Little stars shine
Music industry goes kiddish?
After the local hype on Little Star and of course, the various Super
Star reality shows around the world, the Britain’s Got Talent show also
allowed not just senior citizens like Susan Boyle to perform but got
kids like Connie Talbot and Hollie Steel to shine. In an age where age
is no barrier, the limitless possiblities of gaining you recognition
overnight is possible through these talent shows.
We take a look at three young stars who have moved us to tears and
took our hearts when they performed for the first time on stage with
their melting voices.
Connie Talbot
 Connie Talbot (born November 20, 2000) is an English child singer
from Streetly, Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, West Midlands. She rose
to fame in 2007 when she reached the final of the television talent show
Britain’s Got Talent, where she lost to Paul Potts. Talbot was supposed
to sign with Sony BMG but the label pulled out of the deal due to her
age.
Talbot signed with Rainbow Recording Company and released her debut
album Over the Rainbow in the UK on November 26, 2007. The album was
re-released June 18, 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 June 10, 2008 and her third album, Holiday Magic. Songs from
Over the Rainbow are to feature in an upcoming video game about Talbot.
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 all over the world. Her second album, Connie Talbot’s
Christmas Album was released in 2008 and her third, Holiday Magic, was
released in late 2009. On top of her musical career, Talbot continues to
attend primary school and lives in Streetly with her family.
Shaheen Jafargholi
 Shaheen Jafargholi (born January 23, 1997) is a Welsh child actor and
singer from Swansea, Wales. He is of Iranian and Welsh descent. He
appeared on ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent show and sang “Who’s Lovin’ You”
at Michael Jackson’s globally televised public memorial service in July
2009.
Shaheen Jafargholi lives with his mother, Karen Thomas, who is
separated from Shaheen’s father, Iraj Jafargholi, a computer consultant
of Iranian descent. The separation was amicable and Shaheen sees his
father regularly. He is currently in Year 8 of the Dylan Thomas
Community School and, on Saturdays, the Mark Jermin Stage School, both
in Swansea. He was featured in a BBC Wales documentary series called
Starstruck where cameras followed children of the stage school for six
months.
Hollie Steel
 Hollie Steel (born July 1, 1998) is a schoolgirl and performer from
Huncoat, Lancashire, England. In 2009, at the age of ten she was one of
ten finalists on the third series of the ITV reality show Britain’s Got
Talent. Her first audition drew mostly positive comments from all of the
show’s judges. In her second appearance during the semi-finals, Steel
forgot the words of her song, broke down in tears and could not finish
the song, but one of the programme’s judges intervened and she was
allowed to perform a second time. Steel advanced to the finals and
finished in sixth place. She then toured the United Kingdom. In
September 2009, Steel signed with a record label and began recording her
debut album. |
