Inside Tom Parker's phenomenal X Factor rise to fame after Simon Cowell's initial rejection

Martine McCutcheon emotionally paid tribute to Tom Parker as she recalled a "magical" night she had with him. Last week it was revealed that two years after his diagnosis, The Wanted singer had tragically died of cancer at the age of 33.

Simon Cowell is known for his cutting remarks on some of the biggest shows on ITV. He’s had a long career as a music and media mogul and launched talent shows from Pop Idol to Britain’s Got Talent and turned many young hopefuls into superstars overnight.

BRITAIN'S Got Talent's return date has been confirmed after two years off screen - and it's sooner than you think. The popular ITV talent show didn't air in 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Simon Cowell has admitted that he wants to focus on his family and take a break from work for a while, after the impact of the pandemic made him re-evaluate his work ethic.Simon has earned the right to be called a household name after his continuous and unwavering efforts to entertain entire nations throughout his 40 year career. The X Factor judge spoke to the Mirror about his plans for the future and said he wishes to "slow down" by quitting full time work.Cowell announced that he wants to continue working in the limelight for shows in the UK and America, but is considering the impact on his son Eric and fiancée Lauren.A source close to Cowell said that he is "edging into a kind of semi-retirement" and "has no appetite" to be as involved with his shows and television projects.

Max George has been seen for the first time since the tragic death of his bandmate Tom Parker, as he joined a slew of stars training for new ITV series The Games on Tuesday. The Wanted star, 33, cut a sombre figure as he ran multiple laps around a race track, after Tom passed away last week following a two-year battle with brain cancer. On Saturday Max paid tribute to his longtime friend Tom in a touching social media post, writing that he was 'heartbroken' and that there was a 'huge hole left in his life'.

Tom Parker, who died at the age of 33 last week, is now being grieved by his beloved family, friends and fans, including devoted wife Kelsey. OK! got to witness the couple's incredible love story, including the birth of their two children - Aurelia, two, and Bodhi, one - and can confirm they were two peas in a pod.

Loose Women in 2018, the singer reflected on his unique hair style and said: “I had it all through university but it wasn't quite as white" and went on to joke that he was a "Phillip Schofield tribute act.”Despite being the favourite to win the show, the welsh singer made it to the final but lost out to Joe McElderry at the final hurdle.Due to the classical nature of his voice and the fact The X Factor is conventionally a pop show, the singer said he had “a great time” but was “surprised” to make it down to the final two.Although he wasn’t crowned the winner, Simon Cowell offered Rhydian a record deal and his debut album, titled Rhydian – gained platinum status in a matter of weeks.The album also earned him the title of highest selling male solo artist of the year, with 600,000 copies sold. Since leaving the show, the X-Factor finalist has undergone a dramatic transformation.Although the welsh star was a powerlifter at school and a strong bench presser, his buff physique was rarely shown off until a photoshoot in 2015.In the steamy shirtless snap, Rhydian showcased his ripped abs alongside his bulging biceps which looked worlds away from his X Factor days.In 2018, Rhydian opened up on Loose Women and revealed his struggle with body image in the past.He candidly said: "I did back at university.

The X Factor star Rhydian Roberts, 39, and his signature peroxide blonde hair first blasted onto our screens back in 2007, when he auditioned for the ITV show in his final year of university. He won the nation’s hearts with his flamboyant style and classical tones and went on to make the final of the cult talent show, before controversially being beaten to be crowned the winner by Scottish singer, Leon Jackson. Rhydian revealed on Loose Women in 2018 that his famously dazzling peroxide blonde hair was actually made whiter by The X Factor judge Simon Cowell, saying: “I remember when I was on X Factor Simon Cowell kept saying, 'No, no it needs to be whiter,' so really it was him who gave me the damage to this hair.

X Factor audition took viewers by storm when the starlet travelled from Spain to sing for judges Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh and Cheryl.The singer was just 25-years-old when she auditioned for the show as she sang Natural Women and while the judges were torn and described her as "interesting", she sailed through.Ruth managed to get right through to the eighth show after being mentored by Danii Minogue - and she continued to look glamorous and steal the show week on week.She maintained fans over the years and her stint on X Factor definitely shone through as she later went on tour as part of the live shows - and now, she looks completely different from her time on the talent competition.Ruth, now 39, looks more glamorous than ever before as she continues releasing new music and performing live for her fans.The starlet knows how to captivate her followers as the Spanish native shared a stunning photo to her Instagram just last month where she donned a sensational plunging dress.The red satin gown had an extreme cut at the thigh and it appeared as though Ruth had opted to leave her underwear at home as any proof of the fabric disappeared completely.Ruth's dress plunged at the centre pushing her cleavage right up to her chest as she pulled at the material and flashed her smple heels and a stunning necklace to match. Another dazzling photo of Ruth saw her don a completely glittered plunging dress which also cut deeply at her thighs so the starlet was able to flash her pins before adding a pair of strappy heels.

