Connie Talbot is an English child singer from Streetly, West Midlands. She rose to fame
in 2007 when she reached the final of the first series of Britain's Got Talent. Connie
Talbot was expected to sign with Sony BMG, but the label pulled out of the deal due to
her age at the time. 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 US 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 on 20 October 2009 and
her fourth, Beautiful World, was released on 26 November 2012. While pursuing her musical
career, Talbot attends school, and lives in Streetly with her family.
History 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, described her as "pure magic" and said that he would make her earn "£1 million-plus
this year". The judges expected a "joke" performance and she had never taken singing lessons, but
Talbot's initial performance received international press coverage. She reached the final round
after winning her semi-final with a live performance of "Ben" by Michael Jackson. 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. Talbot and Potts had been joint favourites to win the
series.
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. 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." Talbot voted for Sampson, saying "I liked his dancing – he was good
on the lamppost". Cowell had preliminarily agreed to sign Talbot
with his own record label, Sony BMG. After recording two songs in London with Talbot,
the label pulled out of the deal. 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." 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." Cowell himself said that "when
the time is right, [he would] be delighted to see if [they could] make it work". 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."
Over the Rainbow In October 2007 Talbot signed with the Rainbow
Recording Company for a six-figure deal. Rainbow Recording Company, an offshoot of record label
Rhythm Riders made specifically for Talbot, was due to release Talbot's first album on
26 November 2007. 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. Experts predicted that she had a good chance of getting the Christmas number one,
but the single was cancelled in favour of an album-first release. 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".
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. It was produced and mixed
by Simon Hill and Rob May. 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". 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". 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. 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." The album was certified gold in early December, with Talbot being presented
a gold disc by Phillip Schofield on This Morning. 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.
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. 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. Talbot performed publicly in Walsall's HMV store, and in Birmingham's
Centenary Square. TV appearances included GMTV and Channel 5 news, both on 26 November
2007. 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."
Sharon Mawer of Allmusic praised Over the Rainbow by saying "She can sing, for a seven-year
old, and most of the notes are in the right order and sung to the right pitch; the timing
is fine too". 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. 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".
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. The album was rereleased on 16 June 2008,
but was available for pre-order in May, with three new tracks to replace its Christmas-themed
songs. The first single from the album, "Three Little Birds", was released in June 2008,
and a video for the song was shot in Jamaica. In April and May 2008, Talbot toured Asia
to promote Over the Rainbow. 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,
and The Straits Times saying that videos of Talbot's performances have been watched over
30 million times. The tour made stops in South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore,
and Talbot and her family returned to England in late May. Following the tour, it was reported
that the album had reached number one on the charts in Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong,
as well as reaching number three in Singapore. After the tour, Talbot travelled to Poland,
where she performed on television. It was also revealed that Over the Rainbow
was due for release in America in September, resulting in attention from American press
sources including Fox Business Network and MarketWatch. The US version was eventually
released on 14 October, with Talbot appearing on American television shows including The
Ellen DeGeneres Show to publicise the release. 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. Talbot rerecorded the album for the game. The game was scheduled for release in
the first quarter of 2009, and is called Connie Talbot: Over the Rainbow. The game has never
been released, citing copyright issues on the songs used for it.
Christmas Album and Holiday Magic In November 2008, it was announced that Talbot
had produced a series of new songs for an album. Recorded in her bedroom studio, Connie
Talbot's Christmas Album was released on 24 November. It is a Christmas themed album,
featuring, according to Talbot's official website, "a mix of classics and modern Christmas
tunes". 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. The documentary, Christmas with Connie, was shown on ITV Central
on 18 December. Talbot appeared at Walsall's HMV branch shortly after the release of her
Christmas Album to sign copies and meet fans. She then embarked on a promotional tour making
stops around the world, which included a performance at Ewha Womans University in Korea, and a
performance on the A Heart for Children television charity gala in Berlin, Germany. She returned
home in mid December, to have "a quiet family Christmas".
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." 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". In April 2009, Talbot again travelled to the
US to publicise her new single, a cover of "I Will Always Love You". The single was released
in the US on 7 April, along with a newly recorded "You Raise Me Up". Talbot then travelled to
the US on 30 April, and returned on 2 May. Appearances included a performance on Good
Day New York on Fox Broadcasting Company's WNYW.
