X Factor loser Ray wins record deal

Simon Cowell has handed X Factor loser Ray Quinn a record deal.

The 18-year-old from Liverpool will record a swing album at the studio in Los Angeles once used by Frank Sinatra.

Ray was beaten by Leona Lewis in Saturday night’s live final.

But Cowell told the Daily Mirror: “I told Ray I was going to sign him. I wasn’t going to tell him yet but I had to after he behaved in such a dignified manner.

“His reaction was amazing. After what he did for Leona, I didn’t want him to go home miserable. We're sending him to LA to record a swing album in the same place Frank Sinatra used.”

Meanwhile Leona is heading for success in the US.

Cowell said he had been approached by music mogul Clive Davis, whose acts include Alicia Keys and Whitney Houston, about the possibility of working with her.

Leona now looks set to secure the Christmas number one spot.

Download copies of her debut track A Moment Like This are expected to hit the 200,000 mark by today.

The single, a cover of the Kelly Clarkson hit, will be in shops on Wednesday.