Question: What was Johnston tipped as the favourite to win? Answer the above question based on the context below: Johnston was entered as a competitor in the second series of Britain's Got Talent by his mother. He passed the first public audition, singing "Pie Jesu" from Andrew Lloyd Webber's Requiem. Amanda Holden, one of the competition's judges, was brought to tears, and the audience offered Johnston a standing ovation. Johnston was tipped as the favourite to win the competition. Later, Johnston described his initial audition as daunting, saying that "it was scary singing in front of 2,500 people. I had never sang on stage before then there was also Simon, Amanda and Piers". He won his semi-final heat on 27 May 2008, receiving the most public votes on the night and thereby qualifying for the final. He sang "Tears in Heaven" by Eric Clapton; judge Holden told him he had "a gift from God in [his] voice". At the final on 30 May, he again sang "Pie Jesu". He finished in third place, behind the winner, the street dancer George Sampson and runners-up, the dance group Signature. Johnston left the stage in tears, later saying that he "was upset. But when you see the talent that was there, it was an honour just to be in the final". The day after the final, Cowell's publicist Max Clifford said that it was "quite possible" that Cowell would be offering record contracts to some of the finalists, including Johnston. Johnston and other contestants then embarked on a national arena tour.During his initial audition, Johnston claimed that he was bullied and victimised from the age of six because of his singing. When asked how he dealt with the issue, he stated "I carry on singing." There were claims in the Daily Mail, a UK-based tabloid newspaper, that the programme's producers had deliberately overstated the extent of Johnston's bullying as a "sob story", suggesting that sympathy rather than his singing got him many of the votes. However, in The Times, Johnston's success story was described as "the stuff of fairytales", as he was successful despite having been raised in "poverty". Johnston said he did not talk about being bullied...
Answer: the second series of Britain's Got Talent
[Q]: What is the real name of the person who was introduced to the Roland MC-505 sequencer/drum machine by Peaches? Answer the above question based on the context below: In 2001, M.I.A. (Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam) had worked exclusively in the visual arts. While filming a documentary on Elastica's 2001 tour of the US, she was introduced to the Roland MC-505 sequencer/drum machine by electroclash artist Peaches, whose minimalistic approach to music inspired her. She found Peaches' decision to perform without additional instrumentation to be brave and liberating and felt that it emphasised the artist. Returning to London, she unexpectedly gained access to a 505 owned by her friend, former Elastica singer Justine Frischmann. M.I.A. used the 505 to make demo recordings in her bedroom. She initially planned to work as a producer. To this end, she approached Caribbean girls in clubs to see if they would provide vocals for the songs, but without success. M.I.A. secured a record deal with XL Recordings after Frischmann's manager overheard the demo. M.I.A. began work on the album by composing lyrics and melodies, and she programmed drum beats at home on the drum machine. Having produced rough tracks via trial and error, she honed the finished songs in collaboration with other writer-producers. Through these collaborations, she sought to produce a diverse style and "drag [her collaborators] out of their boxes, musically".DJ Diplo introduced elements of Brazilian baile funk to "Bucky Done Gun". Fellow composer-producer Richard X worked on the track "Hombre", which featured a drum pattern created from the sounds made by toys that M.I.A. had bought in India, augmented with sounds produced by objects such as pens and mobile phones. Steve Mackey and Ross Orton, known professionally as Cavemen, worked on "Galang", which M.I.A. had initially produced with her 505 and a basic four-track tape recorder. Working with Cavemen in a professional studio, she added a bass line and new vocals to give the song "a more analogue sound" than was possible with the 505. The track was co-written by Frischmann, whose input M.I.A. described as "refreshing". She initially hoped to feature guest vocalists on...
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[A]: Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam
input: Please answer the following: What company was the locomotive that was leased to a railroad in Michigan traded to after serving in Bellows Falls and Scranton? Answer the above question based on the context below: In 1979, the locomotive was renumbered "1881", painted black with silver stripes, and leased to a Hollywood company for use in the filming of the horror movie Terror Train (1979), starring Jamie Lee Curtis. In 1980, the locomotive was repainted with a color scheme used by Canadian Pacific in the 1930s. The black, gold, and Tuscan red paint job was popular with railroad enthusiasts and photographers. The number 1293 was also restored to the engine. In February 1982, the headlights, handrails, and cab roof of 1293 were damaged when the roof of a Steamtown storage building gave way to heavy snow.Although the Steamtown Special History Study reasoned that, since this type of locomotive had historically operated in New England, perhaps as far south as Boston, it qualified to be part of the federal government's collection, the Canadian native sat unused for 12 years following the move to Scranton. Ohio Central Railroad System purchased it in 1996, and it underwent a 13-month restoration. As of July 2010, Ohio Central Railroad has lost control of most of its holdings, but former owner, Jerry Joe Jacobson, maintained a collection of vintage equipment including CPR 1293 and her sister, CRP 1278, which is also a veteran of Steamtown, U.S.A. operational locomotives. No. 1293 is still operational as of October 2011.Canadian Pacific Railway No. 1278, like her sister, CPR 1293, was also built by Canadian Locomotive Company in 1948, and is a type 4-6-2, class G5d light-weight "Pacific" locomotive. It was purchased by Blount in May 1965, and renumbered 127. Blount had planned to renumber all three of the series 1200 CRP locomotives in his collection from 1246, 1278, and 1293 to 124, 127 and 129 respectively, but 1278 was the only one of the three that underwent the change. The new number remained on the locomotive from 1966 until 1973, when its former number was restored. The locomotive was leased to the Cadillac and Lake City Railroad in Michigan from 1970 to 1971. After some repair work, the locomotive was returned...
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output:
Gettysburg Steam Railroad