Syco Entertainment, often known as simply Syco (and stylised as SYCO), is a global joint venture between Simon Cowell and Sony Music Entertainment focused on the production and marketing of music, television, film and digital content. It employs a staff of more than 30 in offices in London and Los Angeles^[1] and manages a string of high profile television and music brands through partnerships with Sony Music labels and its TV production partner, Fremantle Media. Cowell and Sony Music Entertainment each own 50% of the business which is looking to grow its global portfolio of music and television brands over the next few years. Charles Garland, the former chief executive of Crystal Entertainment and chief operator of Simon Fuller's 19 Entertainment is Chief Operating Officer, responsible for the day-to-day operations of the company.^[2] Retail billionaire Philip Green, who is a close friend of Cowell, serves as an advisor to the company.^[3] Sporting executive and Vice-Chairman of West Ham United FC, Karren Brady also serves as an advisor to the company.

Syco TV[link]

Syco Television, often shortened to Syco TV (and stylised as SYCOtv), primarily operates in the UK and U.S. where, in 2011, it produces around 200 hours of primetime television for FOX, NBC, ITV1 and ITV2 networks. Its key franchises are The X Factor and Got Talent.

[edit] The X Factor

The X Factor, which launched in September 2004, has been the #1 show in the UK since 2008. In September 2011, Syco launched The X Factor USA, which averaged 12 million viewers and a 4.0 rating in the adults 18-49 demographic in its first season, leading FOX to nightly wins on Wednesdays and Thursdays and topping all other fall season reality competition.^[4]

Internationally, The X Factor can be seen in almost 30 countries including major markets like Germany, France, the Netherlands and Australia.

[edit] Got Talent

America's Got Talent matched a series high 4.6 rating among adults 18-49 in the summer of 2011 for its sixth season. Since launching in 2006, America's Got Talent has consistently been the most watched show of the summer in the U.S. and topped the ratings in the key adults 18-49 demographic.^[5]

Britain's Got Talent consistently tops UK ratings when it is broadcast in April, May and June. In 2009, nearly 20 million people (one third of the UK population) tuned in to the series 3 final to see Diversity crowned winners.^[6]

Got Talent has been even more successful internationally than The X Factor and is now on air in almost 40 countries including the key markets mentioned above and now China.

Other shows[link]

Syco produces other shows outside its key brands. In 2011, new series Red or Black? was met with mixed reaction in the UK and ITV have hinted that it may not be renewed.^[7] Syco were also behind American Inventor which ran for two seasons on ABC and the unsuccessful Celebrity Duets on Fox. In addition to series, Syco also produce music and entertainment specials. This includes I Dreamed a Dream: The Susan Boyle Story, which broke ratings records in the U.S. on TV Guide network ^[8] and scored 10 million viewers on ITV1 in the UK.^[9] Syco also produced Take That: For the Record when Take That reformed and in 2010, the company produced a special episode of Piers Morgan's Life Stories, which focused on The X Factor judge Cheryl Cole and drew the series' best ratings to date with nearly 8 million viewers.^[9]

Current productions[link]

• The X Factor (2004–present)
• The Xtra Factor (2004–present)
• America's Got Talent (2006–present)
• Britain's Got Talent (2007–present)
• Britain's Got More Talent (2007–present)
• Piers Morgan's Life Stories (special episodes, 2010–present)
• Red or Black? (2011–present)
• The X Factor USA (2011–present)

Syco Music[link]

Simon Cowell, founder of Syco.

Syco Music has offices in London and Los Angeles and is home to a dozen artists. Syco has the exclusive right to sign winners and finalists of The X Factor and Got Talent. Susan Boyle's debut album, I Dreamed a Dream, has sold over 9 million copies, making it one of the best selling releases of the last decade and Syco's most successful release to date.^[10] Between 2004 and 2009, Il Divo achieved four multi-million selling albums ^[11] and in 2007, Leona Lewis became one of the most successful talent show winners when her debut single, "Bleeding Love", propelled the album Spirit to 9 million global sales.^[12]

Syco's original base is in London and it has enjoyed most success in the UK market. From 2004 to date, the label has had 22 UK #1 singles.^[13][14] From 2004 to the end of 2009, the label achieved 13 #1 albums.^[15] Factoring in releases under predecessor label S Records, Syco/S achieved 20 #1 albums in the 2000-2009 period, more than any other imprint in the UK, including far larger operations like Columbia Records (17), Warner Bros. Records (16) and Polydor Records (14). Additionally, the label has achieved 7 top 10 U.S. albums since 2006.

