Connie is a female and (less often) male first name, and is also used as a surname. It is considered a pet form of "Constance" and is related to "Conradine".

It may also refer to:

People with the given name Connie[link]

• Connie Booth, American writer and actress
• Connie Chung, American journalist
• Connie Fisher, British actress and singer
• Connie Francis, American singer
• Connie Gilchrist, American actress
• Konnie Huq, British television presenter
• Connie Mack, American baseball player, manager and team owner
• Connie Mack III, American politician, grandson of Connie Mack
• Connie Nielsen, Danish actress
• Connie Smith, American singer and songwriter
• Connie Stevens, American actress and singer
• Connie Willis, American writer
• Connie Yadana Tun, Burmese singer

Other[link]

• Connie (Comic Strip), a newspaper comic strip created by Frank Godwin
• Connie (TV series), a 1985 British television drama series starring Stephanie Beacham
• Lockheed Constellation, a former mid-20th four-engine propeller-driven airliner.
• Koni (dog), Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's black Labrador retriever, also known as Connie
• A slang term for condom
• An Oberlin Conservatory of Music student
• A nickname for USS Constellation
• A nickname for the Constitution Class Starship
• Hurricane Connie
• A fish, also called the inconnu
• A Vox Continental organ

See also[link]

• All pages beginning with "Connie"

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Connie Talbot
Talbot at Sutton Park, March 2012.
Background information
Born	(2000-11-20) 20 November 2000 (age 11)[1]
Origin	Streetly, Aldridge, England
Genres	Pop
Occupations	Singer
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	2007–present
Website	connietalbot.com

Connie Talbot (born 20 November 2000) is an English child singer from Streetly, Aldridge. She rose to fame in 2007 when she reached the final of the first series of Britain's Got Talent, where she was runner-up to Paul Potts. Talbot was supposed to sign with Sony BMG but the label pulled out of the deal due to her age.

Talbot signed with Rainbow Recording Company and released her debut album Over the Rainbow in the UK on 26 November 2007. The album was re-released 18 June 2008 with a new track listing, and the first single from the album, a cover of Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds", was released on 10 June.

Despite its negative critical reception, Over the Rainbow has sold over 250,000 copies worldwide and reached number one in three countries. Since the initial album release, Talbot has performed publicly and on television in Europe, the U.S. and across Asia, where her music had gained recognition through YouTube. Her second album, Connie Talbot's Christmas Album, was released on 24 November 2008; her third, Holiday Magic, was released in late 2009. While pursuing her musical career, Talbot attends school, and lives in Streetly with her family.

History[link]

[edit] Britain's Got Talent and Sony BMG

Talbot initially auditioned for the first series of television reality show Britain's Got Talent for fun, but her confidence increased when Simon Cowell, whom she is said to have idolised,^[2] described her as "pure magic" and said that he would make her earn "£1 million-plus this year".^[2] The judges expected a "joke" performance and she had never taken singing lessons, but Talbot's initial performance received international press coverage.^[3] She reached the final round after winning her semi-final with a live performance of "Ben" by Michael Jackson.^[4] On the night of the final, she sang The Wizard of Oz's "Over the Rainbow", but lost to Paul Potts as a result of the call-in vote.^[5][6] Talbot and Potts had been joint favourites to win the series.^[7][8]

Talbot during the recording of "Smile" for Sony BMG

According to journalist and Britain's Got Talent judge Piers Morgan, Talbot's performances resulted in many children, including Faryl Smith, auditioning for the second series of the show.^[9] After his victory, series 2 winner George Sampson spoke of his participation in the first series, where he was knocked out before the live shows, saying "I don't think I had any shot of winning last year ... When you look at the standard of Paul Potts and Connie Talbot. Paul Potts is out of this league, and Connie is out of this league – I wasn't good enough."^[10] Talbot voted for Sampson, saying "I liked his dancing – he was good on the lamppost".^[11]

