Signature are English dance duo Suleman Mirza and Madhu Singh. Their style of dance is British Bhangra and they frequently base their performances around
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...
songs, such as "
Billie Jean
"Billie Jean" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson, released by Epic Records on January 2, 1983, as the second single from his sixth studio album, '' Thriller'' (1982). It was written and composed by Jackson and produced by Jackson and ...
" and "
Thriller
Thriller may refer to:
* Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television
** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre
Comics
* ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...
". They gained wide recognition during their performances in the second series of ''
Britain's Got Talent
''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloqui ...
'', in which they were runners-up to the winner
street dance
Street dance is an umbrella term for a large number of social dance styles such as: breakdancing, popping, locking, house dance, waacking etc. Social dance styles have many accompanying steps and foundations, created organically from a cult ...
r
George Sampson
George William Sampson (born 29 June 1993) is an English street dancer, television presenter, singer, and actor. He won the second series of ''Britain's Got Talent'' on 31 May 2008 at the age of 14. He is an official ambassador of the United D ...
.
Early years
Suleman Mirza is a trainee solicitor/lawyer His involvement concerns the
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...
tribute
A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of land which the state conq ...
moves of the dance. Madhu Singh works at
PC World
''PC World'' (stylized as PCWorld) is a global computer magazine published monthly by IDG. Since 2013, it has been an online only publication.
It offers advice on various aspects of PCs and related items, the Internet, and other personal tech ...
Heathrow Airport
Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...
. Singh's main involvement is entering part-way through the act and performing Bhangra dance. Mirza, a
British Muslim
Islam is the second largest religion in the United Kingdom, with results from the 2011 Census giving the total population as 2,786,635, or 4.4% of the total UK population,Pakistani descent, and Singh, a
British Sikh
British Sikhs number over 520,000 people and account for 0.88% of England and Wales's population as of 2021, forming the United Kingdom's fourth-largest religious group. According to the 2021 United Kingdom census, Sikhs in England & Wales nu ...
of Indian descent, met when they were both auditioning separately for a student talent contest in 2000 at the
University of Westminster
The University of Westminster is a public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first polytechnic to open in London. The Polytechnic formally received a Royal charter in Aug ...
. Being from the same part of South Asia,
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...
(a region that was carved into modern Pakistan and India during the Partition of 1947), a place well known for its dance and music, they were both interested in performing together. At the time, Mirza was a full-time economics and business student at the
University of Westminster
The University of Westminster is a public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first polytechnic to open in London. The Polytechnic formally received a Royal charter in Aug ...
. This led to the formation of their dance group, Signature, in 2001. Since then, they performed their acts in various
British Asian
British Asians (also referred to as Asian Britons) are British citizens of Asian descent. They constitute a significant and growing minority of the people living in the United Kingdom, with 6.9% of the population identifying as Asian/Asian Bri ...
and
Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" ...
-themed shows, sometimes alongside several Bollywood movie stars.
In addition, Mirza has worked with
Chris Brown
Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. According to ''Billboard'', Brown is one of the most successful R&B singers of his generation, having often been referred to by many contempor ...
,
Leona Lewis
Leona Louise Lewis (born 3 April 1985) is a British singer, songwriter, actress and activist. Born and raised in the London Borough of Islington, she attended the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon. Lewis achieved natio ...
,
McFly
McFly are an English pop rock band formed in London in 2003. The band took their name from the '' Back to the Future'' character Marty McFly. The band consists of Tom Fletcher (lead vocals, guitar, and piano), Danny Jones (lead vocals, har ...
,
Dannii Minogue
Danielle Jane Minogue () is an Australian singer, television personality, and actress. She initially gained recognition for her appearances on the television show '' Young Talent Time'' (1982–1988) and for her role as Emma Jackson on t ...
,
Jay Sean
Kamaljit Singh Jhooti (born 26 March 1981), better known by the stage name Jay Sean, is a British singer and songwriter. He debuted in the UK's Asian Underground scene as a member of the Rishi Rich Project with " Dance with You", which reache ...