In 2010, Syco began diversifying by adding producer/singer-songwriter Labrinth,^[16] He also set up his own imprint, Odd Child, in conjunction with Syco. Savan Kotecha, who had been writing for Syco acts for several years, also became an A&R Director and set up a joint venture, Kanani Songs.^[17] Syco also began forming closer partnerships with other Sony Music Entertainment UK labels. For the first time, Syco entered into an agreement with Columbia Records that would see them work together to launch the career of an X Factor winner - Matt Cardle.^[18] Similar arrangements were made for Olly Murs, Rebecca Ferguson and Ronan Parke, with Epic Records and Alexandra Burke with RCA Records.

Syco Music is run by Sonny Takhar, a former Head of Marketing for RCA Records who has served as Managing Director of both S Records and Syco Music since their formation. Tim Byrne is Creative Director. David Gray is Senior Vice President, A&R and Mark Hardy is Marketing Director. Simon Jones is SYCO Music’s PR Consultant.

While experiencing success for several of its artists, Syco has come under constant scrutiny from fans for its decisions in regards to its artists' careers. Most notably Leona Lewis and Alexandra Burke. Syco have been blamed for Lewis' second album not reaching the success of her first due to poor management, single choices, six month periods between singles, lack of promotion, release dates and only releasing two singles. Fans state similar factors as the reasons why Alexandra Burke has not found international success.

Current artists[link]

• Leona Lewis (joint U.S. deal with RCA Records)
• Olly Murs (joint UK deal with Epic Records)
• Rebecca Ferguson (joint UK deal with Epic/RCA Records, joint U.S. deal with Columbia Records)
• One Direction (joint U.S deal with Columbia Records)
• Little Mix
• Cher Lloyd (joint U.S. deal with Epic Records)
• Susan Boyle (joint U.S. deal with Columbia Records)
• Jackie Evancho (joint U.S. deal with Columbia Records)
• Labrinth
• Il Divo
• Andrew Johnston
• Melanie Amaro (joint U.S. deal with Epic Records)
• Chris Rene (joint U.S. deal with Epic Records)
• Jonathan and Charlotte
• Molly Rainford
• Ryan O'Shaughnessy

Previous artists[link]

• Gareth Gates (2002–2006, dropped/left to expand)
• Steve Brookstein (2004–2005, dropped)
• Bianca Ryan (2006–2008, dropped)
• Angelis (2006–2007, disbanded)
• Leon Jackson (2007–2009, dropped)
• Same Difference (2007–2009, dropped)
• Rhydian (2007–2010, left to continue career after 3 albums)
• Escala (2008–2010, left to join Sony BMG)
• Shayne Ward (2005–2011, dropped)
• Joe McElderry (2009–2011, dropped)
• Westlife (1998–2011, left)
• Ronan Parke (2011–2012, dropped)
• Jai McDowall (2011–2012, dropped)
• Matt Cardle (2011–2012, dropped)

In December 2011, Cowell had finalised a deal with Sony in relating with Syco. A new U.S. label has been reported and Cowell is considering setting up an Syco U.S., which would fund more money in the U.S., with Syco artists. However, many of the artists signed to Syco currently have U.S. deals with other Sony labels previously.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Syco Tv at IMDb
• Syco UK/US A&R team contact list

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Jay Kay
Jay Kay at the 2007 Gumball 3000 rally
Background information
Born	(1969-12-30) 30 December 1969 (age 42)
Origin	Stretford, Lancashire, England
Genres	Acid jazz, funk, disco, blue-eyed soul, electronica
Occupations	Musician, singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1989–present
Associated acts	Jamiroquai

Jason "Jay Kay" Luís Cheetham^[1] (born 30 December 1969 in Stretford, Lancashire),^[2] is a Grammy Award-winning English musician, best known as the lead singer of the band Jamiroquai.

