(L-R) Jon Courtenay; Andrew Notter, BCC Chairman; Credit: Chronicle.lu

On Thursday 25 April 2024, the British Chamber of Commerce in Luxembourg (BCC) held an event at the Hotel Royal in Luxembourg city centre, with special guest Jon Courtenay, labelled "the funniest show with a piano".

Jon Courtenay has become well known for writing and performing witty yet touching original songs. He won Britain's Got Talent (BGT) in 2020 and made made the record books by being the first ever golden buzzer act to win the show. In July 2021, Jon won "Best Performer" at the National Reality TV Awards.

He has performed on prestigious platforms including The Royal Variety Show, BGT Xmas Show, Good Morning Britain, This Morning, Lorraine and on BBC Breakfast. He wrote and performed the opening song for This Morning's Pantomime and has appeared on radio stations including Heart FM, BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio Manchester. Jon also wrote and performed a song for the "End of Show show" with Ant and Dec on Saturday Night Takeaway and made a guest appearance in the ITV Documentary, Les Dawson: The Lost Tapes.

Andrew Notter, BCC Chairman, introduced the evening's guest to the hundred attendees and described Jon Courtenay as a master of music, comedy and storytelling.

Jon Courtenay opened with up-tempo ditty on opening such a show, breaking into verses of "Sweet Caroline" and "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep"... He revealed that this was his first time in Luxembourg and joked that there were three languages to learn, but endeared himself to the audience by say good evening in all three.

He revealed that, prior to his success on Britain's Got Talent in 2020, he performed on cruise lines and joked that the average age this evening was quite a bit below them. He chatted, with quick-fire stories and jokes between songs, entertaining and thrilling the audience in equal measure.

He performed a number of pieces of classical music, also by Irving Berlin, Louis Armstrong, Charlie Chaplain and others, frequently as part of medleys, much of the time with a running commentary and amusing anecdotes from his love life or time on cruises. He quickly endeared himself to the audience, creating a rapport using his quick wit, charm and music.

He then sang a new song entitled "Have you heard about Luxembourg" for which it was clear he had done extensive homework, referencing the languages, cuisine, cycle paths, museums and even financial "world leaders". He then played a "Luxembourg heads and tails quiz" on facts about Luxembourg, including topics such topics as car ownership, Olympic medals and EU Commission Presidents.

His "Seasick Shanty" was a hilarious rendition he wrote about a very rough transatlantic cruise around twelve years ago.

He also regaled the audience with an interesting and funny anecdote of winning the golden buzzer in Britain's Got Talent in 2010 and a song he wrote entitled "I must not die" which he joked would have been a waste of the golden buzzer. He performed another song, serious this time, which he wrote during lockdown entitled "I wished I'd asked him more" about his grandfather, and another about skin cancer with which he was diagnosed during his BGT journey.

After the interval, Andrew Notter introduced a draw for four prizes, two bottles of Luxembourgish gin, a Jon Courtenay CD and a €250 Luxair voucher (won by Clive Munn).

Apart from his singing and storytelling, he also performed a comedy card trick with the help of Andrew Notter and his wife standing in for Ant and Dec (from Britain's Got Talent).

He concluded by performing a Jerry Lee Lewis rock and roll classic "Great Balls of Fire" in a medley intertwined with Elvis' "Blue Swede Shoes" and received a standing ovation.