From the shy girl who used to ask her parents to face the wall when she sang to performing in front of millions on one of the biggest reality TV shows, Morgan Smith, is a “talented girl” according to Simon Cowell.

The 16-year-old from north Watford wowed the Britain’s Got Talent judges in her semi-final performance of One Direction’s History on Tuesday evening.

Amanda Holden said her voice was “mature and powerful” and her performance was “absolutely stunning”. Simon added that she chose a “killer song” and was one the “best singers” they have had on the show so far.

Alesha simply couldn’t believe she was taking her GCSE exams in the middle of this and in fact had sat one that very morning.

Although she was a little disappointed not to make the finals, Morgan, says she hopes to use the show as a platform to start a career in the music industry.

It wasn’t all so straightforward for the Rickmansworth School pupil in her audition though. “I got stopped through my first song (Jennifer Hudson’s Spotlight) - Simon said ‘great voice by the way but we can’t air this because of the backing track’.

“I then sang another song (Beyoncé – Listen), but they couldn’t license it on TV, but it went really well. So I had to sing I’d Rather Go Blind (Etta James), which was my third choice.”

Speaking about her experience, she says: “There’s a lot more to it than people realise. There’s a lot of meetings and the runners doing everything for you. It’s quite an interesting process and it is a good experience too as they give you that showbiz feel.

“Like on Tuesday, I was standing there and then there were four people doing my make-up, five people doing my hair, six people doing my costume all at once. Everyone is pampering you. It felt good, but it can be a bit overwhelming at times and the process is very stressful. It looks all glamorous, but it is not behind the scenes.”

For Morgan especially, she admits that before she was more stressed about how she was going to juggle her GCSEs with the live show, but now it doesn’t seem that bad.

In fact the teenager says: “It is more nerve-wracking to perform to a small audience than it is to perform in front of hundreds, because you don’t see them staring at you and watching you, whereas with a bigger audience you don’t look at anyone in particular.”

Morgan, who had her original live show day changed in order to work around her exam schedule, explains that revising and doing her exams weren’t the only challenge she faced in the lead up to the big night.

“I’m not sure about the other acts, but with singing they push you to do things with your voice that you thought you couldn’t do. They give you these exercises, ways of eating, ways of drinking and steaming your voice. It was challenging and difficult to keep going – at times it would have been easy to give up so you could relax.

“There was a vocal coach on hand, but she just told me how to treat my vocal chords and she pushed me to get to higher notes.”

Talking about her song choice, Morgan, who is avid dancer doing jazz, modern, tap and commercial street dance, says: “. My semi-final song was decided by me and the creative team. They influenced the idea really. I didn’t want to sing History at first, then when I worked with on it with my vocal coach, she helped me to change to how I would sing it. I started to gain confidence then and became excited about performing it.

“Without their influence I think I probably would have donE a slow female ballad, which I don’t think would have done me justice.”

Morgan adds that she has has had great support from her friends, family and teachers. Her father, Jeff Smith, says: “We are extremely happy for her, it’s what she wanted. I used to do music and we didn’t have the opportunities like this - she has taken the opportunity in front of her and we couldn’t be more proud.”

Headteacher Keith Douglas, adds: “We are very proud of the way Morgan has come on. It is a great achievement for a young person to progress so far in a national competition.”