X Factor - Rhydian Roberts scores record deal

7 January 2008 - Rhydian Roberts has signed a record contract with top label Sony BMG, it has emerged.

The 24-year-old Welshman came second in the final of the contest to Leon Jackson last December, despite being hotly tipped as the favourite to win the crown.

Sony BMG is the label for a number of renowned artists, from Crosby, Stills & Nash to Westlife, as well as all acts represented by X Factor judge Simon Cowell, including former winners of the show Leona Lewis and Shayne Ward.

In his time on the X Factor, Rhydian sung a number of hit songs in his attempt to win the title and automatically secure a recording contract, including Meatloaf's I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That), Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera and Simon and Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water, among others.

And the Sun claims that with Leon not due to release his album until the autumn, Rhydian's solo LP could hit the shelves before the eventual winner's effort.

X Factor is the biggest televised talent show in Europe, with 200,000 people auditioning for the programme during its fourth series last year.

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