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.
Along with Talbot's third album, a television special, entitled Holiday Magic, was produced
by WVIA. Holiday Magic featured performances of all of the songs from Connie Talbot's Holiday
Magic, and was available to all PBS stations shown in November and December 2009. A 17-track
DVD of the special, including two additional songs, "What a Wonderful World" and "Over
the Rainbow", was released for sale. 2010s
Talbot opened a special concert celebrating South Korea's hosting of the G20 summit of
world leaders in 2010. Talbot performed for her largest ever audience
when she performed on Chinese state television during the Chinese new-year in 2011. 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." Viewing figures for the event were estimated to be around
400 million.
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". The
video was also picked up by PerezHilton.com. 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. 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. 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. This Guinness world record follows her accolades as the youngest artist
to make the UK album charts and the youngest to release a gold-selling record. Others involved
in the event included Randolph Matthews and The High Kings. Performances took place elsewhere
in the United Kingdom, including Manchester and Birmingham. and were in aid of CLIC Sargent,
a children's cancer charity. Talbot's single, "Sail Away", was written
and produced by Robbie Nevil and released independently by Group 3 Management, Inc in
May 2012. In June 2012, she performed three private
concerts in Hong Kong and then it was back in L.A. to begin recording demos with the
multi-platinum songwriter/producer and Grammy winner, Toby Gad. Talbot wrote a song called
"Building Bridges", which she has performed live a number of times but is yet to be released
commercially. In September 2012 Talbot signed a recording
agreement with Hong Kong based Evolution Limited and went into the studio with Grammy-winning
producer Kipper together with Phil Taylor, to record her next album. Her fourth album,
Beautiful World, containing 13 tracks, was released in Asia on 26 November 2012 on Evolution's
Evosound label. The title track being a rerecorded version of her self-penned track "Beautiful
World". Talbot performed in Hong Kong, Taiwan, the
Philippines and Indonesia for her Beautiful World tour in December 2012. Her debut headline
concert appearance was on 21 December at the Taiwan International Convention Centre in
front of an audience of 1800. This was followed by two headline concerts at KITEC, Hong Kong.
She also made guest appearances in several TV shows, namely Eat Bulaga!.
Talbot toured with the Young Voices choir for a second year in early 2013, performing
at venues across the UK. The African Children's Choir also took part in these events.
Talbot's song "Let's Get Along", written by Kipper, was featured on ONE Campaign's agit8
Spotify album in July 2013. Talbot is also featured in the song "Building Bridges", which
also made the agit8 album, together with Jordan Jansen.
Talbot's vocals are featured in the theme song of the video game Rain, released during
the beginning of October 2013. In October 2013, Talbot appeared as a special
guest at the African Children's Choir concert in Walsall, UK. It was announced that Talbot
would be an ambassador for the African Children's Choir and have a school named after her.
In late April 2014, Connie performed a couple of concerts in South Korea(Osan and Seoul).
These concerts, performed shortly after the horrendous Sewol ferry tragedy, were delivered
with much personal consideration by Connie to make sure that all song choices were appropriate.
Connie performed with yellow ribbons to show her respect for the families of the victims.
The proceeds from at least one of the concerts were donated to the fundraising efforts in
support of the families of the victims. On 28 July 2014, a DVD and Blu-ray was released
of Talbot’s concerts in Hong Kong and Taiwan during her Beautiful World tour in 2012. It
features live performances of the songs from the Beautiful World album, and two additional
songs, "I Will Always Love You" and "Over the Rainbow".
Personal life Talbot lives in Streetly, in the West Midlands
with her mother, Sharon, her father Gavin, her older brother Josh, and her older sister
Mollie. When young, Talbot spent much time with her grandmother Violet, watching The
Wizard of Oz. It was with Violet that Talbot first sang. Violet died in 2006, before Talbot
became internationally known, and Talbot sang at her funeral.
Discography Albums
Video albums Singles
Other appearances Music videos
References
British singer Connie Talbot In Seoul to perform at G20 summit celebration concert
Connie Talbot: Little girl with the big voice External links
Official website Official blog
Official Youtube channel Connie Talbot at Allmusic
Connie Talbot on Facebook Connie Talbot on MySpace
Connie Talbot on Rivenmaster