The Hawkstone Choir are hoping to secure the public vote in this week's semi-final
Farming families are being asked to get behind the Farmers Choir as the singers take to the stage for the live semi-final of this year's Britain's Got Talent.
Following their 鈥榞olden buzzer' appearance back in March, the near 40-strong choir will be back on ITV1 this Saturday with a song set to pull on the heart strings of the nation.
"It is a super emotional number," said Ben Brooke, an arable farmer from March in Cambridgeshire. "I cannot tell you what it is but it means a lot to all of us. I every time I sing it, I get goosebumps."
Shining a light on farming
Mr Brooke said while the nerves for the stage show are kicking in, the reason the choir has come together and the reason for the performance keeps him focused.
"We are doing it for obviously a bigger cause - to try and shine a light on agriculture in general and the isolation many farmers feel. We all know the mental health statistics.
"We are also doing it for the people that are not here in the farming industry anymore. For me it is my grandad but everybody has got someone that they are thinking of when we are singing."
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Mr Brooke said the public response after the group's first appearance has been incredibly positive.
"The support has been wild to be honest," he said. "I think I have had messages from everybody I have ever known. They said how much they cried and how emotional everyone got. People you would not necessarily think would cry watching TV - even my dad and he is not an emotional person really."
The choir, which features farmers from across the UK, came together in the first instance to film promotional material for Jeremy Clarkson's Hawkstone lager advert and the former Top Gear presenter has voiced his support for the group and will be cheering them on for Saturday's big show.
'We just want to do agriculture proud'
"We saw him a few weeks ago when we had a big rehearsal session and he said how well everyone had done. The team is fully behind us, which is great. He has obviously raised awareness and done so much for farming and we would be absolutely nowhere without him, so we are very grateful to have the support."
But the choir will need more than Mr Clarkson's support when they take to the stage and Mr Brooke said he is hoping farmers will be watching and ready to pick up the phone.
"Yes it is down to the public now and we need every vote. We just want to do agriculture proud."
Britain's Got Talent is on ITV1, Saturday May 23, 7pm.
