His Magic Can't Be Explained! | BGT 2026 Rafferty Coope

Hey, what's your name? I'm Rafferty Coop. Rafferty Coop? Yeah, it's a tongue twister. Okay, who'd you come with? I've come with my whole family, which they're supporting me. How old are you? I'm 16 years old. Yeah, I'm six foot four though. What? That's greedy, man. Share it around to the rest of us. Rafferty, do people ask you to get things from the tops of shelves? Yeah, that's my job. So, do you think you could win the whole show? I mean, I would like to hope so. But no, I guess that's why I'm here. That's some confidence in you. Yes, yes. What are you gonna do for us today? Well, I'm gonna be showing you my two passions in life, which are music and magic. Nice. Let's do it. I believe that there's magic in music. Want a bite? Yeah, it's yours. Thank you. Simon. Yes. Just like you, I love music. And I listen to it all the time. I do these things. Music isn't just in here. It's everywhere. It sounds incredible because it can pass through solid objects, but we can't see it happening. But imagine if we could. Simon, can you place out your left hand for me, face up, and keep it nice and strong. If we could see sound passing through a solid object, I think it would look something like this. Now do you see why I find sound so cool? It's good. I like this music of magic. Whenever we're down, music is always the thing that can pick us up, and sometimes it can lift more than just our mood. See, that's the magic of music. Alisha, as you know, rhythm is everything. My first instrument was the mighty egg shaker. Have a go. Well, how long have you been playing? Rhythm brings a tune to life. It's the heartbeat. Without it, it's nothing. Simon, can you pass that glass to me? Okay, Asai. I've got a deck of cards here. They're all different, right? Yes. And on the back, I've written different letters. Can you please lift off any way you want? Yeah, just any way you want. Oh, yeah. Thank you. And pick up that pile and deal several cards onto the table. That's perfect. That's perfect. Now, I don't want to touch the cards. Yes. But we're gonna put them in order from smallest to largest. Okay. Oh, I like this game. But there's two tens, so... Okay. Now, I told you all that I believe there's magic in music. And tonight, I'd like to prove it to you. You see, I see cards like notes on a piano. There are 13 cards in a suit and 13 notes in an octave. I've labeled some keys here. KSI, we're gonna use your randomly selected playing cards to play a melody. This is gonna sound awesome. Can you please just read out the value of the cards? Ace. Ace. Three. Three. Five. Five. Eight. Eight. Ten. Ten. Queen. Queen. Ten. Ten. Okay, one more time, a bit faster. Okay. Ace. Three. Five. Eight. Ten. Queen. Ten. Sounds a bit random, but listen. Ace. Three. Five. Eight. Ten. Queen. Ten. He's very good. Don't stop believing. Believe. KSI, remember there are letters on the back of those cards. Could you turn them over one at a time? No. Left and right. Wait. That was incredible. It was just, it was so good. Lovely boy. You've done a great job. I could see how much all of it meant to you. We've never seen anything like that. So well done. Really good. Thank you so much, man. Thank you. Honestly, you're 16 years old and you're a bright light. Your showmanship is spectacular, and there's something very charming about you. Seriously spectacular. Take this moment, enjoy it with your family. Oh my God. How do you feel? It's so great to be back. I really cannot believe that I'm here right now. Tonight, I want to share the joy of music and magic. But above all, make sure we all have a good time. Music doesn't start with sound. It starts with silence, with nothing. But then, with the help of beats, a pattern can emerge. But that's just the beginning. Because if you add some bass and then some harmony, everything starts to come together. You've got a structure, but that's not all. Because the magic only happens when you don't just hear it, but you feel it. I want you to see that all of these cards are completely different. You're each gonna pick one, but do not look at it. Just leave it on the table, face down. So starting with you, Simon. Just, yeah, just touch a card. Just anyone. Quick, quick, quick, quick, quick, quick, quick. Quick. We're not here all day. All right, take it. All right, Amanda. There we go, a bit easier. And Alicia. Perfect. Just that one over there. And KSI. Perfect. Absolutely perfect. Now, timing is everything. It's what gives music its energy. It's the difference between something feeling fast or slow. It's like a pulse. In fact, let's try something. KSI, on the side of my watch, there's a dial. And as you know, when you turn it, it changes the time. Can you see? Yes. KSI, can you please face down? Your left hand for me, face up. I'm gonna place the watch face down on your hand. With your other hand, can you please turn the dial as much as you want? Fast or slow, it really ups you. And then whenever you want, just stop. Happy? Yes. Cool. Now, Amanda, if you were gonna name any number between 1 and 12, what would you say? 9. 9. And Alicia, if you were gonna name any number between 1 and 60, what would you say? 47. 47. So what was that? That was 947. KSI, you could have stopped anywhere. We just created a time. No, we didn't. Watch. 947. Simon, I've got a good feeling you know a thing or two about music. A bit. I've got a list of a hundred of my favourite songs by different artists here. They're all different. You've got Hey Jude, Back in Black, Viva La Vida, Fix You, and recently added, Thick of It. Simon, you're gonna just take the phone and scroll through to see that they're all different. You're gonna pick a song completely at random. But the way that we're gonna do this is by using Amanda and Alicia's randomly selected time. What was that? 9? 