,
Alexandra Burke
Alexandra Imelda Cecelia Ewen Burke (born 25 August 1988) is a British singer, songwriter and actress. She won the fifth series of the British television series '' The X Factor'' in 2008, and has been signed to Epic Records, RCA Records and S ...
,
Sugababes
Sugababes are a British girl group composed of Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhán Donaghy. The lineup changed three times before returning to the original lineup in 2011.
Formed in 1998 by All Saints manager Ron Tom, Sugababes releas ...
, and choreographer Lavelle Smith Junior (who has choreographed for
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...
,
Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...
, and
Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...
). In 2006, Mirza performed for Michael Jackson at the televised World Music Awards 2006 held at the
Earls Court Exhibition Centre
Earls Court Exhibition Centre was a major international exhibition and events venue just west of central London. At its peak it is said to have generated a £2 billion turnover for the economy. It replaced exhibition and entertainment grounds, ...
, London, where he had met Jackson in person. Singh, meanwhile, has hosted television shows on the
Zee Music
Zee is the phonetic pronunciation of the letter Z in American English ("zed" in Commonwealth English).
Zee may also refer to:
People
*Zee (徐), a Wu Chinese surname, an equivalent of Xu
* Anthony Zee (b. 1945), Chinese-American physicist
*Chi ...
channel, and had also appeared on the music video for Jay Sean's " Eyes on You" in 2004.
''Britain's Got Talent''
Audition
On ''Britain's Got Talent'' in their audition in London, which aired on 24 April 2008, Signature performed to " Nachna Onda Nei" by
Tigerstyle
Tigerstyle is a Scottish folkhop group from Glasgow with a British Punjabi background.
Background
Brothers Raj Singh and Pablo (Pops) Singh come from a folk background, with the traditional upbringing of a Sikh family, with their roots in Punja ...
Billie Jean
"Billie Jean" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson, released by Epic Records on January 2, 1983, as the second single from his sixth studio album, '' Thriller'' (1982). It was written and composed by Jackson and produced by Jackson and ...
". They combined the Michael Jackson lyrics and style of dancing with traditional bhangra style music and dancing in a comedy dance act.
Before the audition, Mirza said: "I don't think the judges will have ever seen an act like mine before...in this act there will be a lot of moon walking, but there is a twist, and if they weren't Michael Jackson fans before they may even turn into one."
Mirza is then shown moonwalking around the stage, and performing Michael Jackson style dance moves. As he dances, Madhu Singh, dressed in a white coat, walks past the show presenters
Ant & Dec
Ant & Dec are a British television presenting duo, consisting of Anthony McPartlin (born 18 November 1975) and Declan Donnelly (born 25 September 1975), from Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Formed after their meeting as child actors on CBBC's ...
at the side of the stage and makes his way onto the stage with a
broom
A broom (also known in some forms as a broomstick) is a cleaning tool consisting of usually stiff fibers (often made of materials such as plastic, hair, or corn husks) attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. I ...
. The two then start a Bhangra/Michael Jackson "dance off", bringing with it a
standing ovation
A standing ovation is a form of applause where members of a seated audience stand up while applauding after extraordinary performances of particularly high acclaim. In Ancient Rome returning military commanders (such as Marcus Licinius Crassus a ...
from the audience and one of the judges,
Amanda Holden
Amanda Louise Holden (born 16 February 1971) is an English actress, media personality, and singer. Since 2007, she has been a judge on the television talent show competition ''Britain's Got Talent'' on ITV. She also co-hosts the ''Heart Brea ...
.
Semi-final
In the first semi-final on 26 May they performed to "
Thriller
Thriller may refer to:
* Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television
** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre
Comics
* ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...
", winning the public vote and so went through to the final.
