Filipino singer Kristel Herrera brought the house down once again as she performed in the semi-finals of Britain's Got Talent, delivering a powerhouse rendition of Sienna Spiro's viral hit "Die on This Hill."
The performance drew glowing praise from the judging panel — though not without a moment of friendly disagreement from the audience.
Judge Alesha Dixon, who had been floored by Kristel during her audition, admitted she had initial reservations about the song choice — but quickly changed her tune.
"So good to see you again. The first time we saw you, I thought, 'Oh my God, superstar.' You were just out of this world," Alesha said.
"When the song first started, I wasn't sure about the song choice. But I think you know, what's that classic saying? 'You could sing the phonebook.' You could literally sing anything and make it yours and make it special. And you did it again. You blew the roof off. Well done,” she added.
Amanda Holden, on the other hand, called the performance a perfect moment.
"Absolutely. Your range is incredible, and you make it look so easy. In your video, you said you were in a little room. I envy your neighbors. Because if you lived next door to me, I would just love hearing you sing like that every single day. Honestly, that was a perfect, perfect moment for you," she said.
KSI was just as enthusiastic, comparing Kristel to a diamond.
"What a performance. And what's crazy is there was no CO2, there was no pyro, there was no fire — just you, your voice, one mic. Kristel, that performance was diamond," he said.
Simon Cowell, who was meeting Kristel for the first time during the semi-finals, also echoed some reservations about the song selection. However, he was ultimately complimentary.
"Wow. What an interesting show tonight. This is the first time we met. You have a really good voice. It started a little bit, 'I'm not so sure here.' Then, when we heard the big notes, I thought, 'You're giving yourself a shot,'" he said. "I thought the track was a little bit mushy, if I'm being honest with you. But people, I think, are gonna really like you. So yeah, I think you did really well."
The audience, however, was not as measured in their response and booed Simon following his remarks.
Kristel first captured the judges' attention during her audition, when she stunned the panel with a diva-esque rendition of Whitney Houston's "Run to You,” a performance that earned her a standing ovation from Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon, KSI, and Stacey Solomon.
"Honestly, that was unbelievable," KSI said at the time. Alesha called it "sensational," adding: "Absolutely outstanding. Your technique was ten out of ten. Absolutely fantastic. I loved it."
Amanda was equally blown away: "I was blown away by that entire performance. What I'm finding extraordinary is how little and shrunk you are — and when you sang, you turned into a complete diva, baby."
Stacey, meanwhile, offered perhaps the most heartfelt words of the night: "I look at you, and I don't think you realize just how incredible you are. The way you go from head voice to chest voice so effortlessly is unbelievable. I hope you get more confidence, because you're unbelievable."
Based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, Kristel was accompanied by her husband, Joshua Mumby, during her audition. She shared that her dream is to one day perform for King Charles.
Kristel's BGT journey isn't her first brush with a major talent competition.
In 2020, she joined Tawag ng Tanghalan on ABS-CBN's It's Showtime — and notably, she also performed "Run to You" for that audition.
Kristel is not the only Filipino making waves on the current season of Britain's Got Talent. Matty Juniosa, another Filipino contestant, has already secured his spot in the finals after receiving not one but two golden buzzers.
He earned his first from Simon Cowell for his performance of "Purple Rain," and his second for his rendition of Aerosmith's "Dream On."
Matty previously competed on the first season of Idol Philippines and was part of the group iDolls alongside fellow contestants Lucas Garcia and Enzo Almario.
—By Paolo Lim