Coordinates	4°36′00″N101°4′00″N
Name	Faryl Smith
Background	solo_singer
Born	July 23, 1995
Origin	Kettering, Northamptonshire, England, UK
Instrument	Vocals
Years active	2008–present
Genre	Classical crossover
Occupation	Singer
Label	Universal Classics and Jazz
Website	}}

Faryl Smith (born 23 July 1995) is a British teen mezzo-soprano who rose to fame after auditioning for the second series of the ITV television talent show ''Britain's Got Talent'' in 2008, performing as a mezzo-soprano. She received praise throughout the competition, and although she was the favourite to win after the second round, she finished outside the top three in the live final on the 31 May. During the competition, she received singing lessons from Yvie Burnett and received offers from various record labels. After the show, she rejected offers of contracts from Sony BMG, although she did appear on fellow finalist Andrew Johnston's debut album ''One Voice''.

Smith signed a contract with Universal Classics and Jazz for a £2.3 million advance in December 2008, the largest ever granted to a schoolgirl. Her debut album, ''Faryl'', was recorded in December 2008 and January 2009, and was released in March 2009. ''Faryl'' became the fastest selling solo classical album in British chart history, selling 29,200 copies in the first week. It debuted at number 6, but rose to number 4 in the following week, making Smith the third ''Britain's Got Talent'' contestant to have a top ten album. Her second album, ''Wonderland'', was released in November 2009. Smith lives with her parents in Kettering, where she attends Southfield School for Girls.

History

''Britain's Got Talent''

Before her appearance on television, Smith had performed competitively in the Kettering, Northamptonshire Eisteddfod, the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod, the Pontins Junior Starquest competition and Festival 4 Stars. She auditioned for the second series of the ''Britain's Got Talent'', giving what Jon O'Brien, of Allmusic, called a "mature" performance of "Ave Maria", and was put through to the live shows. Simon Cowell described her audition as "the best audition I've heard in years". Before performing live, she and Andrew Johnston were favourites to win. She won her semi-final, performing a cover of Sarah McLachlan's "Angel", by the public vote. This placed her into the final, and left her as the favourite to win. During her first live show, Cowell described her as "literally one in a million". She then performed in the live final, where she was described by Cowell as one of the five acts (along with George Sampson, Andrew Johnston, Signature and Kate and Gin) who had a chance of winning. She again performed "Ave Maria", but finished outside the top three. Sampson eventually won the show as a result of the call in, with Signature second, and Johnston third. As a result of her final performance of "Ave Maria", Smith was invited to be a guest singer at a songwriting awards ceremony in London. She then went on to perform in the ''Britain's Got Talent'' Live Tour with the other semi-finalists, where she first performed her duet of "Walking in the Air" with Johnston.

thumb|left|Smith (right) and Johnston (left) on the Britain's Got Talent Live Tour, with host Stephen MulhernWhile she was competing in ''Britain's Got Talent'', Cowell arranged for Smith to receive free singing lessons from leading vocal coach Yvie Burnett. Burnett previously coached 2007 ''Britains Got Talent'' winner Paul Potts and 2006 ''The X Factor'' winner Leona Lewis. While performing on ''Britain's Got Talent'', Smith was offered record deals, but she and her family turned them down. Her father, Tony Smith, said "We have had offers from people interested in Faryl. But when Simon Cowell, the big man, says your daughter is special, you listen." Cowell described Smith's potential career during the show, saying "I know she says Katherine [Jenkins] is her idol but she is far better than her. She is by far the most talented youngster I've ever heard. When she opens her mouth her voice is just incredible."

Record deal

The day after the ''Britain's Got Talent'' finals, Max Clifford, a spokesperson for Simon Cowell, said that it was "quite possible" that Cowell would be signing some of the finalists, including Smith. Though she did not sign with Sony BMG, she did record a duet of "Walking in the Air" with Andrew Johnston that appeared on his debut album, ''One Voice'', and was tipped as a potential Christmas number-one. Before the release of ''One Voice'', it was revealed that Smith herself was finalising the details of her own record deal. Her father, Tony Smith, said "we're dotting the 'i''s and crossing the 't's' at the moment to make sure she's protected in every way. She is our baby at the end of the day – she's in great demand and we want to do it our way." In November, it was announced that Smith would be performing on stage in Kettering with her tutor, Sylvia Berryman. Smith said that she was "really looking forward to singing locally again and performing with my singing teacher", and it was again reported that it was hoped Smith would soon sign her own record deal.

In December 2008, ''The Daily Mail'' reported that Smith had signed a £2.3 million, multi-album deal with Universal Music Group that was the "most lucrative recording contract ever handed to a schoolgirl". Smith said "I'm honoured to be joining such a fantastic record company, especially since it's where Katherine [Jenkins] started." Dickon Stainer, speaking on behalf of Universal, said "as soon as we saw Faryl, it became an ambition to sign her." Universal claimed it intended to market Smith as a pop star. After signing with Universal, Smith performed at the Royal Albert Hall with Jenkins for the press. ''The Times'' described Smith as "heir apparent" to Jenkins, who first met her when she won a competition in Wales and, by 2009, was acting as her mentor.

In January 2009, plans were released for Smith to perform with Placido Domingo. The idea was suggested by him. In an interview with the ''Metro'', Smith talked about her future plans, insisting that she did not wish to be dubbed as the next Charlotte Church. She later said that "In the papers, it sounded like I was snobby when I said 'I don't want to be like Charlotte Church', but I didn't mean it like that." She has also spoken of her desire to appear in films on top of her musical career. She said "Films and movies are something I'd really like to do. I've always wanted to act so doing a film would be amazing. It's something I really want to do."

