She had never had a single singing lesson. Her family could not afford them. Instead, her mum bought her a karaoke machine, and Connie sang along to it at home for hours.
There was one song she loved more than any other: “Over the Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz.
When her grandmother Violet was very ill in bed, little Connie used to sing to her to cheer her up. It was her grandma who first told the family, “She’s really good, you know.” After her grandmother passed away, Connie sang that same song at the funeral.
In 2007, a brand new TV show called Britain’s Got Talent held auditions in Birmingham. Connie went along, mostly for fun.
When she walked onto the stage in her pink top, with a gap in her front teeth, the judges smiled politely. The judges, Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan, were expecting a sweet little joke act.
Then she started to sing.
The theatre went completely silent. Her small, clear voice filled the room, and people in the audience started wiping their eyes. Amanda Holden was in tears before the song was over.
When Connie finished, the whole crowd stood up.
Simon Cowell, the judge famous for being tough, was lost for words. Later he said: “I have never felt such a powerful silence in my life as when Connie sang. It was pure magic.”
The video of her audition spread around the world. Within days it was one of the most watched clips on the internet.
Connie went all the way to the final. She sang “Over the Rainbow” again and finished as runner-up, behind the opera singer Paul Potts. The two of them had been joint favourites to win.
She did not need the trophy. Later that year, at just seven years old, she released her first album, called Over the Rainbow. It sold more than 250,000 copies around the world, went to number one in three countries, and made her the youngest artist ever to enter the UK album charts.
Years later, Connie returned to the same stage on Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions, this time singing a song she had written herself.
But for millions of people, she will always be that little girl with the gap in her teeth, singing her grandma’s favourite song.
Do you remember the first time you heard little Connie sing? Tell us in the comments.
