He was the quiet man with the big voice when he auditioned for Britain’s Got Talent in 2012. Four years on, Jonathan Antoine has chosen Canterbury as one of only a handful of towns to help launch his second album.

When Jonathan Antoine auditioned for Simon Cowell and his fellow judges on ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent, it was one of those moments that drew gasps from the audience as they realised they were hearing a star for the first time.

Then part of a duo with Charlotte Jaconelli, he admits he was lacking in confidence, having battled depression when he was younger, but he has gone on to forge a successful solo career, with his first album, Tenore, going straight to No.1 in the classical charts.

Now releasing his second album, Believe, he is hoping his fanbase – which he calls the Fantoines – and other music fans will turn out as he performs in Canterbury city centre.

“That audition on Britain’s Got Talent is like a distant memory and yet I remember it so clearly, strangely,” he said. “I don’t think I ever expected people to really care. I always hoped to make music and make an album maybe. I don’t know whether I thought I would come this far.

“Having such fans is weird for me but it is the best kind of weird. You have to be a kind of weird to like my kind of stuff! I am honestly just enormously grateful.

“There have been people supporting me since the beginning. It is a big family that we have created. I have so much love and respect for them. I was unconfident but I couldn’t be now with such support. You can see from this there is light and there is hope.” Dubbed a Teenage Pavarotti, his new album has been co-produced with Chris Broom and Clarissa Farran, and includes a song he co-wrote with Chris.

“It’s totally different to my first album,” he said. “It was super fun to record it a different way, which was thanks to Chris Broom. Working with the orchestra was amazing.”

The album includes a repertoire of Puccini, Ennio Morricone and Claude-Michel Schonberg and includes a mix of classical arias, musical theatre songs and contemporary classics.

His date in Canterbury next week is one of only four so far announced but more will be revealed soon. In the meantime Kent Fantoines can be satisfied with their special show.

He said: “There are definitely some Fantoines in Kent so I hope they will come and support me – and anyone in Canterbury who hears the music from outside. You don’t tend to hear a lot of classical music playing randomly so it may be a surprise for some!”

DETAILS

Jonathan Antoine will be performing songs from his album Believe live at HMV in Canterbury on Tuesday, August 23 at 5.15pm.