''Faryl''

Smith's first album, ''Faryl'', was recorded in London during Smith's Christmas holiday in December 2008 and January 2009, and completed on the third of January. It features a 60 piece orchestra, which was recorded at Air Studios, in London. Smith described the song "River of Light" as "The Blue Danube music now has words put to it. I like it because it's different. Everyone knows the tune and everybody has got high hopes for it." Smith said that her favourite song on the album was her version of the Welsh hymn, "Calon Lân". Other songs include Smith's version of "Amazing Grace", a cover of "Annie's Song" by John Denver, and a rewritten version of "The Way Old Friends Do", rewritten for Smith by Björn Ulvaeus. Smith spoke about the song, saying "It was about divorce ... They didn't think it was appropriate for me to sing about that, so Björn changed the lyrics so it's about friendship." The album was produced by Jon Cohen, who has previously worked with artists including the Operababes and Vanessa Mae.

Promotion began in January, with performances at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and appearances at the debut of ''Oliver!''. Smith also took part in a photoshoot for publicity and cover photos. Smith's father, Tony, said "at the moment we're promoting the album and making sure we're in the right places at the right time." A television advert and music video for "River of Light" have also been recorded to further publicise the release, and Smith also appeared on the cover of April's ''Classic FM Magazine''. More promotional appearances in the weeks leading up to the release of ''Faryl'' included ''Loose Women'', ''The Paul O'Grady Show'', BBC Radio 4, Radio Five Live and ''BBC Breakfast''. She also appeared at the Children's Champion Awards and met Gordon Brown at 10 Downing Street. On the day of the release, there was an album signing in Smith's hometown of Kettering, at the HMV branch. Smith said "I definitely want to be at home for the launch. I want to be surrounded by my friends and family because obviously, it's a big deal for me."

Pete Paphides, writing for ''The Times'', said that the songs were performed "with power and restraint", and that the "arrangements by Jon Cohen suggest some kind of aesthetic endeavour beyond the basic thing for which they exist". He compared it favourably to three other Mothering Sunday releases: Lionel Richie's ''Just Go'', Ronan Keating's ''Songs for My Mother'' and Barry Manilow's ''The Greatest Songs of the Eighties''. He awarded ''Faryl'' 3 out of a possible 5, the highest rating of the four. Retailers in the United Kingdom ordered more than 80,000 copies of the album in the week leading up to release, which Simon Cable, writing for the ''Daily Mail'', noted was more copies than U2s recent ''No Line on the Horizon''. It also topped the Amazon.co.uk presale chart. On the day of the release the album was at the number one spot on the UK Albums Chart, based on presales alone. The album became the fastest selling classical solo album in Britain, beating the previous record holder Hayley Westernra who sold 20,000 copies in the first four days. The first week resulted in sales of 29,200 copies, which is higher than any other debut album of a classical singer. ''Faryl'' officially entered the charts at number six, and rose to fourth place the next week. ''Faryl'' made Smith the third former ''Britain's Got Talent'' contestant to achieve a top ten album, after Paul Potts (with ''One Chance'') and Andrew Johnston (with ''One Voice'').

In April 2009, Smith travelled to Los Angeles to begin her promotion of ''Faryl'' in the United States. She appeared on ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' in early May as part of her promotional tour. ''Faryl'' was released in the US on 5 May. Smith said before the release that she did not expect it to sell as well as it did in the UK. She said that "in the US it's a lot harder because I'm not as well-known. In the UK, a lot of people obviously watched 'Britain's Got Talent' and stuff, and that was like fresh in everyone's minds." Smith travelled back to the UK in early May. After her return from the US, Smith opened the 2009 Classical BRIT Awards, where she, according to Elisa Roche of the ''Daily Express'', "captivated the best names in classical music". She is the youngest performer to ever sing at the Classical BRITs. On 30 May, Smith became the youngest person to sing the UK national anthem, "God Save The Queen", at an FA Cup final when she performed during the opening ceremony at the 2009 final, held in the Wembley Stadium. In July, Smith attended the O2 Silver Clef Awards, where she won the Classical Award.

In February 2010, after the release of Smith's second album, ''Faryl'' was nominated for a Classical BRIT Award in the album category. The only Classical Brit Award voted for by the public, the nominations are made up of the ten best-selling classical albums of the previous year. ''Faryl'' lost to Only Men Aloud's ''Band of Brothers''. Smith herself also lost in the young British classical performer category to Jack Liebeck, a violinist. Smith was the youngest artist to receive a double nomination.

''Wonderland''

In July 2009, it was announced that Smith was hoping to release her second album later in 2009. In an interview, she said "We're starting to look at what songs will be on the second album ... I'm not really choosing the songs myself, I'm leaving that up to the people at the record label. I'm really happy that they want me to do another album so soon – I didn't think I would be working on one so quickly after the first one was released ... I'm just excited to get under way with it." In September, further details about the album were released, including its name, ''Wonderland'', and planned release date, 30 November. Smith claimed that ''Faryl'' "was an introduction to me and an introduction for me to recording", but Jon Cohen, the album's producer, claims Smith has "matured as an artist since the first album and I have no doubt that once again, people will be astonished and moved by her performances". The album, which was recorded at Sarm Studios in Notting Hill, London, was completed in early October. Tony Smith said that the bosses at Universal were "hoping it will sell more than the first but it's a tough market. Lots of people bring out albums at Christmas". In mid-November, Smith was awarded the best classical award at the 2009 Variety Club awards, the youngest ever recipient in the awards' 57-year history. ''Wonderland'' was released on 30 November, with Smith saying "it is always a struggle when a second album comes out because you never know how it is going to do but fingers crossed people will enjoy it. I am very proud of it." To publicise the album, Smith appeared on numerous radio shows, as well as television appearances including ''Ready Steady Cook'', ''Blue Peter'', the BBC News Channel, ''The Alan Titchmarsh Show'' and ''Sky News Sunrise''.

