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 Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

songs, such as "

Billie Jean "Billie Jean" is a song by the American singer Michael Jackson, released by Epic Records on January 3, 1983, as the second single from his sixth studio album, ''Thriller (album), Thriller'' (1982). It was written and composed by Jackson, produ ...

" and " Thriller". 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 (colloquial ...

'', 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 (dance), locking, house dance, waacking, voguing, etc. Social dance styles have many accompanying steps and foundations, created o ...

r George Sampson.

Early years

Suleman Mirza is a trainee solicitor/lawyer His involvement concerns the

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 lands which the state con ...

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 tec ...

in Terminal 5 at

Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport , also colloquially known as London Heathrow Airport and named ''London Airport'' until 1966, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdo ...

. 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 2021 Census recording just under four million Muslims, or 6.0% of the total population in the United Kingdom. London has the largest population and greatest p ...

Pakistani Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...

descent, and Singh, a British Sikh 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, public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first Polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic to open in London. The Po ...

. Being from the same part of South Asia,

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

(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

. 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 people of Asian people, Asian descent. They constitute a significant and growing minority of the people living in the United Kingdom, with a population of 5.76 million people or 8.6 ...

and

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

-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. A Pop music, pop and hip-hop-influenced contemporary R&B, R&B musician who works in a variety of genres, he has been called the "Honorific nic ...

Leona Lewis Leona Louise Lewis (born 3 April 1985) is a British singer, songwriter, actress, model, and activist. Born and raised in Islington, Inner London, she later attended the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon. Lewis achieve ...

McFly McFly are a British pop rock band formed in London in 2003. The band took their name from the ''Back to the Future (franchise), Back to the Future'' character Marty McFly. The band consists of Tom Fletcher (lead vocals, guitar, and piano), Da ...

Dannii Minogue Dannii Minogue (; born 20 October 1971) is an Australian singer, television personality, and actress. As a child, she became known for her appearances on the television talent show ''Young Talent Time'' (1982–1988). She went on to play the r ...

Jay Sean Kamaljit Singh Jhooti (born 26 March 1981), known professionally as 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 reached No. ...

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, and choreographer Lavelle Smith Junior (who has choreographed for

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 choreogr ...

, and

Beyoncé Knowles Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most culturally significant figu ...

). 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 in London, England. At its peak it is said to have generated a £2 billion turnover for the economy. It replaced exhibition and entertainment grounds, original ...

, London, where he had met Jackson in person. Singh, meanwhile, has hosted television shows on the

Zee Music Zee Music Co. (ZMC) is an Indian music company, a subsidiary of Zee Entertainment Enterprises. It carries its business activities mainly from New Delhi. The company has captured a major chunk of market share in Bollywood music in a short sp ...

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 (Kulraj Singh Burmy) and Pops (Amritpal Singh Burmy) come from a folk background, with the traditional upbringing of a Sikh ...

featuring Kaka Bhaniawala—a bhangra tune mixed to the beat of Michael Jackson's "

". 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 and Declan Donnelly from Newcastle upon Tyne. After meeting as child actors on CBBC's drama ''Byker Grove'', they performed together as pop musicians PJ & Duncan, ...

at the side of the stage and makes his way onto the stage with a

broom A broom (also known 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. It is thus a ...

. 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, often after extraordinary performances of particularly high acclaim. Standing ovations are considered to be a special honor. Often they are ...

from the audience and one of the judges,

Amanda Holden Amanda Louise Holden (born 16 February 1971) is an English media personality, actress and singer. Since 2007, she has been a judge on the television talent competition show '' Britain's Got Talent'' on ITV. She also co-hosts the national ''H ...

Semi-final

In the first semi-final on 26 May they performed to " Thriller", 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 and businessman. He has judged on the British television talent competition shows ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003), ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor UK ...

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

r, George Sampson and

boy soprano A boy soprano (British and especially North American English) or boy treble (only British English) is a young male singer with a voice in the soprano range, a range that is often still called the treble voice range (in North America too) no m ...

, 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 "Joe" and Katherine Esther Jackson were successful musicians, notably the brothers that formed the Motown boy b ...

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 Limited 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 ...

" 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

." 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'' (2001–200 ...

''. 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. In May 2009 they appeared in series 2, episode 5 of ''

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'' 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 (; born 18 January 1984), known professionally as Mumzy Stranger or his producing name SP (an abbreviation of Stranger Productions), is a British rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. He made his mainstream record ...

, Char Avell, Shaful Khan, Jernade Miah, Babrul Hoque (Bengali Blitz), Kawsar Ahmed (Kash), Nishat Monsur (Nish),

Islah Abdur-Rahman Islah Abdur-Rahman (; 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, the ''Corner Shop Show'' and for creating and directing ...

and Michael Truong from the Corner Shop Show, Dulzy Ahmed, Hussnain Lahori,

Humza Arshad Humza Mohammed Arshad (; born 3 June 1985) is an English actor, comedian and writer of Pakistani descent. He produces the web series '' Diary of a Bad Man'' (2010–2013) and '' Badman'' (2015–present). His homemade YouTube videos have been ...

, Rameet Kaur, Iksy and Bambi Bains (TeamPBN).

References

{{Dance 1979 births British dance groups English people of Pakistani descent Living people Britain's Got Talent contestants Contemporary dance companies British male dancers Michael Jackson impersonators Pakistani dance groups