9? 47. If we add 9 plus 47... Sorry, maths is not my strongest point, but... Is that 56? Simon, can you take a look at whatever song is at number 56, but do not tell me what it is. Have you got it? Yeah, I've got it. Do you know the song? I do, actually, yeah. Show it to Amanda as well. And once you've got it, just place my phone down. Now, Simon, just place the phone down. I do feel like me and you have a special connection with our love of music. I want you to think about all the elements that make up your song. I'm gonna try build your song layer by layer using these three loop pedals. I can record myself playing any instrument and then play it back on repeat. First we need a beat. Simon, can you please just focus about what the drums are doing in your song? Don't just hear it. Feel it. Okay, I think I'm getting something. Next, Simon, we need some bass. Can you please just focus on what the bass is doing? Cool. I think I've got it. This is cool. Now, Simon, we're nearly getting there. Can you finally just focus on the melody? Hear it in your head. Okay. Actually, Amanda, can you help me out here? Can you sing it in your head as well? That's better. Okay, I think I'm getting it. Simon, it's your song. Don't Stop Me Now. Yes. Everybody! Don't stop me now I'm having such a good time I'm having a ball Don't stop me now If you want to have a good time Just give me a call Don't stop me Because I'm having a good time Don't stop me Yes, I'm having a good time I don't want to stop at all Don't stop me now, right? I'm so grateful for having this opportunity to share what I love about music and magic. I believe that music and magic are a universal language that connects us all in the moments that truly matter. They bring us together even when times are tough. And I think that's the real magic. Thank you. I've had such a good time tonight. And I really don't want this to stop at all. Simon, who is Don't Stop Me Now by? Why? I didn't stop you. Who is Don't Stop Me Now by? Queen. That's right. Remember at the very beginning, each of you picked playing cards. For the first time, can you turn them over? Starting with you, Simon. Amanda. Alicia. KSI. 1, 2, 3, 4 Love it. KSI, did you love it? Rafferty. Bro, you are unique. You are one of a kind. To this day, I still don't know how you do any of the things you do but, oh my God, you are special, bro. You are special. You have more enthusiasm than this entire room, which is absolutely adorable. I love how confident you are. I love how just passionate you are about what you do. And there were so many lovely little moments throughout. And I really enjoyed the whole music side of it. It kept it light. It kept it fun. I think you're great. I think you're really great. And we should be really proud of you. So joyful. And just what a lovely boy you are. I mean, without sounding patronising, your parents must be like through the roof proud of you. Honestly, I don't think it could have gone any better. You're a shining light on that stage. It's where you're meant to be. It's brilliant. Rafferty, I gotta hand it to you. That was bear in mind this was live. How old are you? I'm 17 years old. Okay, this is crazy. What I love about you is that you're having as much fun as the audience are. You always have this feeling it might go wrong. But it doesn't. You're not copying other magicians. You've got your own thing going. Didn't love the singing. Apart from that... I was just enjoying it. I know. However... By the way, as it stands, you are gonna make it through to the final. You look like you're having the best time up here. Honestly, this is an absolute dream. I've grown up watching the show. I've never missed a season and all of these magicians have inspired me. I've grown up watching your faces. Oh, sorry. But honestly, I can't quite thank everyone enough who supports me. Everyone in the audience who are absolutely amazing. I am literally living a dream right now. Thank you, really. You know what? You're the loveliest kid as well. You really are. Thank you for auditioning. The parents were going mad over here. They were loving it. You got some great support into that. And you did a great job. Well done. Well done, Rafferty. So we're left with Ren DMC, Rafferty Coop and Glant Have Boys Choir. The public chose you as our top three acts tonight. But only one of you can leave here as tonight's winner. The act in third place tonight is Glant Have Boys Choir. That's third place tonight. No shame in that whatsoever. You've been absolutely fantastic. Anything you guys would like to say to everybody out there who has voted for you and supported you? Thank you for you all who voted us. Our choir, we like making people happy. So proud of the boys. Super proud. Super proud of them. Top three. Amazing. Not bad at all. Let's hear it one more time for Glant Have Boys Choir. Right. And then there were two acts left. Ren DMC and Rafferty Coop is the winner of tonight's semifinal and is about to take a place in the final. The winner of semifinal number four is Rafferty Coop. Congratulations, Rafferty. We can see how much it means to you. We'll chat to you in a second. Commiserations, Ren DMC. Have you enjoyed yourself? We're live. Pick up everyone that voted, man. Pick up M&A, Raff. And also, I need this sign. Give it up one more time for Ren DMC. Rafferty Coop, tonight's winner. How do you feel? Thank you so much, everyone. I've dreamed about this moment all of my life. I cannot believe I'm even here. So thank you to everyone that voted. Family, I love you so much. Honestly, Ren is the most lovely person I've ever met. And this whole process, thank you to everyone at BGT. You're welcome. See you in the final. Sonny, congratulations. Has