Ben Haenow and Simon Cowell are no longer a team. The 31-year-old singer, who triumphed over Fleur East to be crowned winner of "The X Factor" in 2014, revealed that he has been dropped by Cowell's record label Syco.
Haenow penned a heartfelt letter to his "loyal and loving fans" via his Twitter page, where he suggested that the split was a mutual decision, but assured fans that he will continue making music and he's already in "talks about the next album."
"Sorry I've been a bit quiet on here recently, been a crazy few weeks," he began his letter. "So I wanted to let you all know directly from me, that after what has been the most incredible experience working on my debut album, myself and Syco entertainment have decided to part ways."
"Working with The X Factor and Syco has been the most amazing time of my life and has given me the best possible platform for the start of my career. I have the utmost respect for them both and cannot thank them enough for all the help and everything they have done for me this past year."
Unfortunately, the news comes after his self-titled debut album peaked at number 10 on the U.K. charts; However, his first original single, 'Second Hand Heart', missed the top 20 last September and his latest single "Slamming Doors" failed to make the chart. He received major recognition for his cover of OneRepublic's "Something I Need," which hit number one on the charts, selling 214,000 copies.
"I have had the privilege of working with some incredible people, making some great friends and making a great record which I am still extremely proud of. (Which, thanks to you lot has gone on to sell over 100k copies and still going)," he wrote. "However, after discussions with the Syco team we both felt it was the right time to move on."
He added: "I am very excited about this next chapter. I'm already writing and in talks about the next album."
Haenow is one of the quickest winners to be dropped by the music mogul's label. A source told The Sun that Cowell made the decision to drop Haenow with a "heavy heart," but he was disappointed by his performance after winning "X-Factor."
"He was a big supporter of Ben but it's simply down to business - Fleur East, who came second, has done much better," the source said. "And at the end of the day our winners, especially the blokes, never have the same success as the likes of One Direction and Olly Murs. The relationship between Ben and Syco remains strong. Both agree that moving on is the best course of action but are on really good terms. Everyone at Syco is very fond of Ben and wish him well."
