‘The X Factor’ UK: Ben Haenow officially signs with Simon Cowell’s record label

While it was assumed for quite a long time that Ben Haenow and Simon Cowell were going to be spending quite a bit of their time moving forward working together, isn’t it nice to finally see something official? We like to think so.

This week, it was confirmed that the winner of “The X Factor” has officially joined the Syco family, and will put out a debut album at some point later this year. We’re not even going to pretend that this announcement is some sort of surprise, since almost everyone expected it to come about at some point this month following his win on the show. Also, his single “Something I Need” drew more than 200,000 purchases, which is better than Sam Bailey last year (but far below what James Arthur pulled following his win two years ago).

In a statement, Ben had the following to say about getting this great opportunity to continue putting out music:

“Getting to work with Simon during the show was incredible. He is a great guy and amazing mentor – and really helped me as an artist. I can’t wait to start working with him and the team again and putting together a great record for 2015.”

Ben still has his work cut out for him trying to become a household name away from the show. Arthur became just as notorious for tabloid headlines as he did his music, and Bailey’s music has yet to make a splash on the radio. Little Mix is the last “X Factor” winner to have great success away from the show, though Ella Henderson has become a star despite not even making it to the finale in her season.

Happy for Ben? Let us know in the comments! Also, head over here to get some further TV updates worth a song or two, courtesy of our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: ITV.)