Simon Phillip Cowell is an English television personality, entrepreneur and record executive. He is the creator of The X Factor and Got Talent franchises which have been sold around the world. He has judged on the British television talent competition series Pop Idol (2001–2003), The X Factor UK and Britain's Got Talent (2007–present), and the American television talent competition series American Idol (2002–2010), The X Factor US (2011–2013), and America's Got Talent (2016–present). Cowell is the founder and sole owner of the British entertainment company Syco.
"Unchained Melody" is a 1955 song with music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret. North wrote the music as a theme for the prison film Unchained (1955), hence the song title. Todd Duncan sang the vocals for the film soundtrack. It has since become a standard and one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century, most notably by the Righteous Brothers in 1965. According to the song's publishing administrator, over 1,500 recordings of "Unchained Melody" have been made by more than 670 artists, in multiple languages.
Westlife is an Irish pop vocal group formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1998. The group currently consists of members Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne. Brian McFadden was a member, until leaving in 2004. The group disbanded in 2012 after 14 years, later reuniting in 2018.
The Corrs are an Irish family band that combine pop rock with traditional Irish themes within their music. The group consists of the Corr siblings, Andrea, Sharon, Caroline and Jim. They are from Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland.
G4 are a four-piece British vocal troupe who first came to prominence when they finished second in Series 1 of The X Factor in 2004, and are known for their operatic delivery of modern pop songs. Originally a barbershop quartet, the members met at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, from which the name G4, standing for "Guildhall 4", derives.
All Rise is the debut studio album by English boy band Blue, released on 26 November 2001 in the United Kingdom and on 27 April 2004 in the United States. It peaked at number one on the UK Albums Chart and was certified 4× Platinum in the UK. The album spent 63 weeks on the UK top 75 Albums chart.
Keisha Kerreece Fayeanne Buchanan is an English singer and a founding member of the girl group Sugababes alongside Mutya Buena and Siobhán Donaghy. With the Sugababes, she had six number one singles and two number one studio albums, making them one of the most successful British pop acts of the 21st century. Buchanan was asked to leave the group in September 2009 and was replaced by Jade Ewen.
Eyes Open is the fourth studio album by Northern Irish-Scottish alternative rock band Snow Patrol. Produced by Jacknife Lee, it was released in the UK on 1 May 2006, and 9 May 2006 in the US. It was the band's first album without bassist Mark McClelland and the first to feature bassist Paul Wilson and keyboardist Tom Simpson. Recording for the album took place between October and December 2005 at Grouse Lodge Studios in Ireland, The Garage in Kent, and The Garden and Angel Recording Studios, both in London.
Shayne Thomas Ward is an English actor and singer. He rose to fame as the winner of the second series of The X Factor. His debut single, "That's My Goal", was released in the United Kingdom on 21 December 2005 and reached number one on the UK Singles Chart and was that year's Christmas number one. It sold 313,000 copies on its first day of sales, making it the third-fastest-selling single of all time in the UK, behind Elton John's "Candle in the Wind 1997" and Will Young's "Evergreen", which sold 685,000 and 400,000 copies in their first days of sale, respectively.
Andrew Abraham is a British singer. He was the runner-up in the second UK series of TV talent show The X Factor in 2005 to Shayne Ward, and also represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008.
The discography of the British girl group Sugababes consists of eight studio albums, four compilation album, three extended plays, thirty one singles, two video albums and eight promotional singles. The Sugababes were formed in 1998 and, at various times, featured three vocalists from Siobhán Donaghy, Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan, Heidi Range, Amelle Berrabah, and Jade Ewen.
7 is the second studio album by British pop group S Club 7. It was released by Polydor Records on 12 June 2000, and 14 November 2000 in North America. The album was primarily produced by Cathy Dennis and Simon Ellis. It became the group's most successful album release, and reached number one in the United Kingdom, where it was certified triple platinum. The album peaked at number sixty-nine on the Billboard 200 albums chart and was certified gold.
Friday's Child is the second studio album by English singer Will Young. It was released on 1 December 2003 and reached number one on the UK Albums Chart. The album has gone 5× Platinum in the UK, with worldwide sales of over 1.8 million. The second single taken from the album, "Your Game", won Best British Single at the 2005 Brit Awards.
"I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" is a Christmas song recorded by British glam rock band Wizzard. It was first released in December 1973 and, as with most Wizzard songs, was written and produced by the band's frontman Roy Wood—formerly of The Move and a founding member of Electric Light Orchestra. Despite the song's strong, long-lasting popularity, it has reached no higher than number four on the UK Singles Chart, a position it occupied for four consecutive weeks from December 1973 to January 1974. The song was beaten to the 1973 Christmas Number 1 spot by Slade's "Merry Xmas Everybody", which remained at the top of the charts for five weeks, from December 1973 to January 1974.
Fanfare Records was a British record label that was founded by Iain Burton and Simon Cowell. Burton and Cowell worked together at Fanfare Records for eight years. The label was most successful during the 1980s. The label's biggest success came with Sinitta.
Spirit is the debut studio album by English singer Leona Lewis, released by Syco Music in November 2007 in the United Kingdom and Ireland, followed by a worldwide release during early 2008. The album made Lewis the first UK solo artist to debut at number one with a debut album, in the US, on 26 April 2008. Spirit became the fastest-selling debut album in the UK, at time of release. It also became the fastest album to sell one million copies by a solo female in the UK. The album remains the best-selling debut album by a female artist in the UK, and is one of the best-selling albums in UK chart history. Spirit is officially the best-selling debut album by a female artist in the 21st century, according to the Official Charts Company
The discography of Kaiser Chiefs, a British indie rock band, consists of seven studio albums, one extended play, thirteen singles, and one video album. Kaiser Chiefs were formed in 1997 in Leeds, England by classmates Nick Hodgson (drums), Nick Baines (keyboards) and Simon Rix (bass). The trio were later joined by Andrew White (guitar) and Ricky Wilson (vocals).
Leon Jackson is a Scottish singer. He won the fourth series of British talent show The X Factor in 2007. Following his win, Jackson was the main star of his on-web series entitled Leon's Life, which ran from 2007 until 2008. Jackson's début album, Right Now (2008) finished the year as the 75th best-selling album in the UK, and included the singles, "Don't Call This Love", "Creative" and "Stargazing".
Robson & Jerome were an English pop duo who were active in the mid-1990s, consisting of actors Robson Green and Jerome Flynn. They rose to prominence via the English television series Soldier Soldier.
Robson & Jerome is the debut studio album by British singing duo Robson & Jerome. It was released in the UK in 1995 by RCA Records, and reached number one on the UK Albums Chart. It was the Christmas number one album of 1995, and was the biggest-selling album of the year, with sales of 2,040,000. For almost 20 years, it held the record for selling 2 million copies in the UK in the fastest time, doing so in 42 days; in 2015, Adele surpassed the record when her album 25 took just 29 days to reach the landmark.
