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George Sampson

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George Sampson

George William Sampson (born 29 June 1993[1]) is a street dancer from Warrington, England,[2] and was the winner of the second series of Britain's Got Talent on 31 May 2008, aged 14.[3] As a prize, he received £100,000 and the opportunity to perform at the 2008 Royal Variety Performance, staged at the London Palladium on 11 December 2008 (broadcast on BBC One and BBC HD on 17 December).

Despite appearing in a number of DVDs and theatre productions, Sampson was dropped by Simon Cowell in late 2009 when it became apparent that he was not marketable enough.[4]

Britain's Got Talent

2007 series

In 2007, Sampson auditioned during the first round of Britain's Got Talent after a dance teacher told him there was audition in the area that was right up his alley. He only discovered it was for Britain's Got Talent when he arrived.[5] In his audition, he danced to Drop (Timbaland feat. Magoo & Fatman Scoop), but despite Simon Cowell's enthusiasm, he was unable to convince the other two judges, Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan, to let Sampson proceed to the live shows. This experience made Sampson determined to enter the 2008 auditions and prove Holden and Morgan wrong. In the intervening time he continued dancing on the streets of Warrington to improve his technique, and to raise money for his family & for dance lessons to continue his future career.

2008 series

Sampson got through the Britain's Got Talent auditions in 2008 by dancing to "Rock This Party (Everybody Dance Now)". He then came top in the audience's vote in his semi-final with his arrangement of Mint Royale's big beat remix of "Singin' in the Rain", complete with an artificial rain machine onstage, a formula that had previously been produced in a television advertisement for the Volkswagen Golf GTI.[6] He subsequently won the audience's vote in the final, beating dance group Signature (second place) and Andrew Johnston (third place). He broke into tears when his win was announced.[7] Sampson was due to perform a different routine for the final, to a track by the Bee Gees,[8] which he described as involving "a lot of movement without me actually doing anything".[9] An hour before the final started he changed his mind and, after consulting Simon Cowell, opted to perform his winning act from the semi-final again.[8]

The Mint Royale version of "Singin' In The Rain" went to number 1 in the UK on download sales alone in the week following Sampson's performance[10] and Simon Cowell's label SyCo was bombarded with requests from fans to make a video for the song. It is the first time SyCo has signed up a non-singing act solely to make a video.[11]

In an interview the day after the final, Sampson told of his return to normality the Monday after the event.[12] He also told of his friendship with younger finalists, Andrew Johnston and Faryl Smith, saying that they weren't jealous of him winning. Sampson has stated several times that he will use his money to pay off his mother's mortgage despite her refusal, and possibly take his friends who also busk with him to LA as "it's always been their dream". He also stated that he might buy a Volkswagen Camper for his Mum to drive around in until he is old enough to do so himself.

After Britain's Got Talent

NatWest deal

On 26 June 2008, it was announced that Sampson would become the face of a new 11-18 account for NatWest bank, in a deal reportedly worth £1million.[13]

Into the Hoods

On 4 August 2008, Sampson made his stage debut in the West End hip-hop musical Into the Hoods. With some exceptions, he appeared in the show until it stopped on 30 August. Of his new role, he said: "This year is getting better and better - Into the Hoods show is funky and young and I love the music in it – I can't wait to get dancing on that stage!". Into the Hoods was shown at the Novello Theatre in London and features music from the likes of the Gorillaz, Massive Attack, Basement Jaxx and many more. Sampson appeared as one of the lost boys.[14][15]

Bebo

On 28 November 2008, it was announced that Sampson's record company and Bebo would work together to make an online television show called Follow My Lead which would include some dance move tutorials by Sampson, but also a behind the scenes look of events and rehearsals. They previously worked together to create a similar show on Leon Jackson.[16]

Debut single and DVD

Main article: Get Up On The Dance Floor/Headz Up

Simon Cowell initially planned to only release dance videos, but he wanted to do more. He asked the agent of Take That if he could get George to sing, but it turned out he already liked to sing from a young age.[5] George's debut double a-side single titled Get Up on the Dance Floor/Headz Up was released on 24 November 2008, with the proceeds going to Great Ormond Street Hospital.[17] After an early fault that meant the single couldn't be downloaded from iTunes for two days,[18][19] the single finally debuted at number 30 in the UK Singles Chart[20] and remained listed for 4 weeks. The single's position in the charts gradually lowered during that time.[21]