Smith performed at the 2009 Royal Variety Performance in front of the Queen, where she performed "God Save the Queen", the national anthem of the United Kingdom, with The Soldiers. She later said that "I think the highlight of the year was the Royal Variety performance and meeting the Queen." Smith also performed elsewhere with The Soldiers, including at St Paul's Cathedral at Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital.

In the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Smith and 22 other classical musicians from the UK recorded a cover version of "The Prayer", which was released for download on March 14. The proceeds of the single went to the Disasters Emergency Committee. Smith Said "It's a real honour to be a part of something that is being done for the first time, and I hope that all music lovers get involved and help raise money for the campaign. I really hope that we can make a difference together to help the horrible situation that Haiti is in at the moment." The group, dubbed "Classical Band Aid", recorded the track at Metropolis Studios and were backed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Each vocalist in the group performs their own solo lines, and the entire group comes together for the finale. "The Prayer" was the first ever classical charity single; Smith noted that "Pop singers do things like this a lot but it's unusual for classical singers to get involved so I've been really excited."

In the summer of 2010, Smith performed at various festivals and events. Her father noted that "because she is still so young, we don't want her doing complete shows on her own and we don't want her doing too much." Appearances included the Mercedes-Benz World Summer Concert in Weybridge on July 4, That Glorious Noise charity concert in aid of muscular dystrophy in Cleethorpes on July 17 and the Last Night of the Kenwood Proms on August 21. Smith also performed at the wedding of Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford. Smith also opened the Serenata festival, Britain's first ever classical music festival. Angela Young, reviewing the festival for the ''Bournemouth Daily Echo'', said "Faryl Smith was my personal highlight of the Thursday night line-up, her bizarrely powerful voice (considering her diminutive size and age) taking my breath away and it contrasted so well with her naivete as she said “at least it's not raining” – just as the heavens opened."

Personal life

Smith was born in Kettering, Northamptonshire, England. She originally attended Henry Gotch Primary School in Kettering and is now a student at Southfield School for Girls, although she receives private tutoring while working. She enjoys playing football, and formerly played for Kettering Generals FC Under 13 girls, and played for the Kettering Generals Under 11s girls' team when they reached the Weetabix League cup final. She also attends a theatre club, plays the guitar and piano and sings in two choirs, including the Masquerade Youth Choir. Her favourite singer is Katherine Jenkins who sent a message to Smith from Japan before her ''Britain's Got Talent'' live shows. Smith first met Jenkins after winning the Llangollen International Music Eisteddfod, in Wales. She lives with her father Tony, a former health and safety manager who now works full-time overseeing Smith's activities, her mother Linda, a hairdresser and her older brother Shea, who is training as a plumber.

Discography

Studio albums

{| class=wikitable style=text-align:center; ! rowspan=2| Year ! rowspan=2| Album ! colspan=3| Peak chart positions ! rowspan=2| Sales |- style=font-size:smaller; ! width=25| UK ! width=25| U.S.Heat ! width=25| ''Billboard'' Classical Albums |- |rowspan=2|2009 | align=left| ''Faryl''

Debut album

Released: 9 March 2009

Labels: Universal Classics and Jazz

| 4 | 31 | 6 | align=left| UK: 150,000+ |- | align=left|''Wonderland''

Second studio album

Released: 30 November 2009

Labels: Universal Classics and Jazz

|56 | - | - | align=left| |}

References

External links

Official site

Universal Classics and Jazz official website

Performance on ''Britains Got Talent'' final at itv.com

Category:1995 births Category:English child singers Category:English female singers Category:Britain's Got Talent contestants Category:English mezzo-sopranos Category:Universal Music Group artists Category:People from Kettering Category:Living people

Coordinates	4°36′00″N101°4′00″N
Name	Jonathan Ansell
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Jonathan Mark Ansell
Birth date	March 10, 1982
Origin	Bognor Regis, Sussex, England
Genre	ClassicalEasy listeningOperatic popVocal
Occupation	Singer Tenor
Years active	2004–present
Label	UCJ
Website	jonathanansell.com }}

Jonathan Mark Ansell (born 10 March 1982) is an English singer, formerly the high tenor of the vocal group G4.

Jonathan Ansell was born in Bognor Regis in 1982, where both his parents were primary school teachers. Influenced by his mother’s tapes of Pavarotti and the Three Tenors, Jonathan joined the West Sussex Boys' Choir conducted by Arthur Robson, at the age of eight. He toured extensively with the choir to Florida, Germany, and France, performed in the Royal Festival Hall and sang many times in Arundel Cathedral, to great acclaim. Jonathan stayed with the choir until his voice broke at the age of 16 when he lost the ability to sing treble but after puberty found he had developed a high tenor voice instead.

He attended the Anglican Bishop Luffa School in Chichester. Achieved his Grade 8 as a treble at 13, he received his Grade 8 as a tenor at 17. He published a solo album in 2001 with his savings.

