Wonderful.  Fabulous. Entertaining. There’s a reason Paul Potts of Britain’s Got Talent fame has become adored around the world. The man’s got talent.

Opera snobs may consider him a diamond in the rough but that is perhaps why he’s so loved by everyday people, including many of those who were at Rotorua’s Energy Events Centre for the third of his four new Zealand concerts (Friday 11 April).

The local audience found the self-effacing boy from Bristol charmingly disarming as he shared anecdotes from his life between songs, among them the sweet Everybody Hurts, Ave Maria, and Music of the Night, the programme ending with Time To Say Goodbye.

Meanwhile, Rotorua’s very own songstress, Elizabeth Marvelly, had chests puffed with pride over a local talent who looks to be headed for the stars.

Looking every part the princess, Marvelly was wonderful, singing several songs on her own as well as performing an uplifting duet with Potts.

Potts’ trademark Nessun Dorma was a glaring omission from the programme but it turned out to be his trump card, delivered with great gusto when he returned for the most appropriate of encores at the urging of his appreciative audience.

The world’s most famous cellphone salesman certainly delivered.

 - Ingrid Tiriana, Daily Post, 14 April 2008