Final
Before the final show,
Simon Cowell
Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality, entrepreneur and record executive. He is the creator of '' The X Factor'' and ''Got Talent'' franchises which have been sold around the world. He has judged on ...
said that he believed that Signature were one of five acts who could win the show. In the final they again performed to "Nachna Onda Nei" and finished in the top three alongside
street dance
Street dance is an umbrella term for a large number of social dance styles such as: breakdancing, popping, locking, house dance, waacking etc. Social dance styles have many accompanying steps and foundations, created organically from a cult ...
r,
George Sampson
George William Sampson (born 29 June 1993) is an English street dancer, television presenter, singer, and actor. He won the second series of ''Britain's Got Talent'' on 31 May 2008 at the age of 14. He is an official ambassador of the United D ...
and
boy soprano
A boy soprano (British and especially North American English) or boy treble (only British English) is a young male singer with an unchanged voice in the soprano range, a range that is often still called the treble voice range (in North Americ ...
, Andrew Johnston. Sampson won the show with Signature finishing as runners-up.
After ''Britain's Got Talent''
Following the end of the second series of ''Britain's Got Talent'', Signature were given the "official stamp of approval by Michael Jackson himself", while members of the
Jackson family
The Jackson family is an American family of musicians and entertainers from Gary, Indiana. Many of the children of Joseph Walter (or Joe) and Katherine Esther Jackson were successful musicians, notably the brothers that formed the Motown boy ...
have become their fans and got in touch with Signature soon after the show ended.
In June 2008, Signature were "offered a six-figure deal to be the face of
Virgin Media
Virgin Media is a British telecommunications company which provides telephone, television and internet services in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are at Green Park in Reading, England. It is owned by Virgin Media O2, a 50:50 joint ventu ...
" for its forthcoming "Bollywood on Demand" TV service. The managing director of marketing at Virgin Media, James Kydd, has commented, "Getting Signature on-board could be the perfect way for new audiences to find out more about
Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" ...
."
In December 2008, it was announced that Signature would appear on the live tour for the fifth series of ''
The X Factor
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...
''.
On 29 January 2009, they appeared as contestants on ''
Ready Steady Cook
''Ready Steady Cook'' is a BBC daytime TV cooking game show. It debuted on 24 October 1994 and the last original edition was broadcast on 2 February 2010. The programme was hosted by Fern Britton from 1994 until 2000 when celebrity chef Ainsley ...
'', where they announced that they were working on a sitcom and
movie script
''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993.
Background
After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, fe ...
.
In May 2009 they appeared in series 2, episode 5 of ''
The Omid Djalili Show
''The Omid Djalili Show'' is a British sketch comedy/stand-up comedy television show produced by the BBC and directed by Michael Cumming. Writing by Omid Djalili, Will Smith, Roger Drew, Ian Stone, Ricky Grover Michael Cumming, Rich Fulcher and ...
'' where they danced and Djalili joined in with their dance act. Signature also appeared at the Spice Times Awards 2010 as the main act. On 27 July 2012, Signature made an appearance at the
opening ceremony
An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.
of the London Olympics.
On 21 May 2016, they performed in one of London's biggest Asian comedy and entertainment events hosted by Studio1 Media. They performed alongside many other notable faces such as; Nadia Ali, Ezza (Ezzakins), Rumena Begum (Rumena_101), Sham Idrees, Karim Metwaly (AreWeFamousNow), Sheikh Akbar, Tasha Tah, Zack Knight,
Mumzy Stranger
Muhammad Mumith Ahmed ( bn, মুহাম্মদ মুমিথ আহমেদ; born 18 January 1984), known professionally as Mumzy Stranger or his producing name SP (an abbreviation of Stranger Productions), is a British rapper, singer, ...
, Char Avell, Shaful Khan, Jernade Miah, Babrul Hoque (Bengali Blitz), Kawsar Ahmed (Kash), Nishat Monsur (Nish),
Islah Abdur-Rahman
Islah Abdur-Rahman ( bn, ইসলাহ আব্দুর-রহমান; born 20 April 1991) is a British Bangladeshi film director, actor, singer and screenwriter. He is best known for writing, directing and starring in the hit series, t ...