it sunk in yet? Not really, no. You've got to come back and do it all again in the final. I can't wait. I can't wait. We can't wait to see you. Well done. Congratulations. So there you go. Sonny Green and Rafferty Coop join Liyue Yang, Ted Hill, Sadek Baraba and LMA, Fabian Fox, Matty Huniosa and Anastasia and Salsa on this year's finalist board. It's shaping up to be a final. Before every performance, I do the same thing. I smile and I say, I've got this. Not because I believe it. I still get nervous, like now I am terrified. But I've learnt something important. That if you imagine you believe it, then you eventually do. And that might be the closest thing to real magic that I know. I love the feeling that magic and music give us. So tonight, I want to share that magical feeling with you and hopefully, I can make you all smile. Now, Amanda, please may I borrow one of your rings? Oh gosh, they're quite big, so I'll give you a little one. Perfect. I can get completely lost in music. Sometimes when I hear a special song, the whole world seems to stop and time stands still. Well, Amanda, this looks like a very nice ring. It is. A ring like this can represent happy memories. Like for me, I've got golden buzzer confetti from my actual moment when KSI pressed it. But in life, we can sometimes lose the things that matter to us most. But if we take a step back, stay grounded, the answer might be right at our feet. I don't know if you can see that. Amanda, is that your ring? Yes. Sorry for putting my foot on the desk, but KSI, since you did it, I hope it's okay. Now, Amanda, us and safe. So I'm going to place it inside of this card box, and can you please look after that for me? You can feel that your ring is still in there. And just place it on the stand in front of you. Now, sometimes the most magical moments happen when we leave things to chance, when everything is random. I've got a bag of 500 raffle tickets here, all different numbers and different colours. Simon, can you please reach in and just take out a few just to see that they are all different? Just to see that they are all different? Yeah, they are. And now, Alicia, can you please reach in but only take one? Have a good rummage. Got it? Got one, and KSI, same with you. Have a lucky dip. Just only one. Only one. Got it? Perfect. Now I'm going to try something using Alicia and KSI's random numbers. For the first time, Alicia, what was the number that you chose? 3 7 1 3 7 1 And KSI, what was your number? 4 1 5 4 1 5 So that's 3 7 1 4 1 5 Now these numbers together don't mean anything. But hold on. Remember, you need to use your imagination to see things differently. All I've ever wanted to do on my BGT journey is to make you all smile. All along, right under our noses, when we just smile is what really matters. When we all come together to see things differently, but most importantly, to believe in ourselves. My BGT journey is now coming to an end, but I'm leaving here with so many happy memories. So thank you for allowing me to share this magical feeling with you. And hopefully I've made you smile. But wait. Amanda, remember your ring is still in the box in front of you. Can you please pick it up? You got it? I feel it in there. It's in there. Can you give it a shake? Tell me what you feel. There's nothing in there now. Can you please open up the box? Is your ring in there? No, it blinking isn't. Don't worry. I've got this. I hope so. Oh my God. Rafferty, I'm so proud of you, man. Literally, you talk about smiling. As soon as you come on stage, you make me smile. Your face is just incredible. And I just want to thank you for everything you've done throughout your BGT journey. It's been fantastic for me, bro. Tonight's performance was lovely and I really, really enjoyed it. For me, you've just been this ray of sunshine. And I think all of us can learn something from your enthusiasm, how passionate you are. And I've really enjoyed watching you on this journey. You're adorable. You are meant to be on that stage. The way you command the audience, the way you perform is spectacular. And I can't wait to see what else you're going to do because you're brilliant. Thank you. Well done. I said to Simon, I don't think I know any other happy 17-year-olds. Your joy and your energy is infectious. And after that, the way you story-tell as well, I can't take my eyes off you. And after that, I feel like you could start doing TED Talks as well because I'm like, yes, Raffi. Another amazing performance. I know that your family are your backbone. I know they're always with you. They're so proud of you. And without sounding patronising, we are all enormously proud of you. You've smashed it again this evening. Well done. Just when you think everything's finished, then you always do something brilliant at the end. I have to say, Rafferty, from the minute we first met you, I just of all of us, we like you so much for your talent, for your enthusiasm. And you're very positive and unique. And I know the audience at home love you. And I think the fact that you've been watching this show since you were a kid, and now you're here tonight performing, is just magical. Seriously magical. And really good. You're really, really good. Thank you, judges. Rafferty, here you are in the final. It means the world to you. You're inspired by Britain's Got Talent. You could win it. You could win the show. How does that feel? Honestly, I genuinely cannot believe that I'm even here right now. It has been a dream, as you said. I've been inspired by so many magicians, so knowing that I'm here, maybe inspiring one person back at home to get into magic or get into music is really, really special to me. So yeah, thank you everyone so much you've got me here. I wouldn't have been able to do it without you.