Cowell had preliminarily agreed to sign Talbot with his own record label, Sony BMG. After recording two songs in London with Talbot ("Over the Rainbow" and "Smile"^[2]), the label pulled out of the deal.^[12] Talbot's mother, Sharon, said she was told that her daughter "...was too young to be their sort of artist", adding "We have been told to look for a company which looks after children."^[13][14] In a statement, the label said "there was some deliberation over the possibility of recording with Connie ... However, the decision not to proceed was made with the best intentions for Connie, taking into consideration her age and that it would not be right to do so at this time."^[13] Cowell himself said that "when the time is right, [he would] be delighted to see if [they could] make it work".^[13] The Talbot family decided to search for another label, saying "while [Talbot] loves what she's doing it would be cruel to stop her. Fame and money will never matter."^[2]

[edit] Over the Rainbow

In October 2007 Talbot signed with the Rainbow Recording Company for a six-figure deal.^[14] Rainbow Recording Company, an offshoot of record label Rhythm Riders made specifically for Talbot,^[2] was due to release Talbot's first album on 26 November 2007.^[14] It was later reported that the album was named Over the Rainbow, and the first single, "Over the Rainbow"/"White Christmas", would be released on 3 December 2007.^[2] Experts predicted that she had a good chance of getting the Christmas number one,^[2][14] but the single was cancelled in favour of an album-first release.^[15] Before the album was released, there was much speculation about Talbot and the album, with music experts describing her as potentially being "the next Charlotte Church".^[16]

Talbot at the Olympic Studios during the recording of Over the Rainbow

The team behind the album consisted of John Arnison, who also managed Gabrielle and Billy Ocean, and Marc Marot, former managing director of Island Records.^[2] It was produced and mixed by Simon Hill and Rob May.^[17] Arnison revealed that he and his team "are not going to give [Talbot] singing lessons – we don't need to", and said that when he met Talbot, he was "blown away".^[18] A schedule was worked out allowing Talbot to continue with her normal school activities while recording the album in her aunt Vicky's spare bedroom, which her mother described as "a better solution [than Sony BMG offered] which has not robbed her of her childhood".^[2] Although Arnison claimed he did not "want to put her through the promotional grind which most artists go through because she is too young", plans were made for an appearance on daytime television programme This Morning, as well as an appearance on Children in Need on 16 November 2007.^[2] The album was released on 26 November 2007 and Talbot's mother said that "All the family is really excited, but Connie is quite blase about it."^[19] The album was certified gold in early December,^[20] with Talbot being presented a gold disc by Phillip Schofield on This Morning.^[21] Initially, 50,000 copies of the album were pressed, but an additional 120,000 had to be made after the album sold out in days.^[21]

In late 2007, public appearances by Talbot included headlining the Great Bridge Christmas and Winter Festival, which local police threatened to cancel unless crowds clamouring to reach the tent in which Talbot was performing could be brought under control.^[20] At the event, on 7 December 2007, Talbot said "I love it here, it’s brilliant, really fun", but had to be ushered off-stage by the police.^[20] Talbot performed publicly in Walsall's HMV store, and in Birmingham's Centenary Square.^[22] TV appearances included GMTV and Channel 5 news, both on 26 November 2007.^[22] According to her mother, Talbot has received offers for film roles. Sharon said "[Talbot]'s been sent a script, I haven't had a good look at it yet but it's really exciting ... Connie's a singer, not an actress, so we'll see what happens. It's completely up to her whether or not she wants to do it. I can't believe it, though."^[20]

Sharon Mawer of Allmusic praised Over the Rainbow by saying "She can sing, for a seven year old, and most of the notes (if not all of them) are in the right order and sung to the right pitch; the timing is fine too".^[23] However, she criticised the album, saying "there's no feeling, no emotion, no realisation of what each song is about; they're just pretty little songs", giving the album 2/5.^[23] Nick Levine, of Digital Spy, said in a review of the album that Talbot had a "sweet, pure voice", but that there is "no nuance or depth to her performance".^[24] However, he said that "There's something inherently wrong about awarding a star rating to a seven-year-old", and that "the decidedly adult concept of musical merit should have nothing to do with [her music]", awarding the album 2/5.^[24]