Millionaire’s Row is a plush area of London home to some of the biggest names in entertainment, with the average home averaging in the multi-millions. While not a particular street per se, it’s located in the Holland Park area of West London and boasts one of the most expensive postcodes in the country.

ONCE you've tasted fame, it can't be easy to jack it in for a 'normal' job. But plenty of celebrities have turned their back on the bright lights to follow a completely different career path.

The Wanted fans were left emotional when late singer Tom Parker was given a heart-wrenching tribute at The Grammys on Sunday night, 3 April. One person sobbed that Tom, who said in a video interview weeks before his death that people should live every day like "it's your last", still managed to "make it to the Grammys", and posted how bittersweet the memoriam segment was at the awards ceremony, as a flood of heartbroken viewers followed suit.The ceremony's presenters announced there would be a memorial segment dedicated to all the musicians the industry had lost in the last year, with Tom and Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins featuring prominently in the montage. What's more, Tom's wife Kelsey also shared her own reaction to the scenes as she posted a video clip of the moment alongside a string of red heart emojis.

When somebody dies in 2022, the chances are they are also leaving behind an online legacy. This includes celebrities such as Tom Parker, Mike Thalassitis and Caroline Flack, who still have live Instagram accounts. Nearly 80 percent of people living in the UK have social media and their accounts will likely outlive them.

Variety has previously reported, “Elvis” Baz Luhrmann’s drama about the rock-and-roll legend Elvis Presley, starring Austin Butler (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”) and Tom Hanks, will have its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May.Cannes confirmed the premiere on Tuesday, adding that Luhrmann, Hanks and Butler will attend the premiere screening alongside Olivia DeJonge (“The Visit”), who plays Priscilla Presley in the biopic. They also released a new image of Butler as Elvis.The film is set for North American release on June 24 through Warner Bros.

LOUISA Lytton shared a heartwarming video of the late Tom Parker rehearsing for his role in musical Grease. The pair starred in the 70s production as Danny and Rizzo and toured the UK and Ireland together in 2017.

Red Hot Chili Peppers are currently leading the pack in the race for this week’s Number One album in the UK.On Friday (April 1), the California icons released their 12th studio LP, ‘Unlimited Love’, marking their first full-length project since 2016’s ‘The Getaway’.The album sees the band reunite with guitarist John Frusciante, who left Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2009. He last appeared on the group’s 2006 Number One album ‘Stadium Arcadium’.In the midweeks, the Official Charts Company has revealed that ‘Unlimited Love’ is outselling its closest competition – Ed Sheeran‘s ‘=’ – by 8:1.

Instagram to respond to last night's touching tribute to her late husband at the Grammys 2022.Tom's death was announced 17 months after he told fans that he had been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour, stage four glioblastoma, in October 2020.His diagnosis came shortly after he married Kelsey in 2018, and welcomed their two children in 2019 and 2020 respectively.Kelsey has taken to Instagram to react to last night's emotional tribute to The Wanted singer Tom at the Grammy Awards.In view of her 249,000 Instagram followers she shared a video clip of the Grammys' segment along with the caption: "THE GRAMMYS."She then shared a screenshot on her Instagram story showing Tom on the big screen, alongside added love heart emojis.During the Grammys, there was an emotional memorial segment which honored Tom as well as the Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, who died last month.The annual music awards ceremony was taking place in Las Vegas and a picture of Tom was shown on screen, alongside 'The Wanted'.Singers Ben Platt, Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr and Rachel Zegler sang a medley of Sondheim songs to honour the stars who had died.Many social media users took to Twitter to share their emotions as they saw Tom on screen.No_surprises said: "I broke down seeing Tom Parker's name during the memoriam at the #GRAMMYS.

THE Wanted fans were left in tears after the Grammys 2022 paid tribute to Tom Parker following his tragic death. Tom passed away last week after a battle with cancer and the Grammy Awards remembered him in a touching In Memoriam segment during this year's show.

Before Leona Lewis bagged the £1million record deal on X Factor, she was a waitress in Pizza Hut trying to save up for studio sessions.

Tom Parker was remembered in The Grammys In Memoriam segment. The Wanted singer tragically passed away at the age of 33 after a battle with a brain tumour, and he was one of the stars remembered in a segment during the annual music awards ceremony in Las Vegas tonight.

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