Connie Talbot - Matters to Me (2016)

Connie Talbot, a six-year-old who landed the runner-up slot (losing to victor Paul Potts) on the 2007 series of Britain's Got Talent, was born in Walsall in the Midlands of Britain on November 20, 2000. She entered the Britain's Got Talent competition just for a family day out, but melted the hearts of the judges and the voting public with her pure, sweet renditions of "Over the Rainbow" and "Ben." Simon Cowell's Sony BMG label initially offered her a contract but reneged as the record company deemed Talbot too young to be embarking on a recording career. A children's division of Rhythm Riders called Rainbow Records was set up specifically for Talbot, and her debut album, Over the Rainbow, was ready for release by November 2007. The album went gold, and was quickly followed by 2008's equally successful Connie Talbot's Christmas Album. Another Christmas record, Connie Talbot's Holiday Magic, arrived in 2009 and was paired with a one-hour television special that eventually made its way to DVD. Talbot continued to perform around the world, particularly in the Far East, where she had gained a large fan base. In 2012, she signed with Hong Kong's Evolution Limited and recorded Beautiful World, which was released in the fall of that year and followed by a world tour. The album hit the Top Ten in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and the DVD Beautiful World: Live, which featured performances from shows in those two countries, arrived in the summer of 2014. A five-track EP titled Gravity, which included two original songs, followed later that year. ~ Sharon Mawer & Marcy Donelson.