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X FACTOR champion Ben Haenow has been axed by Simon Cowell — just three months after releasing his first single.

The music mogul made the move after Ben’s most recent song Slamming Doors missed the charts altogether, despite getting a coveted performance slot on the X Factor final last month.

His swift dumping means Ben, who Simon mentored to victory in the 2014 final, becomes the fastest X Factor flop other than Steve Brookstein who never got to release an official single.

An X Factor source said: “Simon made the decision with a heavy heart.

“He was a big supporter of Ben but it’s simply down to business — Fleur East, who came second, has done much better.

“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.”

Former van driver Ben, from Croydon, won all but one of the rounds on his way to victory in 2014.

He performed alongside Ed Sheeran in the final and his winners’ song, a cover of OneRepublic’s Something I Need, went to No1 selling 214,000 copies.

However, his popularity waned as soon as he topped the charts and not even a collaboration with US singing sensation Kelly Clarkson on his second single Second Hand Heart failed to make the Top 20.

A Syco source said: “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.”

After The Sun revealed the news, Ben released a statement confirming the departure.

He said: “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 me and the start of my career.

“However, after discussions both myself and Syco felt it was the right time to move on.

“I am really very excited about this next chapter, I’m already writing and in talks about the next album and loads of other stuff on the go. I cant wait to share it with you.”

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...e-release.html

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