Connie Talbot facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Connie Talbot
Connie at "Young Voices" in 2011
Background information
Birth name	Connie Victoria Elizabeth Talbot
Born	(2000-11-20) 20 November 2000 (age 24) Birmingham, West Midlands, England
Genres	Pop ballad
Occupation(s)	Singer
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	2007–present
Labels	Rainbow Records

Connie Victoria Elizabeth Talbot (born 20 November 2000) is a talented British singer. She became famous when she was the runner-up on the first season of Britain's Got Talent in 2007. After the show, she signed with Rainbow Recording Company. Her first album, Over the Rainbow, came out on 26 November 2007. It sold over 250,000 copies around the world and became number one in three different countries!

Connie's second album, Connie Talbot's Christmas Album, was released on 24 November 2008. Her third album, Holiday Magic, came out on 20 October 2009. Her fourth album, Beautiful World, was released on 26 November 2012. In 2019, she returned to compete on Britain's Got Talent: The Champions. In 2020, she also competed on America's Got Talent: The Champions.

Connie's Journey to Stardom

Starting with Britain's Got Talent

Connie first tried out for the TV show Britain's Got Talent just for fun. But she gained a lot of confidence when judge Simon Cowell called her "pure magic." He even said she could earn "£1 million-plus" that year! The judges were surprised because she had never taken singing lessons. Her first performance got attention from news all over the world.

Connie made it to the final round after winning her semi-final. She sang "Ben" by Michael Jackson live. In the final, she sang "Over the Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz. She was a favorite to win, but Paul Potts won instead.

Other young singers, like Faryl Smith, were inspired by Connie's performances to audition for the show. Even George Sampson, who won the second season, said he wasn't as good as Connie or Paul Potts in the first season. Connie herself voted for George Sampson, saying she liked his dancing.

Simon Cowell first thought about signing Connie to his record label, Sony BMG. She even recorded two songs with them. But the label decided not to sign her. Connie's mom, Sharon, was told that Connie was "too young to be their sort of artist." The label said their decision was "with the best intentions for Connie," because of her age. Simon Cowell said he would be happy to work with her "when the time is right."

Her First Album: Over the Rainbow

Connie at the Olympic Studios recording Over the Rainbow in 2007

In October 2007, Connie signed a big deal with the Rainbow Recording Company. This company was created just for her! Her first album was named Over the Rainbow. It was released on 26 November 2007. Many music experts thought she could become very famous, like Charlotte Church.

The album was a big success. It quickly sold out, and more copies had to be made. It was certified "gold" in the UK, meaning it sold a lot of copies.

Connie made many public appearances in late 2007. She performed at a Christmas festival where so many people came that the police had to help control the crowds! She also performed at music stores and on TV shows. Her mom even said Connie received offers for movie roles, but they wanted to focus on her singing.

Some music critics had mixed feelings about the album. They said Connie had a "sweet, pure voice" but that her singing didn't have much "feeling" or "emotion" yet, because she was so young.

The album was re-released in June 2008 with new songs. The first single from it was "Three Little Birds". In April and May 2008, Connie toured Asia to promote Over the Rainbow. News in Asia said her success was partly because of her videos on YouTube. Some of her videos had been watched over 14 million times! The tour went to South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. After the tour, her album reached number one in Taiwan, South Korea, and Hong Kong.

Over the Rainbow was also released in the United States in October 2008. Connie appeared on American TV shows like The Ellen DeGeneres Show to promote it.

In August 2008, it was announced that a video game for the Wii console would be made about Connie. It was going to be called Connie Talbot: Over the Rainbow and let players sing along to her songs. However, the game was later cancelled because of issues with using the songs.

Christmas Albums and More Tours

In November 2008, Connie released a new album called Connie Talbot's Christmas Album. She recorded some of the songs in her own bedroom! It was a Christmas-themed album with classic and modern holiday songs. There was also a TV special called Christmas with Connie, which showed her trip to America and a secret concert at her school.