After a show-stopping performance of ''Love Changes Everything'' at a choral society concert in Littlehampton, his local MP Howard Flight, who was in the audience, arranged for him to have a preliminary audition at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. Jonathan suffered from Glandular Fever from early September 1999 to mid-February 2000 and the audition was due during this period, luckily, they agreed to rearrange it. He worked with his music teacher Martin Elliott, with whom he'd had private lessons since he was 13, and went back to basics, gradually building up vocal strength. He won a place at the Guildhall two years later, and felt he had come home.

Whilst at the Guildhall Jonathan's singing teacher was Adrian Thompson who has a similar voice to Jonathan and he described their lessons as working together. At that time Jonathan tried his hardest at the academic studies but fell below the standard – he was diagnosed as dyslexic – and the Guildhall were not sure that he should stay, but he managed to convince them and was incredibly grateful. His first solo album with UCJ, ''Tenor at the Movies'', was released on 18 February 2008.

For 5 Sunday afternoons from 17 February 2008 Jonathan Ansell presented ''The Great Movie Composers'' on ClassicFM coinciding with the release of his solo album.

On 24 February 2008, Jonathan's album ''Tenor at the Movies'' went straight to number 1 in the Classical Chart and stayed there for 3 weeks and reached Number 9 in mainstream charts making him the youngest tenor ever to top the Classical Charts.

Jonathan participated in a celebrity edition of Channel 4 show ''Come Dine With Me'' on 10 April 2008, along with fellow celebrities MC Harvey, Tamara Beckwith and Lynsey de Paul. Jonathan came in joint first place with MC Harvey, both of whom scored 21 points.

On 8 May 2008, Jonathan's participation in BBC programme ''Ready Steady Cook'' against Hayley Westenra was broadcast.

In the evening of 8 May 2008, Jonathan performed ''Un Giorno Per Noi'' with Hayley Westenra at the Classical Brits, Royal Albert Hall.

During June 2008, Jonathan and England and Arsenal striker Kelly Smith won the British Lung Foundation's male and female 'Lungs of the Year 2008' award in recognition of the fantastic use they have made of their lungs over the past year.

In a Q&A; session with the BBC's ''Last Choir Standing'' website, Jonathan gave his views on the benefits of being part of a choir: "People see choirs on stage and predominantly it looks quite square... but off stage that's where all the fun happens - in rehearsals, messing about, lunch breaks, interacting with new people. That, for me, is what choirs are all about – having that fun both on and off stage." Jonathan made a guest appearance on ''Last Choir Standing'' (Results Show) on 3 August 2008 performing "Barcelona".

On Sunday, 17 August 2008, Jonathan participated in the tribute concert ''Lyrics by Don Black'' which was held at the London Palladium featuring performances of Black's songs by a selection of guest artists. He performed the duet ''Amigos Para Siempre'' with Hayley Westenra, music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The evening, hosted by Michael Parkinson was recorded by BBC Radio 2 Friday Night is Music Night and broadcast on Friday, 22 August 2008.

One of the tracks on his second album ''Forever'' is "Hearts of England", the 2008 Rugby League World Cup song composed by Patrick Hawes and his brother Andrew. He performed it live at the Rugby League Carnegie Challenge Cup Final at Wembley Stadium on Saturday, 30 August 2008.

For the second weekend running Jonathan performed a track from his album ''Forever'' live at Wembley, this time to sing the footballing anthem ''Nessun Dorma'' at Soccer Aid on Sunday, 7 September whilst the teams were presented to Sir Geoff Hurst.

Before his G4 days, Jonathan worked in Jersey with a Gilbert and Sullivan operatic society and during September 2008 returned to his roots by taking on the role of Nanki-Poo in the Carl Rosa Opera Company's production of ''The Mikado'' at both the Richmond Theatre and Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham.

Jonathan performed alongside Hayley Westenra at ''Music on Fire''! at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on 18, 19 and 20 September 2008 - a stunning musical and firework spectacular organised by the Army Benevolent Fund to raise funds for veterans of current operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The third series of ''The Alan Titchmarsh Show'' featured the start of a competition to find a soprano to sing alongside Jonathan in the ''A Night At The Opera'' tour on Monday, 1 September 2008. From the thousands of hopefuls who applied, 8 ladies were selected to sing in front of a judging panel of David Grant, Ruthie Henshall and Jonathan Shalit. The 4 successful ladies Rosie Bell, Rosie Havel, Olivia Safe and Esther Dee faced a public vote on 15 September 2008 and Olivia Safe and Rosie Bell won through. They sang with Jonathan ''Libiamo ne' lieti calici'', the most famous duet from Verdi's ''La Traviata'' on 29 September 2008 and Olivia Safe won the public vote to appear in the tour of ''A Night At the Opera''.

''A Night At the Opera'' had its first performance at the Cardiff Millennium Centre on 30 October 2008 and toured 18 venues in the UK ending at the London Palladium on 23 November 2008. The show co-stars Silvia Colloca, Telman Guzhevsky, Anna-Clare Monk, Toby Stafford Allen and Olivia Safe. Jonathan describes ''A Night At the Opera'' as "All the big tunes that you know from the world of opera compressed into one show. It's not just a gala performance, there's also a narrative in it. All the characters are there and you go on a journey with them. It's kind of like the opera you normally go and see, but you know all of it rather than waiting two hours for the aria you recognise."

On Saturday, 8 November 2008, Jonathan performed at the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall, he performed "Today Won't Come Again" with Hayley Westenra, composer Geoff Stevens, lyrics by Don Black and sang ''Here's to the Heroes'' composer John Barry, lyrics by Don Black, when the returning forces came into the auditorium.

