A NAKED Gary Barlow, a singing Dannii Minogue fan and a helping hand from Take That's Mark and Howard: TV's latest talent show Let It Shine makes its very theatrical debut
Gary Barlow opened BBC1 show Let It Shine singing from a pretend bed before dancers threw back the sheets and revealed him singing into a sponge while naked in the shower.
He continued crooning his way onto the set as he was joined by the rest of the panel, including Martin Kemp, Dannii Minogue and Amber Riley.
Mel Giedroyc and Graham Norton then joined his creative intro, singing as his make-up artist and stylist.
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That's how you open a show! Gary Barlow opened the BBC1 show Let It Shine singing from a pretend bed before dancers threw back the sheets and revealed him singing into a sponge while naked in the shower
As the stage was set around him and a star placed over him, he sung the words: 'Make the leap from the former to a competition judge', before it merged into the live version of the show.
'It's almost as though we tried to bring talent, musical theatre and TV together,' Graham joked, as Mel pleaded to open every show like that.
They then revealed they had been searching for five boys to form a boyband, called 'The Band', able to dance, sing and perform.
Choosing 16 contestants to start with, they would be whittled down to 5 over the eight week show, using a scoring system whereby contestants must be scored 15 or more of 20 stars.
Let It Shine! Gary Barlow (third left) teamed up with (l-r) Amber Riley, Graham Norton, Dannii Minogue,Mel Giedroyc and Martin Kemp for his new talent contest Let It Shine
In Manchester, the judges introduced to the theatre style set stage.
Former Eastender Martin Kemp graced the stage first, before Westend Dreamgirl star Amber Riley joined, pop princess Dannii Minogue and finally former Take That star and ex X-Factor judge Gary Barlow completed the panel.
Dannii sizzled in a black off-the-shoulder embellished dress while Amber added a splash of colour in a red skin-tight dress, while the boys looked suited and booted.
First contestant Clinton Elvis was introduced by his family, who described him as the 'light of the room'.
Back with a bang! He continued crooning his way onto the set as he was joined by the rest of the panel and the presenters
Sending pulses racing: The former Take That star certainly opened the show in a unique way
'Make the leap from the former to a competition judge', he sung as the stage was set around him and a star placed over him, before it merged into the live version of the show
Rocking a red coordinated ensemble, the 23-year-old introduced himself, explaining that red was his favourite colour and he was wearing his lucky hat and rosaries.
The hopeful sat down at the piano to a cheering crowd, singing acapella before he jumped away, breaking into an energetic rendition of Jackie Wilson - (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher.
Getting the crowd going, the panel appeared impressed with his efforts, with Graham requesting their scores.
Amber scored him 4 out of 5 stars ,calling the performance energetic but the vocals slightly shaky.
Showing their support: Gary's former Take That bandmates Mark Owen and Howard Donald were backstage lending their support to contestants
Lighting up the stage: First contestant Clinton Elvis broke into an energetic rendition of Jackie Wilson - (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher scoring a total of 16 out of 20 stars
Preach! Deaglan Arthurs, 18, from Ireland kept his performance simple, singing Frank Sinatra's New York New York and was awarded a grand 18 stars for his performance
Martin gushed about his energy and admitted he was close to tears, giving him 4 stars, as did the other judges.
A total of 16 out of 20 stars lit up on stage- with contestants needing 15 to get through.
With just 1 minute forty seconds to impress, the contestants made the most of their time.
Take That's Howard Donald and Mark Owen came to advise the nervous contestants backstage, admitting that their dance routines often overwhelmed their songs.
Multi-talented: Nottingham native Jazzie Mattis- the dancer scoring 17 stars- getting him through to the final.
Deaglan Arthurs, 18, from Ireland kept his performance simple, singing Frank Sinatra's New York New York, surprising the judges with his deep voice.
Adding a strategic head dip and strutting around on stage, he received a standing ovation from Amber.
'I see the theatre in you!', Dannii gushed, while Martin said his lower end vocals were a little pitchy.
'Your lower end was a little bit pitchy but take my four as a really good four,' he said, hilariously giving away his score.
Graham quickly scolded him, reminding him, 'There has to be some suspense', as he ran off stage in embarrassment before returning.
New territory: Trainee fire-fighter Jamie-Ryan Taylor, who hails from the North East,scored 11 stars, to the boos of the audience, knocking him out of the competition
The crooner was awarded a grand 18 stars for his performance, with two judges scoring him with 5.
Firefighter trainee Jamie Ryan was described as a musical ladies boy by his family.
The 21-year-old admitted he'd never sung with a microphone or been on stage, but showcased his husky voice to a cheering voice as he sung hit song Lay Down Beside Me.
'You're at the start of the journey,' Gary encouraged him, with Amber agreeing that he was 'timid'.
Big fan: Scarborough's Tyler Jack Smith informed Gary that he's a massive fan of his
Jamie scored 11 stars, to the boos of the audience, with two judges scoring him with 2 stars and the other two with 3, knocking him out of the competition.
'Do you regret him not going through? Listen to the audience booing!', Graham asked, but the judges encouraged him to keep trying as he saluted off-stage.
'The difference with a real stage show is that you don't get the pre-performance interview where the audience fall in love with you', Gary explained.
Next up was Jazzy Mattis, a professional dancer and trainer-fanatic.
Belting it out: Zak Robinson, left, and Wayne Thurtell, right, put on confident performances, but didn't make it through
The 24-year-old cheeky chap sung an energetic cover of Mark Ronson - Uptown Funk ft. Bruno Mars, flaunting his impressive dance moves and even breaking into the splits.
Strutting down the stage to the cheering crowd and clapping panel, the talented performer was praised by Gary for his 'fantastic energy', admitting that his voice needs some work.
