2007
Connie wins over Cowell
June 12, 2007
Six-year-old Connie Talbot stole the heart of Simon Cowell – and put herself forward as a favourite to win the new reality show Britain’s Got Talent. The West Midlands youngster last night won over the sarky judge with her version of Somewhere Over The Rainbow .
Cowell told her: “I thought you were fantastic – pitch perfect.”
The nightly programme, which is aiming to find an act for the Royal Variety Show, kicked off on Saturday with 5.4million viewers and is set to become the next big reality hit for ITV.
Connie, from Sutton Coldfield, has been put through to the final and will be hoping for a date with the Queen if she wins a public vote.
The show, hosted by Ant and Dec, mixes the cute with the excellent and the frankly bizarre. The bizarre includes a singing dog called Mitzy Moo attempting the Crazy Frog song and a 79-year-old tap-dancer.
Craig Wormsley was another sensation on Britain’s Got Talent, proving that you don’t have to be an Oscar-winning actor to draw tears from an audience. The northerner told a sad story of having to keep his hobby to himself because his parents wanted him to quit to avoid being bullied.
But with his grandmother’s encouragement, Craig stuck at it – with remarkable results.
Another contestant, 27-year-old Damon Scott, also managed to draw laughter from Simon Cowell.
Wiltshire resident Damon describes himself as a “ventriloquist without the vent” – and he and Bubbles did a hilarious parody of Michael Jackson in the first episode of the show. Cowell is joined on the judging panel by former tabloid editor Piers Morgan and actress Amanda Holden. The X Factor judge said he is worried about picking the wrong winner, joking: “Am I going to lose my knighthood if the wrong person goes through?” Morgan, who was a judge on America’s Got Talent, said: “Its appeal is obvious.
“We had a guy coming on the show who put 145 clothes pegs on his face and genuinely believes he’s the most talented man in the country. Why shouldn’t he? “And why shouldn’t we reserve the right to say ‘you, my friend, are a deluded fool’?”.
SOURCE : www.expressandstar.com
Crowds go wild for Connie
December 8, 2007
Police had to calm frantic crowds as they clamoured to get into a special tent to get a glimpse of Britain’s Got Talent TV star Connie Talbot.
The Streetly schoolgirl was top of the bill at the Great Bridge Christmas and Winter Festival but provoked such a reaction that police threatened to stop last night’s show unless the crowds could be brought under control. As the seven-year-old’s first album, Somewhere Over The Rainbow, went gold yesterday, her delighted mother Sharon revealed the youngster has been approached by Hollywood film producers. “She’s been sent a script, I haven’t had a good look at it yet but it’s really exciting,” she said.
“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.”
She also expressed her surprise at the reaction from the crowd.
“She’s never had a welcome like this. I did actually find it a little bit overwhelming when I came in.”
Connie, who was making the appearance after a “busy day at school”, said: “I love it here, it’s brilliant, really fun,” and managed to retain her smile as she was ushered off stage by police.
The singing sensation was one of almost 40 performers to appear on the outdoor stage at Great Bridge High Street for the first Christmas festival organised by area’s traders and community associations.
Organiser and local businessman Tony Roper said: “I was expecting a crowd but this surpassed all expectations. The police were threatening to close us down.”
SOURCE : www.expressandstar.com
Connie claims gold disc
December 14, 2007
Schoolgirl singing sensation Connie Talbot has been awarded a prestigious gold disc after selling more than 105,000 copies of her debut CD. The seven year-old from Streetly, who found fame on the ITV1 show Britain’s Got Talent, was presented with the accolade by presenter Phillip Schofield on the This Morning show. It follows mammoth sales of Over The Rainbow which is at number 38 in the album charts.
The CD contains the title track which is the song that moved judge Amanda Holden to tears on Britain’s Got Talent and earned her praise from notorious Mr Nasty Simon Cowell.
But record bosses decided against releasing it as a single.
Her mother Sharon Talbot said the family had been moved to tears when the gold disc was presented to the singer, who attends Blackwood Primary School.
She said: “Connie couldn’t believe her eyes when Phillip Schofield brought it out. We were all overwhelmed. “She has done really well and her management are pleased with sales of the album.”
Record bosses initially only pressed 50,000 copies of Connie’s album, but had to make another 120,000 after they sold out within days.
The album has been flying off the shelves across the country as she is building a worldwide fan base with her internet profile on social networking site MySpace.
Last week police had to calm frantic crowds who wanted to catch a glimpse of her at the Great Bridge Christmas and Winter Festival and she has also wowed Walsall with a CD signing session at HMV which attracted fans from as afar afield as Portsmouth.
Mrs Talbot also revealed last week that the youngster had been approached by Hollywood film producers. “She’s been sent a script, I haven’t had a good look at it yet but it’s really exciting.” she said.
Connie has been ill with a bug over the last couple of days but is appearing on Toonatics tomorrow, which is an appearance she recorded weeks ago.
The seven year-old from Streetly, who found fame on the ITV1 show Britain’s Got Talent, was presented with the accolade by presenter Phillip Schofield on the This Morning show. It follows mammoth sales of Over The Rainbow which is at number 38 in the album charts.
SOURCE : www.expressandstar.com
Pint-sized Connie Talbot races Spice Girls to top of charts
Pint-sized singing sensation Connie Talbot is taking on music giants Take That, Spice Girls and Leona Lewis in a race to the top of the Christmas charts. The gap-toothed youngster, who just turned seven, looked relaxed on the eve of the big release of her album 'Over The Rainbow' which hit shops today.