On 1 December 2008, his dance DVD Access 2 All Areas was released.[17] The one-hour[citation needed] DVD contains a documentary about his rise to stardom, four music videos in which george sings as well as dances and a behind the scenes look of those videos, dance tutorials and a set of photographs.[22][23][24]

2009

On 23 January 2009, Sampson helped to promote the new Nokia 5800 phone in London's Regent Street. He handed over the first Nokia 5800 sold[25] and performed a live dance routine to Pump up the Volume remixed by VV Brown[26] which he choreographed to go with a touch-sensitive dancefloor.[27]

On 29 January, he launched the game Battle Strikers at Toy Fair 09.[28] He also designed a plate for Blue Peter's Mission Nutrition appeal.[29]

On 7 March and 14 March, he hosted a 'Street Dance Weekend' at the Alton Towers Resort as part of their new family themed weekends along side street crew Flava in which fans could attend workshops to learn one of his routines and dance alongside him.

On 28 May, Sampson was the guest star at the third Britain's Got Talent semi-final and performed before the results were announced. He also was a guest star in Britain's Got Talent the Live Tour 2009 and he said that Nottingham was his favorite on June 20, 2009.

On June 26, 2009, Sampson became a Patron of Dance Aid[30] organised by the UK Registered Charity, Hope for Children [31][32]

He danced before the Rugby League match between Celtic Crusaders and Salford City Reds at Brewery Field on Saturday 11 July from around 5pm. The kick-off for the match was at 6pm. He also danced at half-time. He was also scheduled to make an appearance in Legoland Windsor on 18 July as part of "Legoland Live" [33]

In September 2009 Simon Cowell dumped Sampson after his career failed to take off.[34][35][36] In the same month, Sampson was also evicted from his London flat following repeated acts of antisocial behaviour, such as playing music at unacceptably high volumes.[37][38]

Also in September he starred in the first all British 3D feature film called 'Streetdance 3D' (alongside dance groups Diversity and Flawless) in which he plays a character called Eddie. Due to be released May 2010.

On 16 November, Sampson featured in the CBBC Newsround special: Whose Side Are You On? as part of the BBC's anti-bullying campaign which saw him speak out about how he was bullied when he was younger. Other stars that appeared in the programme were Joe Calzaghe, Aston Merrygold, Patsy Palmer and Gemma Hunt

Works

Singles

Date of release Title Label UK chart peaks
24 November 2008[17] Get Up On The Dance Floor/Headz Up Syco Music 30 (UK Singles Chart)[20]

DVDs

Date of release Title Label UK chart peaks
1 December 2008[17] Access 2 All Areas SonyBMG 1 (BBC Radio 1 Music DVD Chart)[39]

Health

Sampson suffers from a rare condition called Scheuermann's disease, which affects developing bones in children and teenagers and can cause a curvature of the spine. "There's no way I'd ever give up dancing. Nothing would stop me," he told the paper. However, since the revelation Sampson said "It's not that bad." and claims that his doctor has said he's allowed to dance.[40]

Awards and prizes

Sampson won the under-16 category in the United Dance Organisation's 2007 World Street Dance championships. Following his win of Britain's Got Talent, he returned to the 2008 championships at the Blackpool Winter Gardens to give a performance together with his dance group A2AA (Access 2 All Areas) and to accept an award for his contributions to raising the profile of street dance from UDO chairman Simon Dibley.[41][42]

In the summer of 2008 he was one of 11 celebrities to receive an honourary scout badge to celebrate the 101st birthday of the Scouting Movement.[43][44]

He also received an award in the category "Favourite Winner" at the 2008 Nickelodeon Kid's Choice Awards[45] and he performed his signature dance "Singing in the Rain" during the ceremony.[citation needed]