Connie went on a tour around the world to promote her Christmas album. She performed in Korea and Germany. She came home in mid-December to have a "quiet family Christmas."

In April 2009, Connie went to the US again to promote her new single, a cover of "I Will Always Love You".

Connie's third album, Connie Talbot's Holiday Magic, was released in October 2009 in the US. This album was special because it was dedicated to the Toys for Tots campaign. Connie became the child ambassador for Toys for Tots, which helps give toys to less fortunate children during the holidays. A TV special called Holiday Magic was also made, showing Connie performing all the songs from the album.

From 2010 to 2015

Connie continued to perform for large audiences. In 2010, she opened a concert in South Korea for world leaders. In 2011, she performed on Chinese state television for the Chinese New Year. About 400 million people watched that event!

During these years, Connie kept uploading videos of her performances to YouTube. People loved her covers of songs like Katy Perry's "Firework" and Bruno Mars's "Grenade". Her cover of Adele's "Someone Like You" was especially popular. After Whitney Houston passed away, Connie posted a tribute video singing "Run to You", which got attention worldwide.

In November 2011, she released "Beautiful World" as a single. Connie wrote this song when she was only seven years old! A demo of the song became one of the most watched videos on YouTube the day it was uploaded.

Connie was the youngest artist to appear on the UK album charts. She was also the youngest to release a "gold-selling" record.

In early 2013, Connie toured with the Young Voices choir again. They performed at places across the UK. The African Children's Choir also joined these events. Connie's song "Let's Get Along" was featured on a special music album. She also sang in the song "Building Bridges" with Jordan Jansen.

In October 2013, Connie's singing was featured in the theme song for the video game Rain. She also appeared as a special guest at an African Children's Choir concert. It was announced that Connie would be an ambassador for the African Children's Choir, and a school would even be named after her!

In 2014, she performed two concerts in South Korea. She wore yellow ribbons to show respect for the families affected by the Sewol ferry tragedy. Money from at least one concert was given to help these families. In July, a DVD and Blu-ray of her concerts in Hong Kong and Taiwan from her 2012 tour were released.

On 17 November 2014, Connie released a five-song EP (a mini-album) called Gravity. It included her original songs "Gravity" and "Inner Beauty".

Matters to Me and Beyond (2016–Present)

On 19 February 2016, Connie announced a new song called "Shut Up (Move On)". This song was from her album Matters to Me, which came out on 25 March 2016.

On 11 May 2017, Connie released "Good to Me." She said she wrote it about someone she admired who had passed away. Later that year, on 13 October, she released a video for her song "Rumours."

In April 2019, she worked with the band Boyce Avenue to cover the Jonas Brothers song "Sucker." The next month, they also covered "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" from The Lion King.

On 31 August 2019, Connie performed her original song "Never Give Up on Us" on Britain's Got Talent: The Champions. The song was released that same day and quickly reached number eight on the UK iTunes chart.

On 27 January 2020, she competed on America's Got Talent: The Champions. She played the piano and sang her original song "I Would."

In January 2022, she collaborated with Boyce Avenue again. They covered the Bryan Adams song "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You". The next month, they covered the Lionel Richie song "Endless Love".

On 1 June 2023, Connie released her new song "Easier Pretending You're Dead." This song is from her upcoming EP called Growing Pains. On 14 July 2023, she released another new song called "Growing Pains."

The Growing Pains EP was released on 25 August 2023. It also features the songs "Just a Broken Heart" and "Roses."

Connie will also be playing the main character, Ellie, in an upcoming movie called The Key to the West.

Personal life

Connie has two older brothers and sisters. In 2006, she sang at her grandmother's funeral.

Discography

Albums

Video albums

Extended plays

Singles

Other appearances

Music videos

Images for kids

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  Connie recording "Smile" for Sony BMG

See also

In Spanish: Connie Talbot para niños