During February 2009, Jonathan toured with Hayley Westenra in ''The Valentines Tour''.

At the England versus Scotland Six Nations Rugby Match at Twickenham on 21 March 2009 Jonathan sang the English National Anthem at Twickenham. During Easter Week, 7 April 2009 Jonathan appeared in Dictionary Corner on Channel 4's ''Countdown''.

Jonathan was nominated for the Classical Brits 2009 "Album of the Year" with ''Tenor at the Movies''.

On Monday 30 November 2009, Jonathan launched the ''This Morning'''s Christmas Choir. This is a Virtual Choir brought together via individual viewers posting unaccompanied video clips of their singing ''We Wish You A Merry Christmas'' on YouTube. Participants should download the music and lyrics, record the song listening to the music on headphones and then post the video to The Morning page on YouTube. Jonathan will be leading the choir and picking viewers to take part in the final virtual choir performance live on ''This Morning'' on 23 December 2009. On 3 December 2009, some video clips were broadcast to show viewers what ''This Morning'' are after for their Choir.

In 2010, Jonathan made his musical theatre début as The Man in the Bill Kenwright touring production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jim Steinman's ''Whistle Down The Wind''. Opening at the Liverpool Empire on 20 January, Jonathan performed an intensive eight shows a week for the entire eight month UK tour.

Jonathan played Boemer and 2 other characters in the 2010 National Tour of Lark Rise to Candleford directed by Joe Harmston starting at the Theatre Royal Windsor in September 2010.

On 16 March 2011 Jonathan announced the dates for the Jonathan Ansell and Friends Tour starting in June 2011.

Jonathan will be playing the role of the Prince / Beast in a national tour of "Beauty and the Beast" for New World Productions in April and May 2011

Philanthropy and charity

Jonathan has long been a supporter of Breast Cancer Care because his father's twin sister Brenda died from the condition. He participated in the London Triathlon in 2007, performed at their London Fashion Show and Carols by Candlelight Service as well as donating his winnings from Who Wants to be Millionaire and Come Dine with Me.

In April 2009 Jonathan was appointed as an Ambassador for the charity Breast Cancer Care. Jonathan’s first role as Ambassador was to participate in the JPMorgan Asset Management Round the Island Race on 20 June 2009.

Jonathan was the benchmark flyer for the Worthing International Birdman challenge where contestants attempt mechanically unaided flight off the end of Worthing pier. On a JustGiving website, Jonathan said: "The thought of leading the way as the benchmark flyer in front of 25,000 people is obviously terrifying, but it is going to be a lot of fun and, most importantly, a brilliant opportunity for me to raise funds for Breast Cancer Care, a charity that is very close to my heart." He managed 16.04 metres, sporting a Mr Incredible-style pink hairdo.

Personal life

In an interview Jonathan spoke about how he looks after his greatest asset; his lyric tenor voice.

"I'm not one of those fussy singers who won't be in a car with air conditioning, eat dairy products or go out drinking. I treat my voice with respect, but I also give it a level of abuse, so that it's actually resilient as well. If I'm slightly under the weather I can still perform well. Whereas, if I'd been wrapped in cotton wool and something happened I'd get paranoid. I've trained my voice to deal with the bugs and the smoke and everything else."

Jonathan wears a ring on his right hand. Its history is that a friend made it in a silver-smithing class at school and gave it to him. He then bought the one he now wears as a present to himself when G4 signed their first record deal.

After meeting her in a London club, Jonathan is now married to former ''Quizmania'' host Debbie King. He proposed on stage at the end of his final show of ''A Night at the Opera'' at the London Palladium on 23 November 2008. They married on Sunday 30 August 2009 on the 40th floor of 30 St Mary Axe the iconic London building also known as The Gherkin.

On 14 May 2010, Jonathan announced he and Debbie were expecting their first child. At 2am on 24 November 2010 they became parents to a little girl, Siena Valentine Ansell.

Discography

Albums

''Tenor at the Movies''

''Forever''

References

External links

Official Jonathan Ansell Website

Follow Jonathan Ansell on Twitter

Jonathan Ansell Official Fan Page on Facebook

Jonathan Ansell at ClassicalX Jonathan Ansell section at ClassicalX

Official Record Label Website

Category:1982 births Category:Living people Category:Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Category:G4 members Category:English tenors Category:People from Bognor Regis

Coordinates	4°36′00″N101°4′00″N
name	Simon Cowell
background	non_performing_personnel
birth name	Simon Phillip Cowell
birth date	October 07, 1959
birth place	Lambeth, London, England
origin	Elstree, Hertfordshire, England
occupation	A&R; executive, television producer, entrepreneur, television personality
years active	1979–present
label	EMIE&S; MusicFanfare RecordsBMGS RecordsSony Music EntertainmentSyco
associated acts	Westlife, Sinitta, Leon Jackson, Jai McDowall, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Curiosity Killed the Cat, Sonia, Five, Robson & Jerome, Ultimate Kaos, WWF Wrestlers, Zig and Zag, Leona Lewis, Alexandra Burke, Joe McElderry, Shayne Ward, Il Divo, Susan Boyle, Paul Potts, JLS
notable instruments	}}

Simon Phillip Cowell (born 7 October 1959) is an English A&R; executive, television producer, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is known in the United Kingdom and United States for his role as a talent judge on TV shows such as ''Pop Idol'', ''The X Factor'', ''Britain's Got Talent'' and ''American Idol''. He is also the owner of the television production and music publishing house Syco.