Career[link]

Born in Stretford, Greater Manchester, England, Kay formed Jamiroquai with members Toby Smith (keyboards), Stuart Zender (bass), Nick Van Gelder (drums) and Wallis Buchanan (didgeridoo) together with guest appearances by Gavin Dodds (guitar), Maurizio Ravelico (percussion) and Johnny Thirkell (horns) amongst others, both on the band's debut album and on their first tour.

Jamiroquai has sold over thirty million albums, and has spent a collective 162 weeks on the UK singles chart between 1992 and 2006 with Kay's personal wealth said to be around £40 million.^[3] He appeared on the Sunday Times Rich List 2004 at joint-950th. The Sunday Times Rich List 2008 has him tied for #1,794, with £40 million.

After the huge success of Jamiroquai's first single, When You Gonna Learn, a US$1.9 million, eight album deal was signed with Sony Music Entertainment. The band's first album was Emergency on Planet Earth. The relationship with Sony ended in 2007.^[4]

The band's third album, Travelling Without Moving, generated international attention with the ground breaking video of Virtual Insanity which earned Jamiroquai four MTV Video Music Awards. Since then, their fourth album, Synkronized, has done just as well; it was recorded in Kay's home studio located in the garden of his 500-year-old, 11-bedroom Buckinghamshire mansion.

Kay has previously stated that he would like his band to continue writing music for another 15–20 years. However it was reported in February 2007 that Kay had wanted to quit music.^[4] This was denied on Jamiroquai's official website the day after.

Headgear[link]

Kay wearing a headdress during a concert

Kay is well known for his array of elaborate hats and headgear. When appearing professionally (in concerts, interviews etc.) he has been referred to as "the mad hatter" for his love of headgear.^[5] It is said that he has over 50 different hats that he wears at concerts and in public.^[6] He has stated publicly that some of them were made by his own mother.^{[citation needed]}

Kay's most recognizable headgear is his mirrored "feather headdress" seen on the cover of High Times: Singles 1992–2006.

TV performances[link]

Kay appeared in an episode of the BBC series The Naked Chef alongside chef Jamie Oliver. He has also performed on the series Strictly Come Dancing singing Canned Heat. He also appeared three times in the BBC car show Top Gear. The first appearance was in Series 1 episode 2, where he set a lap time of 1:48.1 for the show's "Star in a reasonably priced car", becoming the leading highscorer for the rest of the current and most of the next series. His second appearance was in Series 3 episode 4, where he drove his Lamborghini Miura with Richard Hammond as passenger. The third appearance was in Series 11 episode 6, where he came in to beat the top time held by Simon Cowell. He succeeded with a lap time of 1:45.8.

The day before Jamiroquai performed their new single, White Knuckle Ride, on The X Factor on 31 October 2010, Kay was quoted by The Sun as saying of the show's judges Cheryl Cole and Dannii Minogue: "What are they going to tell me about fucking music? ... When have you ever done anything? You're useless. The pair of you. I mean you look great and I'd like to fucking shag you but that's all." During his performance on the show, the pair talked continuously and refused to applaud at the end. Notably, neither of the other two judges stood up either.^[7]

Paparazzi confrontations[link]

In 2001, Kay was charged with assaulting a photographer and damaging his camera outside a nightclub. Kay pleaded not guilty and the charges were later dropped.^[8] On 12 September 2006, Kay was cautioned by police over an incident outside a London nightclub. He allegedly assaulted two photographers.^[9]

Personal life[link]

Kay's mother Karen Kay^[2] is a former cabaret singer and television personality. After Kay's identical twin, David, died some weeks after they were born[1], Karen brought Kay up largely alone, which gave him "an itinerant childhood, half of it living in 'rural Suffolk and rural Devon’", according to his 2010 The Daily Telegraph interview [2] and his 1999/1994 television interviews [3]. It's stated in the 1997 Lancashire Evening Telegraph article that Kay "moved with his mother and step-father Mervyn Kay to Manchester as a youngster."[4] James Royal, often misidentified as Kay's stepfather, is Karen Kay's former manager whom she had a relationship with some time during Kay's childhood years. Royal had stated in his 2002 interview in News of the World about 13-year-old Kay's six-month stay in Thailand that he never married Karen Kay, but "still regards" Kay as his "stepson".[5]

