Battle to sign up Rhydian

Mid Wales singing star Rhydian Roberts who narrowly missed out on being crowned the winner of ITV's X Factor could be on the verge of a lucrative recording contract, it has been revealed.Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber and Simon Cowell are rumoured to be fighting to sign up the 24-year-old from Trallong, near Brecon.

Meanwhile, disappointed Rhydian fans have claimed they were unable to cast their vote for Saturday's X Factor final.

Fans say they were unable to get through because the lines were jammed, after trying for more than an hour during the hit programme that saw Scottish singer Leon Jackson beat bookies' favourite Rhydian to a £1 million recording contract.

Rhydian was praised by all four judges after singing Christmas song O Holy Night, Josh Groban's You Raise Me Up - a duet with Katherine Jenkins - and his favourite song Somewhere, from the musical West Side Story.

Leon performed White Christmas and You Don't Know Me, as well as pairing up with Kylie Minogue for a rendition of her hit Better The Devil You Know.

Both then went on to sing Mariah Carey's When You Believe - this year's choice for the winner's single.

Leon's version is out today and is widely tipped to be the Christmas number one.

But according to Sunday's papers, Simon Cowell and Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber are now fighting it out to sign up 24-year-old Rhydian, from Trallong, near Brecon.

Today, Rhydian's father Malcolm Roberts said: "All I can say is that he has a few very important meetings taking place in London this week.

"Katherine Jenkins has already invited him to perform with her in Margam Park near Swansea next summer."

Mr Roberts said he had heard that a few people from Wales had been unable to cast their votes because the lines had been blocked, but said he hadn't experienced any problems from London.

"We heard some people had problems getting through." said Mr Roberts

"Of course we are disappointed that Rhydian didn't win but we want to wish Leon all the best for the future." he added.

An ITV spokeswoman said there had been "no problems" with the voting lines, but said some callers may have faced difficulty getting through due to unusually high call volumes.

Classically-trained singer Rhydian took his loss on the chin, saying: "Some things are meant to be in life and I can't complain."