As a judge, Cowell is known for his blunt and often controversial criticisms, insults and wisecracks about contestants and their abilities. He is also known for combining activities in the television and music industries, having promoted singles and records for various artists, including television personalities. He was most recently featured on the seventh series of ''The X Factor'' and the fifth series of ''Britain's Got Talent''. In September 2011, he will feature as a judge on the first season of the American version of ''The X Factor''.

In 2010, the British magazine ''New Statesman'' listed Cowell at number 41 in a list of "The World's 50 Most Influential Figures 2010".

Early life

Cowell was born in Lambeth, London and brought up in Elstree, Hertfordshire. His father, Eric Philip Cowell (1918–1999), was an estate agent developer and music industry executive; his mother, Julie Brett (née Josie Dalglish), is a former ballet dancer and socialite. Cowell's paternal grandparents, Joseph Cowell and Esther Malinsky, were English Jews, and his maternal grandfather was Scottish. He has one brother and three half-brothers; younger brother Nicholas Cowell, half-brother John Cowell, half-brother Tony Cowell and half-brother Michael Cowell. Michael is the oldest, followed by John, Tony, Simon and Nicholas respectively.

Cowell attended Radlett Preparatory School and the independent Dover College as did his brother, but left after taking GCE O levels. He passed in English Language and Literature and then attended Windsor Technical College where he gained another GCE in Sociology. At the age of 17, he dated model Paula Hamilton. Cowell took a few menial jobs—including, according to Tony, working as a runner on Stanley Kubrick's ''The Shining''—but did not get along well with colleagues and bosses, until his father who was executive at the recording giant EMI Music Publishing, managed to get him a job in the mail room.

Career

Cowell's father's connections originally got him rehired as the assistant to an A&R; man. From there onwards, Simon worked his way up and eventually got promoted to a music publishing position but left during the early 1980s to form E&S; Music with his boss at EMI, Ellis Rich (later Chairman of the Performing Right Society). The company had several hit records at one point with five singles in the UK top 40. The offices were in a converted gentleman's washroom in the NCP car park on Brewer Street in London's Soho district. Cowell left by mutual agreement a few years later. He worked for Iain Burton, manager of choreographer Arlene Phillips, co-founder of dance group Hot Gossip and of nascent independent record label Fanfare Records. Cowell worked with Burton for eight years at Fanfare where he achieved his first real success in the music industry, becoming a partner and building Fanfare into a highly successful 'indie' pop label. Fanfare had numerous top ten hits with various pop artists and particularly Sinitta, selling more than 500,000 copies of her debut single "So Macho", and more than 500,000 copies of her album ''Rondo Veneziano''. Next in 1984, Cowell and Burton met up with Pete Waterman for the first time.

Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman formed the songwriting and record producing trio known as Stock Aitken Waterman. Stock Aitken Waterman helped Fanfare during the second half of the 1980s producing several hit singles for Sinitta and licensing ''The Hit Factory'' SAW Compilation Albums to Fanfare. Next in 1989, Fanfare's parent, Public Company, found itself in difficulties, forcing Fanfare into the hands of BMG, and an in-debt Cowell was forced to move back in with his parents. Later that year, he became an A&R; consultant for BMG.

Subsequently, Cowell signed up a number of acts to ''S-Records'' that became successful, including Curiosity Killed the Cat, Sonia, Five, Westlife, Robson & Jerome, and Ultimate Kaos. He also released several novelty recordings featuring the likes of wrestlers of the World Wrestling Entertainment, Teletubbies, Zig and Zag and the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, that were huge successes. Cowell set up another label, Syco Music, in 2002 which later became part of Columbia Records and Sony BMG Music Entertainment. Artists such as Leona Lewis, Il Divo and contestants from ''The X Factor'' and ''America's Got Talent'' are released on Syco. Cowell explained, "There has to come a point when I will step down from being on camera and remain behind the scenes because you can't keep doing this forever...I think by [the end of my contract] that the public will be sick to death of me anyway and it will be time to go."

In 2006, Cowell signed to two more record-breaking deals. In the USA, he agreed to remain as a judge on ''American Idol'', earning £20 million (US$33 million) per season for another five years. He also has a deal with FOX which allows his production company to broadcast ''Got Talent'' and ''American Inventor'' on other networks, but he may not appear on them. In the UK, he signed a "golden handcuffs" deal with ITV, worth approximately £6.5 million a year for three years, which gave ITV rights to his talent show ''The X Factor'', a British singing talent show, and ''Grease Is the Word'', a musical talent show to find the stars of a ''Grease'' production in London's West End. In late 2005, he signed a new contract to remain working for Sony BMG.

In 2010, Cowell finalised a deal which secures the long-term business future of Syco with Sony Music Entertainment. The deal will also see him launching a US version of X Factor on 21 September 2011.

''Idol'' franchise and ''Il Divo''

Cowell was given the role of judge on the first series of Pop Idol by then ITV Controller of Entertainment Claudia Rosencrantz in 2001, he was then judge on the first season of ''American Idol'' in 2002. With his notoriously critical reputation, Cowell is likened to TV personalities, such as Judge Judy, and ''Weakest Link'''s Anne Robinson. Though comparable to Anne Robinson, Cowell has expressed his dislike for her and has commented in an interview, "I hate her and I hate her show because it's just an act". Cowell's prominence grew, fed by his signature phrase, "I don't mean to be rude, but ...", inevitably followed by an unsparingly blunt appraisal of the contestant's talents, personality, or even physical appearance. A lot of these one-liners were the product of coaching that Cowell received from noted publicist Max Clifford. Cowell also appeared on the one-off ''World Idol'' programme in 2003, where it became clear that each country's version of the ''Idol'' had attempted to come up with its own "Simon Cowell" type personality. In 2003, Cowell placed No 33 on Channel 4's list of the all-time 100 Worst Britons. Cowell's S Records signed the top two finishers of the first season of ''Pop Idol'', Will Young and Gareth Gates, both of whom went on to have No 1 UK hits. Efforts begun in 2001 materialised in 2004, when Cowell returned to his group manufacturing roots with his latest brainchild, the internationally successful operatic pop group Il Divo, consisting of three opera singers and one pop singer of four different nationalities. Inspired by the success of Il Divo, Simon created a child version, Angelis, beating competition from many similar groups emerging at Christmas 2006.