The album was rereleased on 16 June 2008,^[25] but was available for pre-order in May, with three new tracks to replace its Christmas-themed songs.^[26][27][28] The first single from the album, "Three Little Birds", was released in June 2008, and a video for the song was shot in Jamaica.^[25] In April and May 2008, Talbot toured Asia to promote Over the Rainbow.^[29] Asian press attributed her success to her videos on YouTube, with the Sun.Star mentioning that her most viewed video had been watched over 14 million times,^[28] and The Straits Times saying that videos of Talbot's performances have been watched over 30 million times.^[29] The tour made stops in South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore, and Talbot and her family returned to England in late May.^[30] Following the tour, it was reported that the album had reached number one on the charts in Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong,^[25][30] as well as reaching number three in Singapore.^[30] After the tour, Talbot travelled to Poland, where she performed on television.^[11]

It was also revealed that Over the Rainbow was due for release in America in September,^[31] resulting in attention from American press sources including Fox Business Network and MarketWatch.^[32][33] The U.S. version was eventually released on 14 October,^[34] with Talbot appearing on American television shows including The Ellen DeGeneres Show to publicise the release.^[35]

In August 2008, it was announced that Talbot had signed a contract with Data Design Interactive for production of a video game on the Wii console. The game was to feature 15 songs from Over the Rainbow, allowing players to sing along with a computer-generated image of Talbot or against other players in a karaoke mode.^[31][36] Talbot rerecorded the album for the game.^[37] The game was scheduled for release in the first quarter of 2009,^[35] and is called Connie Talbot: Over the Rainbow.^[38] The game hasn't been released yet as of 2011, citing copyright issues on the songs used for it.

[edit] Christmas Album and Holiday Magic

In November 2008, it was announced that Talbot had produced a series of new songs for an album.^[39] Recorded in her bedroom studio, Connie Talbot's Christmas Album was released on 24 November.^[40] It is a Christmas themed album,^[40] featuring, according to Talbot's official website, "a mix of classics and modern Christmas tunes".^[39] News was also released of a one-off Christmas special to be shown on ITV1 in the days leading up to Christmas, featuring footage of Talbot's journey to America and a "secret concert" at her primary school.^[41] The documentary, Christmas with Connie, was shown on ITV Central on 18 December.^[38] Talbot appeared at Walsall's HMV branch shortly after the release of her Christmas Album to sign copies and meet fans.^[42] She then embarked on a promotional tour making stops around the world, which included a performance at Ewha Womans University in Korea,^[43] and a performance on the A Heart for Children television charity gala in Berlin, Germany.^[44] She returned home in mid December, to have "a quiet family Christmas".^[45]

Connie Talbot's Christmas Album was difficult to obtain in Britain after the distributor, Pinnacle Entertainment, went into administration. Talbot's mother, Sharon, was quoted as saying "We don't really know what's going to happen at the moment ... We think they'll probably wait and promote the album later this year. It's a shame, but they can still get the album in Asia and the US."^[46] Reviewing the album for FemaleFirst magazine, Ruth Harrison gave it 4/5, saying that Talbot has "a great voice when it comes to swing, but lets us down in parts".^[47]

In April 2009, Talbot again travelled to the U.S. in order to publicise her new single, a cover of "I Will Always Love You". The single was released in the U.S. on 7 April, along with a newly recorded "You Raise Me Up".^[48] Talbot then travelled to the U.S. on 30 April, and returned on 2 May.^[49] Appearances included a performance on Good Day New York on Fox Broadcasting Company's WNYW.^[50]

Talbot's third album, Connie Talbot's Holiday Magic, was released on 20 October 2009 in the United States and on 30 November 2009 in the United Kingdom. The United States album is dedicated to the Toys for Tots campaign, of which Talbot has been named the child ambassador. In a statement, Bill Grein, Vice President of the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, said-

The Marine Toys for Tots Foundation is extremely proud and excited to have Connie as our youngest ambassador ever ... She is the perfect person to inform the public of the millions of less fortunate children who may be overlooked this Christmas holiday season, unless people step up to donate a toy or make a cash contribution. Her angelic looks and voice will remind everyone of the innocence of children. And they all deserve to experience the magic of the holiday season! I hope she sells lots of CDs and raises a lot of money and awareness for our children.^[51]

2010–present[link]

This section requires expansion with: Details about her appearance at the 2010 G-20 Seoul_summit.

