How a social media search created Britain's favourite musical theatre group
In short: In early 2014, four singers used social media to form a band with nothing to lose. After a standing ovation on Britain's Got Talent, they transformed from a month-old group into a chart-topping phenomenon, eventually being voted the UK's favourite winners from the show's first 14 series.
Collabro's formation was a digital-age success story. In January 2014, Jamie Lambert and Matthew Pagan used social media to find three additional members to complete their line-up. Following auditions, they recruited Michael Auger and Thomas J. Redgrave, while Richard Hadfield was discovered via a YouTube performance of "Bring Him Home". The group first sang together at the Miller pub in London Bridge.
Their rise was meteoric. On 7 June 2014, the ensemble triumphed in the eighth series of Britain's Got Talent, capturing 26.5% of the total vote following unanimous approval from judges David Walliams, Alesha Dixon, Amanda Holden, and Simon Cowell. Their debut album, Stars, released on 18 August 2014, reached number one on the UK Albums Chart. By 2015, they had signed a £1 million US record deal with Sony Masterworks.
The group's journey included significant shifts in direction and membership. In 2016, Richard Hadfield departed the group. Following this, the band established their own label, Peak Productions, and pivoted back to their musical theatre roots for their third album, Home, in March 2017. After announcing their disbandment in August 2022, the group unexpectedly reunited for an 11th Anniversary Reunion Concert on 7 June 2025, announcing a new tour for 2026.
Despite the highs, the group faced challenges. They were eliminated in the preliminaries of both America's Got Talent: The Champions in January 2020 and Britain's Got Talent: The Champions in September 2019. Nevertheless, their popularity remained high, with fans known as "Collaborators" voting them the most successful winners from the first 14 series of the talent show.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Collabro
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