On 11 January 2010, Cowell's exit from ''American Idol'' was made official. The 2010 season was Cowell's last on the show. It was also announced that Fox has acquired the rights to an American version of Cowell's popular British show, ''The X Factor'', which is slated to begin production in autumn 2011.

''The X Factor''

In 2004, with Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh, Cowell was a judge on the first series of the British television music competition ''The X Factor'', which he created using his production company, Syco. ''The X Factor'' was an instant success with the viewers and will begin its eighth series in 2011.

Leona Lewis, the winner of the third series of ''The X Factor'', was signed to Cowell's label Syco and has gone on to become an international star, with number one singles and album sales around the world. Cowell returned for a fourth series on 18 August 2007 alongside Osbourne, Walsh and new judge, Dannii Minogue. Walsh had previously been sacked from the judging panel by Cowell for the fourth series, and was subsequently replaced by Brian Friedman, who was a judge on ''Grease Is the Word''. Walsh was later brought back a week into the auditions by Cowell when he and Osbourne realised that they missed Walsh and that without him, there was no chemistry between the judges. Cowell returned for the fifth series in 2008, with Walsh, Minogue and new judge Cheryl Cole, as Sharon Osbourne decided to quit before the show began.

''The X Factor'' has been confirmed to return to Australian television in 2010 on the Seven Network with Kyle Sandilands, Ronan Keating, Guy Sebastian and Natalie Imbruglia as judges. Matthew Newton will host the show. Auditions will begin in May 2010.

Cowell will also launch the U.S. version of ''The X Factor'' in September 2011 on American broadcaster Fox. It was announced that he would be a judge both on the UK and US editions of the show, which will air at similar times of the year, but MTV officially reported on 17 April 2011 that this was not true; Cowell will no longer be a judge in the UK version., but instead will be an enormous presence backstage.

In October 2010, Cowell signed new three-year deals with ITV for both ''Britain's Got Talent'' and ''The X Factor''.

''Got Talent'' franchise

Following the success of the ''Idol'' and ''X-Factor'' franchises, Cowell, his company Syco, and its business partners developed a talent show format open to performers of any kind, not only singers, but also dancers, instrumentalists, magicians, comedians, novelty acts, and so on. The origins of the ''Got Talent'' format can be traced to the British show ''Opportunity Knocks'', which began as a radio programme in the 1940s and later transferred to television, where it was an ITV staple for several decades. Looking further back, ''Opportunity Knocks'' had its roots in the variety show traditions of British music hall and American vaudeville.

Cowell is the executive producer of ''America's Got Talent'', which debuted in June 2006, along with Fremantle producers of the ''Idol'' series, but he does not appear on the show due to the terms of his ''American Idol'' contract. The show was a huge success for NBC, drawing around 12 million viewers a week, and beating ''So You Think You Can Dance'' on FOX (produced by rival and ''Idol'' creator Simon Fuller).

''Britain's Got Talent'' debuted on ITV in June 2007. Cowell appears as a judge alongside Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan. The show was a ratings success and second and third seasons followed in 2008 and 2009. The third series featured a publicity coup when Susan Boyle made a global media impact with her regional audition performance comparable to that of any previous talent show series winner.

''American Inventor''

On 16 March 2006, Simon Cowell's next competition show, ''American Inventor'', debuted on ABC. Fledgling entrepreneurs from across the United States competed to see who could come up with the best new product concept. The 2006 winner, Janusz Liberkowski, received $1 million and the opportunity to develop his idea into a business. The show returned one more time in 2007 for a second season.

''Celebrity Duets''

In 2006, Cowell executive-produced ''Celebrity Duets'', which was described as "an Idol show for Hollywood superstars." The show was hosted by Wayne Brady, and its judges were Marie Osmond, Little Richard and David Foster.

''Grease Is the Word''

Cowell was also the executive producer of ''Grease Is the Word'' for ITV. This show set out to find performers to play Danny and Sandy in the 2007 West End revival of Grease. It was hosted by Zoe Ball and judged by Britons David Ian and Sinitta and Americans David Gest and Brian Friedman. The musical theatre casting concept had already been introduced by the BBC with the ratings hit ''How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?'', but Cowell's show was not the hoped for success. He himself said, "It has been slaughtered by the critics – and rightly so. It is far too similar to our other formats."

''Rock Rivals''

Cowell collaborated with UK production company Shed Media to produce 2008 ITV drama series ''Rock Rivals'', which is based on an ''X Factor'' type show.