Talbot performed for her largest ever audience when she performed on Chinese state television during the Chinese new-year in 2011.^[52] Reporting the event, the Daily Mail's Kathryn Knight observed that Talbot has "had more than 300  million hits on YouTube and in the Far East, in particular, she's something of an icon. Japan, Taiwan, Korea, China, Brazil, Mexico and the U.S. — you name it, Connie’s a star there. In fact Connie is in huge demand across the globe — everywhere, that is, apart from her native Britain."^[53] Viewing figures for the event were estimated to be around 400 million.^[53][54][55]

Talbot backstage at "Young Voices"

During this time, Talbot continued to upload videos of her performances onto YouTube. Maggie Coughlan, of PopEater.com, praised her covers of Katy Perry's "Firework" and Bruno Mars's "Grenade", but was most impressed by her cover of Adele's "Someone Like You", which she said was performed "with such grace that she makes the entire performance look effortless".^[56] The video was also picked up by PerezHilton.com.^[57] After the death of Whitney Houston, Talbot posted a cover version of "Run to You" as a tribute to Houston. The video received attention from around the world, and became the most "liked" video in the UK.^[58]

On 28 November 2011, Talbot released "Beautiful World" as a single on iTunes. The song was written by Talbot when she was seven. A demo of the track was placed on YouTube, and became the 39th most watched video in the world on the day it was uploaded.^[59]

In March 2012, Talbot performed with and led Young Voices, a choir made up of around 7000 primary school children, at the O2 Arena for four nights. The choir broke the world-record for being the largest backing choir for a lead vocalist.^[60] This Guinness world record followes her accolades as the youngest artist to make the UK album charts ^[61] and the youngest to release a gold-selling record.^[62] Others involved in the event included Randolph Matthews and The High Kings,^[63] and performances took place elsewhere in the United Kingdom, including Manchester and Birmingham.^[64] The performances were in aid of CLIC Sargent, a children's cancer charity.^[65]

Personal life[link]

Talbot lives in Streetly, in the West Midlands, and currently attends a state primary school.^[66] She lives with her mother, Sharon, her father Gavin, a self-employed property maintenance engineer, her older brother Josh, and her sister, Mollie.^[2][67] Talbot sang "Over the Rainbow", her signature song, at her grandmother's funeral, because she and her grandmother had enjoyed watching The Wizard of Oz together.^[67] Talbot drew confidence in Britain's Got Talent from the belief that her grandmother was watching, and vowed to win the show in her memory.^[2] Despite Talbot speaking positively of the effects of her fame, her parents spoke of a darker side, including having to change their phone number and hire a bodyguard for their daughter.^[2]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Singles[link]

References[link]

• British singer Connie Talbot In Seoul to perform at G20 summit celebration concert
• Connie Talbot: Little girl with the big voice

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Connie Talbot

• Official website
• Official channel on YouTube
• Connie Talbot at Allmusic
• Connie Talbot on MySpace

