Now Connie's taking on the world

Nearly 12 months after coming runner-up in Britain's Got Talent, gap-toothed Connie Talbot's popularity is far from waning.

The little eight-year-old from Streetly has just returned from a short tour of Asia while also jetting off to Jamaica to film a video for her cover of the Bob Marley classic Three Little Birds. During this time, the level-headed Blackwood Primary School pupils has been mobbed by thousands of screaming fans and knocked Madonna off the top of the album charts.

She had also been given a tailor-made £2,000 kimono by one of Britney Spears' favourite designers.

Mum Sharon said the whole family had been on a whirlwind adventure and could not believe the reception they had picked up in Asia.

"We went to South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore," she said. "It has been unbelievable.

"The fans would be screaming: "We love you Connie" and there would be thousands of people. Connie just takes it in her stride. The only time when she got upset was at the airports when the fans would be crying and so would she.

"The fans just wanted to touch her. The response has been amazing. In South Korea it looks like the album is going to be the country's biggest seller of all time."

The success of debut Over the Rainbow also came with a number one in Taiwan and a number 3 in Singapore.

Her success is not just limited to albums. New single Three Little Birds is due out in June.

But the worldwide success on the internet shows no sense of abating. Latest figures show that on video sharing website YouTube alone, Connie's performances have been viewed a staggering 40 million times, making her one of the top 20 most watched video stars on the internet.

Next up are invites to Poland, France and Germany, but Connie has vowed this week to spend her half-term with her family in a caravan in Wales.

Connie was runner-up to opera star Paul Potts.