Other activities

Cowell has been involved in charity work for many years. He supports children from The Association Of Children's Hospices and invites them backstage to the screenings of ''The X Factor''. When he can, he stops by some of the hospices to visit the children. He also supports animal rights and has appeared in a video for PETA in which he reminds drivers of the cruelty to animals that can occur when their pets are locked in cars in the summer. In view of his charitable works, particularly the production of the charity single ''Everybody Hurts'' in aid of victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, as well as his services to the music industry, there was considerable media speculation as to whether Cowell would receive a knighthood in the Queen's 2010 Birthday Honours, a proposal allegedly put forward by former Prime Minister, Gordon Brown. Cowell stated that he believed his chances of receiving the honour were "zero" following what he described as being a "royal row"; ultimately Cowell did not receive an honour in the list.

In December 2003, Cowell published his autobiography titled ''I Don't Mean to be Rude, but...''. In it, he told the whole story of his childhood, his years working in music and experiences on ''Pop Idol'', ''Pop Stars Rivals'', and ''American Idol'', and finally, his tips for being successful as a pop star.

Cowell has appeared as a guest voice in an episode of ''The Simpsons'' ("Smart and Smarter"), in which he gets beaten up by Homer Simpson (while criticising Homer's punches). His voice was also heard on an episode of ''Family Guy'' ("Lois Kills Stewie"), in which he told Stewie that his singing was so awful that he should be dead. He made an MTV Movie Award-winning cameo appearance as himself in ''Scary Movie 3'', where he sits in judgment during a battle rap (and subsequently gets killed by gunfire for criticising the rappers). He also appears in the DVD version of ''Shrek 2'' as a judge in ''Far Far Away Idol'', and also provided the voice.

He appeared on an episode of ''Who Wants to be a Millionaire?'' (the original British version) and ''Saturday Night Live'' in 2004. Cowell has also guest-starred (filling in for Regis Philbin) in the popular talk show ''Live with Regis and Kelly'' during ''American Idol'''s finalist week in early 2006. Cowell was once the fastest "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car" on BBC's motoring show ''Top Gear'', driving a Suzuki Liana around the show's test track in a time of 1:47.1. When ''Top Gear'' retired the Liana along with its rankings after the eighth series, Cowell was the eighth fastest overall and the third fastest non-professional driver. On 11 November 2007 Cowell yet again appeared on Top Gear, achieving a time of 1:45.9 thus putting him ahead of Gordon Ramsay and back at the top of the table. Cowell introduced entertainer Dick Clark at the 2006 Primetime Emmy Awards. He was seen on ''Comic Relief Does The Apprentice'' where he donated £25,000 for a fun fair ticket. Cowell has also appeared on the MTV shows Cribs and Punk'd. On Punk'd, Ryan Seacrest and Randy Jackson set him up to believe his $400,000 Rolls Royce was stolen and had caused an accident by using a nearly identical car.

Cowell was chosen as the first subject of the re-launched ''This Is Your Life'' in an episode broadcast on 2 June 2007. He was presented with the Red Book by Sir Trevor McDonald while presenting ''American Idol''.

On 1 July 2007 Cowell appeared alongside Randy Jackson and Ryan Seacrest as a speaker at the Concert For Diana, held at Wembley Stadium.

Simon Cowell was a partner in the Royal Ascot Racing Club, a thoroughbred horse racing syndicate which owned the 2005 Epsom Derby winner, Motivator.

In May 2010, he portrayed himself again, in another episode of ''The Simpsons'', "Judge Me Tender".

In December 2010, he was added as a new entry to the latest edition of ''Who's Who''.

Personal life

In late 2002, Cowell started dating longtime friend Terri Seymour. In November 2008, ''TV Guide'' reported that Cowell and Seymour had since broken up.

Cowell is the godfather of pop singer Sinitta's adopted children.

Upon his appearance on ''Top Gear'', it was revealed that Cowell pays more than £21.7m per year in income tax, suggesting that his taxable income is over £54.25m per year with income tax at the time approximately 40%. (NB: UK Income Tax 40% for earnings over £34,600). Cowell was estimated to have a fortune of £200 million in the ''Sunday Times Rich List'' of 2011, making him the sixth richest person in the British music industry.

Cowell has admitted to using Botox.

Cowell has a $22 million, home in Beverly Hills.

In May 2009, in the ''Daily Mail'' tabloid newspaper, Cowell revealed that he is often plagued by "dark moods and miserable thoughts". He claims that he has considered seeking therapy for this, stating that it would be a 'long session'.

Cowell became engaged to make up artist Mezhgan Hussainy in February 2010. They met on the set of ''American Idol''.

Cowell endorsed David Cameron to be Prime Minister and claimed that he has the 'substance and the stomach to navigate us through difficult times'. In the aftermath of the election, it was reported that he had fallen out with fellow X Factor judge Cheryl Cole (who had declared her support for Labour and Gordon Brown) in a telephone conversation about politics.

References

External links

Simon Cowell at itv.com/xfactor

Simon Cowell for PETA

Simon Cowell on World Top 100 A&R; Chart

New York Times: How a Hit Almost Failed Its Own Audition

Reviews and short bio of Simon Cowell

Playboy Interview: Simon Cowell, February 2007

Interview, HitQuarters Oct 2001

2011 radio interview with Simon Cowell

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Category:1959 births Category:Living people Category:American Idol participants Category:American music industry executives Category:Anglo-Scots Category:A&R; people Category:British music industry executives Category:British people of Jewish descent Category:British racehorse owners and breeders Category:English expatriates in the United States Category:English memoirists Category:English people of Scottish descent Category:English record producers Category:Got Talent series Category:Idol series judges Category:Old Dovorians Category:Pop Idol Category:Reality television judges Category:The X Factor judges Category:The X Factor (UK) Category:People educated at Licensed Victuallers' School

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