v t e Britain's Got Talent Got Talent Series 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 Presenters Ant & Dec · Stephen Mulhern Judges Current Simon Cowell · Amanda Holden · Alesha Dixon · David Walliams Former Kelly Brook · Piers Morgan · Michael McIntyre · David Hasselhoff Guest Louis Walsh · Carmen Electra Winners Paul Potts · George Sampson · Diversity · Spelbound · Jai McDowall · Ashleigh and Pudsey Other notable contestants Series 1 Bessie Cursons · Connie Talbot · Damon Scott · Bar Wizards · Jake Pratt Series 2 Signature · Andrew Johnston · Escala · Faryl Smith · Kate and Gin · Charlie Green · Charlie Wernham Series 3 Susan Boyle · Julian Smith · Aidan Davis · Hollie Steel · Shaheen Jafargholi · Callum Francis · DJ Talent · Flawless · John Farnworth Series 4 Twist and Pulse · Paul Burling · ReConnected · Myles and Connor · Kev Orkian · Stevie Starr · The Cheeky Girls · Matthew Ahmet Series 5 Ronan Parke · Out of the Blue Series 6 Jonathan and Charlotte · Only Boys Aloud · The Loveable Rogues · Ryan O'Shaughnessy  · Molly Rainford · The Zimmers Related articles List of episodes · Discography · SYCOtv · FremantleMedia · talkbackTHAMES · Thames · ITV Category

Simon Cowell
Cowell at the National Television Awards at the Royal Albert Hall, London, October 2006.
Background information
Birth name	Simon Phillip Cowell
Born	(1959-10-07) 7 October 1959 (age 52) Lambeth, London, England
Origin	Elstree, Hertfordshire, England
Occupations	A&R executive, television producer, entrepreneur, television personality
Years active	1979–present
Labels	EMI, E&S Music, Fanfare Records, BMG, S Records, Sony Music Entertainment, Syco
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, One Direction, Melanie Amaro

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 both the television and music industries, having promoted singles and records for various artists, including television personalities. He was most recently featured on the fifth series of Britain's Got Talent and the first season of The X Factor USA.

In 2010, the British magazine New Statesman listed Cowell at number 41 in a list of "The World's 50 Most Influential Figures 2010".^[1]

Early life[link]

Cowell was born in Lambeth, London^[2] and brought up in Elstree, Hertfordshire.^[3] His mother, Julie Brett (née Josie Dalglish), is a former ballet dancer and socialite, and his father, Eric Selig Phillip Cowell (1918–1999),^[2] was an estate agent developer and music industry executive.^[4] Cowell's father was from a mostly Jewish family, though he did not discuss his background with his children (Cowell's paternal grandmother had immigrated from Poland).^[5] Cowell's mother was from a Christian background, and is of part Scottish descent.^[5][6][7] He has one brother and three half-brothers and a half sister; younger brother Nicholas Cowell, half-brother John Cowell, half-brother Tony Cowell, half-brother Michael Cowell and half sister June Cowell.^[8]

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.^[9] At the age of 17, he dated model Paula Hamilton.^[10] Cowell took a few menial jobs—including, according to Tony, working as a runner on Stanley Kubrick's The Shining^[11]—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.^[12]

Career[link]

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^[13] 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.^[14] 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.^[15] 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. An in-debt Cowell was forced to move back in with his parents. Later that year, he became an A&R consultant for BMG. In 1990, he appeared as a contestant on the UK gameshow Sale of the Century.^[16][17]

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 Teletubbies, wrestlers of WWE^[18] Zig and Zag and the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, that were huge successes.^[3] In 2002, Cowell set up another label, Syco Music, 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."^[19]

In 2006, Cowell signed to two more record-breaking deals. In the US, 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.^[20] The deal will also see him launching a US version of X Factor on 21 September 2011.^[21]

[edit] Idol franchise and Il Divo

Cowell was given the role of judge on the first series of Pop Idol in the UK by then ITV Controller of Entertainment Claudia Rosencrantz^[22] 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 Judith Sheindlin and Anne Robinson. Though comparable to 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".^[23] 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.^[24] 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,^[25][26] 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.^[27]

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 had acquired the rights to The X Factor USA, an American version of Cowell's popular British show, The X Factor, which began in September 2011.^[28][29]

[edit] 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 began 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 had number one singles and album sales around the world.^[30][31] 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 Osbourne decided to quit before the show began.^[32][33] Cowell returned for series 6 and 7 as well, although series 7 was his to be his last, as he left in 2011 in order to launch The X Factor in America. After placing third in the seventh series of The X Factor in the UK, boyband One Direction signed to Cowell's label in 2011, and the group have gone on to top singles and album charts worldwide.^[34][35]

