spain’s Got Talent’ where he reached the Final instead.[3]
Additionally in 2021, Williams auditioned for both the 16th season of ‘France's Got Talent’ & the 15th season of ‘Germany's Got Talent’, and initially reached the Semi-Finals of both shows before having to withdraw, due to the same injury which caused him to withdraw from ‘Spain’s Got Talent’.[4]
In December 2022, Williams broke his own Guinness World Record for riding the tallest rideable unicycle" at 9.73 Meters (31.9 Feet).[5]
Trivia[]
- Williams is the fifth ever act to have competed on BGT & AGT within the same year with the first being Siro-A, the second being Charlie Plaçais, the third being Mr. Uekusa, the fourth being Gonzo, the sixth being Thomas Vu, the seventh being Andrew Stanton, the eighth being Noodle, the ninth being Duncan Murray, & the tenth being B Unique Crew.
- Had the Judge’s Vote tied on his Semi-Final, Wesley would have reached the finals as head judge Amanda Holden revealed she would have voted from him.