Singing star Sam Kelly is preparing for his live TV debut amid 'overwhelming' support from his fans after winning through to the semi-finals of Britain's Got Talent.

The 19-year-old singer-songwriter from Spixworth is one of 44 contestants who were watched by a prime-time ITV audience last night as they were told their auditions had been successful.

Sam said he gained 1,000 new Twitter followers after the programme was aired, bringing his total to 10,000 as his growing fan base heard he had progressed to the live phase of the competition.

The former Sprowston Community High School student said: 'It definitely has not sunk in yet. There was this long limbo stage after the audition but, as soon as we found out we had got through, straight away we have to start practising for the live shows. There is no time to relax, it is a bit of a whirlwind.

'I am going to be playing with a couple of live musicians, so I will be meeting them and practising with them and having studio rehearsals, talking about where I am going to be standing on stage and the choreography – not that I'm going to be doing any dancing. I need to get my clothes and my hair sorted. It's all quite fun.

'I think I am quite lucky because I explicitly stated I didn't want to change anything about me. I didn't want to end up with a James Dean quiff or anything like that. They think about every dynamic part of the performance, but then its up to me to impress the public.'

Sam was selected for the semi-finals after impressing celebrity judges including Simon Cowell and Amanda Holden with a flawless rendition of Bob Dylan's song Make You Feel My Love.

When he appears live on Wednesday, he said he will play in a similar style.

'I really wanted to keep it stripped-down and acoustic, because that is what I do,' he said. 'We will be doing an acoustic version of a quite famous pop song, and it is one of my favourite songs as well. We have taken it forward a bit, but it is still just me, and it is my arrangement.'

Sam is competing against an eclectic mix of other artists including acrobats, comedians and dancers – but he said he was only concentrating on his own performance.

'You cannot tell what the public are going to think,' he said. 'I hope that if I give a performance I am really proud of, it will be enough to get through. At the same time, seeing the other people who are on my show, I would have no shame in losing out to them.'