Life has changed for Bars and Melody ever since the boys won Simon Cowell’s golden buzzer with their anti-bullying rap on Britain’s Got Talent five years ago.
Tomorrow night, when Leondre “Bars” Devries and Charlie “Melody” Lenehan perform on BGT: The Champions, some changes will be obvious – their faces are now chiselled, their clean-cut style is edgy, their voices have dropped and their fame has skyrocketed.
But the biggest differences in their lives since they swapped school for stardom have been played out privately.
Charlie, 20, says: “We are completely different people since we first stood on the BGT stage, so young and nervous. We’ve achieved so many dreams.”
There have been countless positives, such as the platinum-selling album, 3.4 million YouTube fans, 200 million audition views and world travel.
But the spotlight of fame has highlighted cracks in their families.
Charlie, from Frampton Cotterell, South Glos, says: “I don’t have any contact with my father. But I knew I had a brother and have been looking for him for years.
“One night I got lucky and found his profile on Facebook . The next day I drove from my home in Wales to his in Bournemouth.
“It was very emotional, and really strange. How do you talk to your brother you’ve never seen before? It was scary how similar we were.
“He is 29, and I found out I had another younger brother, aged 16, who I didn’t know existed.
“And do you know what else is crazy? My brother, his wife and my nephew all voted for me when they saw me on TV and had no idea who I was.”
While Charlie has gained two brothers, Leondre, from Port Talbot, lost the connection with his father. In his audition, he proudly told the judges his dad was a stonemason.
But shortly after the show shot Bars and Melody to fame – and won them an invitation to the Ellen chat show in the US – his dad Antonio claimed he was a music promoter.
Two years later, Antonio threatened his son with legal action. He said at the time: “When the success came I was pushed out, but I feel the kids are being exploited.”
The nasty fall-out has scarred Leondre, 18. He says: “Things got a bit weird after the show. Some people become greedy and we had to part ways. I haven’t spoken to my dad since.
“That’s the sad thing about fame – it brings out sides of people I’d never known.
“That was hard for me. But I’d be willing to see him again – I definitely won’t forget the stuff he said to me, but at the same time holding grudges isn’t great.”
- Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions is on ITV at 8.30pm.
