Ruth Lorenzo - X Factor 2008

I always knew she was a feisty lady but no way would I have predicted that Ruth Lorenzo would turn her back on Simon Cowell to sign a record deal with his biggest rival.

Ruth has reportedly signed a £1 million deal with EMI/Virgin and a source told The Sun that she was blabbing the news at the launch of Jean-Christophe Novelli’s Costa del Sol restaurant at the weekend.

A guest at the bash said: “Ruth was a bit giddy with the free champagne and was telling everyone Simon was gutted she signed elsewhere. She said she wanted to sign with him because they got along so well during the X Factor. She said she would have loved to work with him.

“Ruth says he has given her lots of advice — which she made it clear she was grateful for — and also that he had given her a lot of confidence with her singing and with her career.

“But the EMI deal was just too good for her to knock back.

“By the way she was celebrating, EMI/Virgin had given her big bucks.”

Ruth may have been well advised to turn down offers from Simon’s own record company when you consider how former runners up have fared under them in the past. Just look at Andy Abraham’s recent comments on the subject and you’ll see that it is hard for graduates of X Factor to succeed once the show moves on. Hopefully EMI will market Ruth right and stand by her past the launch of next years series, managing to inject some longevity into the rock chicks musical career.