The X Factor Australia launched in 2005, but was cancelled due to poor ratings. It returned to Australian television for its second season on 30 August 2010, with Kyle Sandilands, Ronan Keating, Guy Sebastian and Natalie Imbruglia as judges.^[36] Season 3 began on 29 August 2010 and ended on 22 November. It featured Ronan Keating, Mel B, Guy Sebastian and Natalie Bassingthwaighte as judges.

Cowell also launched The X Factor USA in September 2011 on American broadcaster Fox. It was originally announced that he would be a judge both on the UK and U.S. editions of the show, which air at similar times of the year,^[20][21] but MTV officially reported on 17 April 2011 that this was not true; Cowell is no longer a judge in the UK version,^[37] but instead will be an enormous presence backstage.^[38] He currently is a judge on The X Factor USA alongside Paula Abdul, L.A. Reid, Nicole Scherzinger and formerly Cheryl Cole.

In October 2010, Cowell signed new three-year deals with ITV for both Britain's Got Talent and The X Factor, renewing both shows until 2013.^[39]

[edit] 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,^[40] 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 contract with FOX. 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^[41] 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^[41][42][43] made a global media impact with her regional audition performance comparable to that of any previous talent show series winner.

[edit] American Inventor

On 16 March 2006, Simon Cowell's next competition show, American Inventor,^[44][45] 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,^[46][47] 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.

[edit] Celebrity Duets

In 2006, Cowell executive-produced Celebrity Duets,^[48] 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^[49] and David Foster.

[edit] 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."^[50]

[edit] 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.^[51]

[edit] Red or Black?

In 2011, Cowell also created his first game show, titled Red or Black? and hosted by Ant & Dec, for ITV.^[52] Series 1 was broadcast over seven nights in one week (excluding Tuesday), from 3 September to 10 September. The show has been recomissioned by ITV for a second series in 2012, which will be aired weekly.^[53]

Other activities[link]

Cowell has been involved in charity work for many years.^[54] He supports children from The Association Of Children's Hospices and invites them backstage to the screenings of The X Factor.^[55] When he can, he stops by some of the hospices to visit the children.^[55] 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.^[56][57] 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.^[58] Cowell stated that he believed his chances of receiving the honour were "zero" following what he described as being a "royal row";^[59] 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).^[60][61] 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.^[62][63][64] 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.^[65]

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.^[66] 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.^[67]

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.^[68]

On 1 July 2007 Cowell appeared alongside Randy Jackson and Ryan Seacrest as a speaker at the Concert For Diana, held at Wembley Stadium.^[69]

Cowell was a partner in the Royal Ascot Racing Club, a thoroughbred horse racing syndicate which owned the 2005 Epsom Derby winner, Motivator.^[70]

In May 2010, he portrayed himself again, in another episode of The Simpsons, "Judge Me Tender".^[71]

In December 2010, he was added as a new entry to the latest edition of Who's Who.^[72]

Personal life[link]

Cowell became engaged to make up artist Mezhgan Hussainy in February 2010, however the couple separated in 2012.^[73] They met on the set of American Idol.^[74] Cowell is the godfather of pop singer Sinitta's adopted children.^[75]

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%.^[76][77] (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.^[78] Cowell splits his time between homes in London and Los Angeles.^[79] He owns a £9million home in Holland Park, West London,^[79] and has a £13.7million ($22 m), 11,550 sq ft (1,073 m²) home in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles.^[80]

In April 2012 he said that he had an affair with fellow The X Factor judge Dannii Minogue during her time on the show.^[73]

Political views[link]

Cowell is a supporter of the Conservative Party. In 2010, Cowell endorsed David Cameron to be Prime Minister and claimed that he has the 'substance and the stomach to navigate us through difficult times'.^[81] 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.^[82]

References[link]