Last Choir Standing: Final

Fittingly, the final of 'Last Choir Standing' got under way with a rousing chorus of Elton John's 'I'm Still Standing'.

The first choir to perform was Only Men Aloud! but first we were treated to a short video of some their supporters in Cardiff - most notably Tim's nan who is hoping that they will win so that she can celebrate with a glass of sherry! Then on to the performance, a rousing chorus of the Welsh hymn 'Cwm Rhondda' which is familiar to rugby fans everywhere. Suzy said that they have extraordinary voices, every single one of them could be a soloist, and she loved their diversity. Sharon thought it was passionate, rousing and stirred the soul, and Russell declared that they did Wales proud.

After a short film of their fans in North Wales including the mayor of Bangor, the second choir to sing was Ysgol Glanaethwy performing 'Try a little Tenderness'. Sharon loved their funkiness and can't get over how good they are for such a young choir. Russell agreed and thought they sounded like a professional choir, and Suzy was dazzled by their energy and fun.

Third and last, after a video tour of the capital on a red London bus, was Revelation with 'Ain't no stoppin' us now'. Russell commented on their incredible transformation since the auditions and thought it was an outstannding performance. Suzy said their sound would be recognised anywhere as the sound of Revelation, and Sharon thought it was beautiful.

There followed an interlude showing clips of the choirs performing at the London 2012 Olympics party to an audience of 40,000 in The Mall, and then it was back to the studio for a group performance of 'Never Forget'. Then it was back to the serious business of the evening. Each choir would reprise the song which the judges considered to be their best performance of the series.

Only Men Aloud!'s best performance was deemed to be 'Don't rain on my parade, which all the judges loved. Ysgol Glanaethwy sang 'O Fortuna' which got a standing ovation from two of the three judges. Finally Revelation sang 'Rule the world' which brought tears to Sharon's eyes - and made Suzy think of sinking into a warm bath!!!

For the whole of this series Russell Watson has been sitting with the judges rather than in his usual place up on the stage, but tonight he took to the stage to sing 'Heaven help us all' accompanied by last week's losing semi-finalists ACM Gospel Choir.

At last the lines were closed, the votes were counted and the results could be announced. The first choir safely through to the final was Only Men Aloud! (Tim's nan could get her sherry yet) and then it was revealed that the choir with the lowest number of votes and therefore out of the competition was Revelation. They had a good run, longer than many expected and there's no shame at all in coming third. Well done Revelation.

Wales is renowned for its long choral tradition so it is perhaps no surprise that the last two choirs remaining are both Welsh, but which will it be - the traditional Welsh male voice choir with a modern twist, or the Welsh school students who sing with a maturity way beyond their years? Either will be a worthy winner of this competition.

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