Cowell drops singing sensation
Six-year-old singing sensation Connie Talbot has been dropped by Simon Cowell's record label Sony BMG, her family have said.
It means the gap-toothed schoolgirl from Streetly, Walsall, who stole the hearts of millions of viewers on hit TV show Britain's Got Talent, will no longer be cutting a £1million recording deal.
It was hoped that Connie, a pupil at Blackwood School in Streetly, may have been making a bid for the Christmas number one with Somewhere Over The Rainbow, which she sang on the show.
But speaking yesterday, her mum Sharon said that the music mogul's label had told her that Connie was too young, and her contract with Sony BMG will now end on September 17.
Little Connie reduced millions of viewers to tears with her version of Somewhere Over The Rainbow, which also became an overnight hit on internet site YouTube.
She performer lost out to opera singer Paul Potts, but days later she was signed up to Sony BMG and promised a recording contract.
But Sharon said the dream had ended when they were told a week ago that the company had changed their mind.
She said: "It was a shock because only weeks earlier she had been at Sony BMG to record, but not they think she is too young.
"She was understandably upset but I don't think it was Cowell's decision at the end of the day, more that of his company.
"Connie has bounced back and she still wants to sing so we're hopeful of other offers."
"She still loves Simon Cowell to bits and we've been told we're welcome to visit Sony BMG anytime."
Cowell, 47, had hailed Connie as the next Charlotte Church on Britain's Got Talent, which pulled in 10 million viewers.
He said on the show: "This girl is special.
"I have never felt such a powerful silence in my life as when Connie sang. It was pure magic.
"I'll make a prediction that Connie will sell more records that Joss Stone this year."
He even revealed that despite a decision not to have children, the little girl had melted his heart.
Little Connie had never had a formal singing lesson before she swept through to the final in June, instead honing her skills on a karaoke machine at home.
The modest schoolgirl had kept her show stealing performances secret to classmates and teachers at her school until the day it was screened.
