Who is Ichikawa Koikuchi? Booed 'Britain's Got Talent' alum joins Team Howie for 'AGT: Fantasy League'
TOKYO, JAPAN: 'America's Got Talent: Fantasy League' returns with a bang, as Simon Cowell, Mel B, Howie Mandel, and Heidi Klum look for the next royal variety act. While we don't know much about the acts who will be on our screens in an hour, Ichikawa Koikuchi will return after 'Britain's Got Talent' viewers slammed the "fartist" when he walked the stage for the semi-finals and failed to convince judges last year.
Ichikawa's 'BGT' performance had him blowing out candles, sounding a celebration horn, and popping a balloon with his own farts. However, things did not go as planned for the artist in 2023, as he failed to impress spectators and judges.
His performance consisted of him attempting to fart along to a tune, but the judges pressed their buzzers in dismay. Fans on social media called it "unfair" since the singer took the place of someone else who may have advanced to the semi-finals.
'BGT' got in fix row as Ichikawa Koikuchi revealed to have auditioned for franchise's Asian AND French versions
'Britain's Got Talent' was thrown into a fixed dispute after Ichikawa was found to have previously tried his luck with the show. Ichikawa, whose performance included blowing out candles, sounding a party horn, and popping a balloon with his own farts, auditioned for the Asian edition of the program in 2019 and the French version in 2022.
Despite his cringe-worthy performance, the Japan native received three yeses from the judges and advanced to the next round. Coincidentally, he was also put through the first round of Asia and France's Got Talent, but did not advance.
While new judge Bruno Tonioli described the act as "torture," the other three panelists found the situation amusing. Head judge Simon even joined Ichikawa on stage for the last trick, while Alesha Dixon and Amanda Holden fell out laughing.
Ofcom received 66 official complaints about airing Ichikawa Koikuchi's 'BGT' performance
That was not the first time the artist has faced criticism for his performance. The broadcasting authority Ofcom informed The Sun that it received 66 official complaints immediately after his audition was broadcast.
Once his performance aired, viewers complained to Ofcom about it, claiming that his ridiculous performance had brought the show to a "new low." Some even said that an act like Ichikawa's would have been sent home during the auditions, not to mention the deliberations or the Semi-Finals, in years past.
It continued, "Complaints related to a performance by self-proclaimed ‘fartist’ Ichikawa Koikuchi."
How many times has Ichikawa Koikuchi been buzzed on 'Got Talent' franchise?
In 2019, Ichikawa auditioned for the third season of 'Asia's Got Talent,' and David Foster buzzed his performance. Ichikawa auditioned for the seventeenth season of 'France's Got Talent' in 2022, and Sugar Sammy, Marianne James, and Hélène Ségara all buzzed his performance.
Ichikawa also auditioned for the ninth season of 'Spain's Got Talent,' where his performance was praised by Risto Mejide, as well as the tenth season of the Italian competition series 'Tu Si Que Vales'.
Every Monday at 8 pm ET, NBC will air new episodes of 'AGT: Fantasy League'