References

  1. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (29 June 2008). "'Talent' champ could be reunited with dad". Digital Spy. Retrieved 26 November 2008.
  2. ^ "George Sampson: I'd love girls to go crazy over me". Now Magazine. 20 June 2008. Retrieved 26 November 2008.
  3. ^ "Finalist Profile: George Sampson". itv.com. Retrieved 2008-06-24.
  4. ^ http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/showbiz/article-23744828-stunned-george-sampson-dropped-by-simon-cowell.do
  5. ^ a b Charlie Lightening (director), Alesandro Reyes-Knight (producer) (2008). George Sampson: Living The Dream (documentary). United Kingdom: ITV2.
  6. ^ Brook, Stephen (2005-01-27). "Blingin' in the Rain". The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-05-31.
  7. ^ "King George Rains". News of the World. Retrieved 2008-05-31.
  8. ^ a b "Song change helped George win show". Daily Star. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
  9. ^ "George is winnin' in the rain". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 2008-05-31.
  10. ^ Singh, Anita (3 June 2008). "Britain's Got Talent winner George Sampson makes hit of Singin' In The Rain". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 23 November 2008.
  11. ^ Robertson, Colin (18 June 2008). "Now George is rock and Royale star". The Sun. Retrieved 24 November 2008. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ "Back to school". itv.com. Retrieved 2008-05-31.
  13. ^ "George Sampson signs £1million deal with NatWest". The Sun. Retrieved 2008-06-26.
  14. ^ "George Sampson Makes West End Debut". Into the Hoods. Retrieved 2008-06-25.
  15. ^ Guilfoyle, Lizzie. "Into the Hoods - George Sampson joins cast". indieLondon. Retrieved 25 November 2008.
  16. ^ "George Sampson and Bebo launch exclusive online TV series" (Press release). Bebo. 2008-11-28. Retrieved 2008-12-01.
  17. ^ a b c d Gordon, Bryony (23 November 2008). "George Sampson: a life turned upside down". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 25 November 2008.
  18. ^ "George Sampson's debut single charts at number 26". The Sun. 26 November 2008. Retrieved 27 November 2008.
  19. ^ "Technical Fault & George for Number 1". Sony BMG. 26 November 2008. Retrieved 27 November 2008.
  20. ^ a b "The Killers outsell Guns N' Roses". BBC News Online. 30 November 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-01.
  21. ^ "ChartStats: Get Up On The Dance Floor / Headz Up". ChartStats.com. Retrieved 2009-03-12.
  22. ^ "George Sampson: Access 2 All Areas : DVD". Play.com (UK). Retrieved 2008-12-04. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  23. ^ "George Sampson - Access All Areas (DVD)". zavvi UK. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
  24. ^ Pinchess, Chloë (5 December 2008). "Chloë gets caught up in George-mania". This Is Nothingham.co.uk. Retrieved 5 December 2008.
  25. ^ "George Sampson set for phone launch". PA Entertainment. 2009-01-22. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
  26. ^ Holland, James (2009-01-19). "Nokia 5800 bonus content for first buyers". Electric Pig. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
  27. ^ Clews, Mary-Louise (2009-01-27). "Nokia launches campaign for touchscreen phone". Marketing Week. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
  28. ^ Roberts, Katie (2009-01-29). "TOY FAIR 09: George Sampson launches new toy craze". Toy News Online. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
  29. ^ "Dancing star George joins charity plate drive". This is Cheshire. 2009-01-30. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
  30. ^ Dance Aid
  31. ^ Announcement
  32. ^ "Our Patrons - Serving helpless orphaned poor and exploited children all over the world - Hope for Children". www.hope-for-children.org. Retrieved 2009-07-04.
  33. ^ http://www.legoland.co.uk/park/news/live.htm
  34. ^ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1213887/Britains-Got-Talent-winner-George-Sampson-dumped-Simon-Cowell-dance-career-fails-off.html
  35. ^ http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/showbiz/a174928/george-sampson-falls-out-with-cowell.html
  36. ^ http://entertainment.stv.tv/tv/119840-simon-cowell-has-snubbed-me-says-george-sampson/
  37. ^ http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/news/2009/08/27/britain-s-got-talent-star-george-sampson-evicted-from-flat-and-more-in-mirror-co-uk-s-thursday-gossip-round-up-115875-21628559/
  38. ^ http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/showbiz/a174139/sampson-evicted-for-playing-showtunes.html
  39. ^ "Radio 1's Official Chart Show - Top 10 Music DVDs and Videos". BBC Radio 1. 14 December 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-12-15. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
  40. ^ "Dancing could cripple 'Talent' winner: report". 2008-06-02. Retrieved 2008-06-02.
  41. ^ "George stars at Blackpool dance show". Blackpool Gazette. 4 August 2008. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  42. ^ "World; For All That's Happening". South Wales Echo. 11 August 2008. p. 20. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  43. ^ Bryant, Tom (2008-08-01). "Scout's honour for Jamie Oliver". Mirror.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
  44. ^ "TV chef Oliver receives Scout badge". Gazette. 2008-08-01. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
  45. ^ "Just Kidding! - Nickelodeon Awards". OK Magazine. Northern & Shell PLC. 2008-09-30.
Preceded by Winner of Britain's Got Talent
2008 		Succeeded by

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