Jay Kay is Jewish and attended Jews' Free School in London.^[10]

Kay reveals in his 2010 The Sunday Times interview that his biological father is Portuguese.^[11] Kay met his biological father Luís Saraiva, a former professional guitarist, in 2001 when Kay was 32 years old. On 26 May in 2006, Saraiva appeared in a two-minute backstage interview with an interviewer from Portuguese television station RTP1 at the 2006 Rock in Rio concert where Jamiroquai made its appearance. The interviewer erroneously referred to Luís Saraiva as Luís Silveira during the interview.

From 1998 to 2001, Kay dated Denise Van Outen. They were engaged and reported to be on the verge of marriage,^[12] but split up in 2001; Jamiroquai's album A Funk Odyssey is mostly about their breakup.

In a 2010 interview, Kay indicated that at one time he had a "substantial" cocaine habit. He has however been free of drugs since 2003.^[13]

Kay continues to support the Burma Campaign UK and the need for democracy in Burma. He is also a patron of the Captive Animals Protection Society, a charity campaigning for an end to the use of animals in circuses, zoos and exotic pet trade. He has spoken out against animal exploitation for entertainment.^[14]

Cars and vehicles[link]

Kay has a strong interest in exotic cars and owns over 65 luxury cars, mainly sports cars. His love of motors was expressed with the release of the album Travelling Without Moving. The album's cover featured an adaptation of the "Buffalo Man" logo and the Ferrari crest, which probably earned him his recent visit to Maranello and a close look at the new Ferrari 458 Spider.^[15] Three of his cars appeared in the video for the song Cosmic Girl. In total he has 68 vehicles including what he calls "staff cars" and a 'one off' Ferrari.^[16]

A combination of cars and music is evident in the song Black Devil Car on the album Dynamite which is a tribute to his black Ferrari Enzo. The Enzo suffered damage to the windows after an altercation with hotel chef Aaron Billington at the Brudenell Hotel in Aldeburgh, Suffolk.^[17]

In occasion of his 39th birthday, he admitted he has become a Porsche fan. In the last years he has bought a black 356 Speedster, a blue 911 Carrera RS, and a 911 GT3 RS in orange livery. A 1973 Porsche Carrera RS has been used in the clip of "White Knuckle Ride", one of the last singles of the band, included in their last album.

Kay's love of fast cars has occasionally landed him in legal trouble. In May 1998, Kay was caught driving at 111 mph (179 km/h) and his licence was suspended for 42 days. He said in an interview: "I should count myself lucky. I've clocked up 175 mph on a public road. If I'd been caught doing that, it would have been a prison sentence." He appeared in court in Scotland to face charges for speeding after being clocked at 105 mph (169 km/h) in a Mercedes-Benz G-Class, on 26 February 2004. The speed limit for the road was 70 mph (110 km/h). He was later banned from driving for six months.

Kay participated in the 2007 Gumball 3000 rally as part of Team Adidas in a brand new Maserati Quattroporte. In 2010 he took part in the Mille Miglia in his Maserati A6G/54.

He holds the record on the BBC show Top Gear for the fastest lap in the (now retired) Chevrolet Lacetti on the "Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car" segment. His time of 1:45.83 was four-hundredths of a second ahead of Kevin McCloud, one-tenth of a second ahead of Brian Johnson, lead singer of the rock band AC/DC, and one tenth of a second above then-leader, Simon Cowell. He was invited back as Cowell had been "on the top for long enough".

Kay also likes motorcycles and was at the Ace Cafe to see Charley Boorman off for his television series By Any Means. He rides a Rizla Suzuki GSXR-600. He owns a motorhome, and holds a C LGV (class 2) driving licence just to drive it. He persuaded his close friend James Martin to also purchase one. Kay also leases a Robinson R44 helicopter, registration G-JKAY.

See also[link]

• List of number-one dance hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart

References[link]