struck a chord
The Piano crowns its series 2 winner as Claudia Winkleman series comes to a dramatic end
Viewers at home were left in floods of tears by the touching message behind the winner's piece
THE WINNER of The Piano's second series has been announced after an emotional finale at the Aviva Studios in Manchester.
This season has seen another set of amateur piano players flock to train stations around the UK in a bid to impress viewers with their skills on the ivory keys.
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Claudia Winkleman returned as the show host, and despite her fears that players would start acting differently now they know about the hidden cameras, she was pleasantly surprised by the new batch of talent.
Tonight all the finalists gathered in a Manchester theatre to put on an incredible performance for a live audience.
One stood out more than the rest - and in the end, Brad Kella was named as the most talented piano player of the night.
Star judges Mika and Lang Lang faced the difficult task of picking just one pianist to win the competition.
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They could be seen debating amongst themselves after several tear-jerking performances.
At one point during the show, Lang Lang turned to his co-star whispering: "It's very hard to choose tonight."
However, they both agreed that Brad had earned the number one spot with his tribute to his foster parents.
The 22-year-old Scouser played an emotional piece he composed himself, named Ev & Frank after the couple who rehomed him at the age of seven.
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He previously told viewers that before they took him and his twin brother Aaron in, the pair were severely neglected, left to roam the streets all day.
The musician says learning how to play the piano changed him forever, telling : "I could express my emotions through the piano, which helped massively with my mental health. The piano saved my life."
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Before playing for the audience in Manchester, he told the crowd: "I got put in foster care, but I had the best foster parents in the whole world.
"They gave me the capability to dream, to believe that anything was actually possible.
"There's a stigma with kids in foster care and we genuinely get seen as just a number.
"I want to show people what a number can do."
Several people watching on Channel 4 at home were left breaking down over his touching performance.
One person wrote: "Bawled my way through that entire episode of The Piano. What a fantastic group of musicians. The love and the support and the kindness radiates from it.
"Need things like this in our world. All the performances were wonderful and Brad's was something magical."
Another tearfully admitted: "Brad really moved me to tears. He is an astonishing composer and pianist. His piece is an incredible message of love to his foster parents. I wish the best to him."
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A third shared: "Brad’s performance on The Piano has me in bits. Just wow, what a talent and the ability to connect with an audience like that. Truly a gift. Brad you deserve all the success that’s surely coming your way!"
A fourth added: "Just crying my way through the finale of The Piano - just gorgeous, painful, stories of genuinely beautiful people. With fabulous music. What a show."
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