Music mogul Simon Cowell is likely to sign up at least three of the losers from Britain's Got Talent.
After 14-year-old break dancer George Sampson shot to victory on the ITV show on Saturday, Simon -- who launched the career of Leona Lewis after she won X Factor in 2006 -- is likely to waste no time signing up at least three of the other finalists who he believes will add to his multi-million pound empire, his representative, Max Clifford, said yesterday.
Through the duration of the show, Cowell, 48, made no secret of his desire to work with 12-year-old opera singer Faryl Smith, whose voice he described as "one-in-a million".
"When you enter a competition like this, you pray to find someone like you," he said after the youth's rendition of Ave Maria.
Nor did he hide his fondness for 13-year-old Andrew Johnston, the choirboy whose rendition of Pie Jesus almost reduced a normally hard-faced Cowell to tears, and Andrew Muir, a Scottish plumber who won his place in the final with a cover of Paolo Nutini�s hit Last Request.
There has also been speculation that Cowell is on the verge of signing up Escala, a female quartet of electric violin and cello players.
Max Clifford said yesterday that it's "quite possible" Cowell is preparing to sign up several of the runners-up.
"Simon�s told me that he�s been really impressed with Faryl and the two Andrews," he said. "He thinks they�ve got incredible futures ahead of them and I think it�s quite possible that he could sign them up."
Asked if Cowell was concerned about how he could market the winner, Clifford told the Telegraph: "The lad is a great dancer and there�s potential because there�s still a number of programs around that feature dancing.
"However, music is Simon�s first love and he will know from the viewing figures that it wouldn�t take much for some of the other acts to get a number one hit."
One music industry insider said that having a non-music act as the winner was the "worst case scenario" for Cowell -- who has made millions from the number one albums his acts, such as Leona Lewis and Paul Potts, have sold.
"He has made a fortune from signing up his reality show winners - he turned Leona Lewis into an international star and her career is going from strength to strength in the US," said the insider. "The winners are guaranteed a huge-selling number one single or album when the shows finish because there is a tide of goodwill towards them from the public.
"It makes sense that he is looking to sign up some of the runners-up because he can turn them into chart successes. However, he is a very astute businessman so I�m sure he is already thinking up ways of making George Sampson a star - there will be TV appearances and other performances, and don�t be surprised if he turns up in an advert some time soon."
Meanwhile, following the success of Britain's Got Talent and its US counterpart, America's Got Talent, Cowell has announced plans for a global series, World's Got Talent.
Simon says, "This global show will unite the best acts. It's going to be great.
"The Eurovision's not perfect - that's why we want to have a go at doing something that rivals it. But it's watched and enjoyed by millions of people around the world.
"There will be some countries' acts that make you laugh and cringe. They won't be to everyone's liking, but that's the whole point - it gets people talking and arguing. But I think we can get genuine talent."
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