'That was Jazzy!', American Amber gushed, with the dancer scoring 17 stars- getting him through to the final.
Martin, who scored him with 5 stars, said 'You treated this as though you already got the job', with Dannii who also scored him 5, loving his try-hard attitude.
Making a girl blush: Nick Carsberg made Dannii blush by focusing his attentions on her
Next the show cut to fan Tyler Jack Smith from Yorkshire, who was nominated by his mum to meet his life-long idol Gary Barlow.
As he worked in the tea shop- oblivious to undercover cameras and an army of elderly teashop goers, Gary paid him a surprise visit, interrupting him as he sung to the diners in the shop.
Tyler's face dropped as Gary revealed she had nominated him to audition, before it cut back to him auditioning on stage.
The 19-year-old sung Joe Cocker's 'You are so beautiful', admitting that it was nerve-racking.
Outstanding! Jason Brock has a role in the West End production of Thriller Live! and sailed through scoring 20 stars and standing ovation
'You lost your pitch but your falsetto was nice - I'm hoping it's enough to get you through as I think there's something there,' Gary said.
And it proved enough, with him scoring 17 stars.
'I'm gonna do the work', he exclaimed in excitement, as he admitted he didn't think he'd get through.
'We voted with our hearts but work on those nerves', Gary said.
And a slightly saucy scene followed.
'It's vibrating,' Mel said holding her hand to Gary's chest as he demonstrated a falsetto- 'Chest not voice', he explained, edging away from her hand.
Next Zac Robinson, 17, and 16-year-old Bobby Foord weren't lucky enough to make it through, with the judges explaining how failed auditions teach you the most.
Hector Mitchell-Turner, Wayne Thurtell, Nicky Price joined the round of hopefuls who hope to make the final.
More than a pipe dream: Bobby Ford is an apprentice plumber who's hoping to hit the big time, but didn't make it through
College-goer Nicky Price, 17- an X-box lover and proud uncle, was up next singing am emotional rendition of Say Something (I'm Giving Up On You).
The Welsh hopeful scored a grand 20 stars- the first amongst the contestants in the series, almost bringing the panel to tears.
'You felt every word,' Martin gushed, as Gary exclaimed they want someone 'who loves what they do'.
Essex native Nick Carsberg, 17, was up next, putting on a flirty performance as he sung a personalised performance of Olly Murs' Dance With Me Tonight to a blushing Dannii.
Singing hopeful: Nicky Price scored a grand 20 stars- the first amongst the contestants in the series, almost bringing the panel to tears
'That look!' Dannii screeched as Martin fanned her and she disappeared under the desk, delaying the feedback.
The classic-car restore scored a grand 16 stars, with each judge scoring him 4.
Next hopeful, 25-year-old Wayne admitted no one has ever heard him sing.
His rendition of The Temptations' My Girls didn't convince the panel, with him crashing out of the competition with 11 stars.
Great jeans! Hector Mitchell-Turner arrives for his performance wearing a set of dungarees, but didn't make it through
Keeping the judging kind and encouraging, the panel gave encouraging feedback, branding him raw talent and ensuring he was motivated not embarrassed.
Thriller Live Westend star Jason Brock was up next, singing an outstanding cover of Whitney Houston's Run To You.
His amazing tone, pitch and range received a standing ovation from the panel and audience, with his performance arguably outshining all the contestants so far.
The 30-year-old proved his experience, flying through to the next stage with well-deserved 20 stars as he hugged the panel in excitement.
'You've totally moved every single person in this room', Gary gushed as the audience whooped.
Best performance so far? Thriller Live Westend star Jason Brock was up next, singing an outstanding cover of Whitney Houston's Run To You
Who will make the cut? Only five contestants will make it through to the live final
Meanwhile, speaking at the launch of the show and appearing to take a dig at The X Factor, former Take That singer Gary Barlow, 45,told The Mirror: 'This is for a job, it is not someone waving a contract.'
Explaining his thinly-veiled comments further, the Cheshire native continued: 'The record business is very hard now I can't even predict what is going to be successful or not.
'But with this I was able to sit there and say the reason you are here today is a job. We are going to give you an opportunity to play around the UK eight shows a week. By the end of the year I hope these will be the start of careers of years to come.'
The former boybander, who saw reasonable success by mentoring his acts Marcus Collins, Christopher Maloney and Rough Copy to the latter stages of the competition, is now reportedly being targeted by Simon Cowell for legal action.
Not afraid: Gary made a dig at Simon Cowell when talking about his own talent show, Let It Shine, which is set to rival X Factor
'This is for a job!': The singer made a thinly-veiled dig at Simon Cowell (R), stating that they will not be 'waving a contract' at someone - instead they'll be working straight off the back
' I hope these will be the start of careers of years to come': Gary stated, referencing the lack of longevity for recent X Factor winners
Simon is reportedly consulting lawyers over fears that Barlow's new show, which will also feature former X Factor judge Dannii Minogue and Martin Kemp, might infringe his rights.
Simon has put a team of staff on standby to monitor Barlow's eight-week series, which will see him search for five male singers to play the parts of Take That in a forthcoming West End musical about the chart-topping band.
MailOnline has contacted representatives for Gary and Simon for comment.
Talented mentor: The former boybander saw reasonable success by mentoring his acts Marcus Collins, Christopher Maloney and Rough Copy to the latter stages of the competition
Taking action: Simon, 57, is said to be consulting lawyers over fears that Barlow's new show might infringe his rights due to a similar format
Line-up: Let It Shine will also star former X Factor judge Dannii Minogue, Martin Kemp, Amber Riley, Mel Giedroyc and Graham Norton
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