Castleford singer Jack Walton signed by One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson

Jack, 18, who appeared on the X Factor last year, has been named as Louis’ first act for the label which he will fully launch next year.

Jack, a former student at Castleford High School, spent a week recording in Los Angeles with Louis in February and hopes to release his first album later this year.

Jack, of Aketon Road, Castleford, tweeted: “Thank you all for congratulating me, it’s now time for some hard work and good times.

“I’m grateful for the support and this amazing opportunity.”

Speaking after the LA trip Jack said: “Louis has been a massive help. He has put me out there and there are some exciting times ahead this year.

“The best route for me is to get my original music out there which was difficult on a show like the X Factor.

“I spoke to Simon Cowell after the X Factor and he agreed that the show didn’t suit people like me.

“He said I’d got a lot more potential than came across on the show and that I should use it as a platform.

“That’s exactly what’s happened – the X Factor literally has changed my life – but it is only the beginning.”

Louis’s record label will be a part of X Factor judge Simon Cowell’s Syco Entertainment label.

Louis, 23, told a national newspaper: “It’s absolutely great to be working with Syco on a label. This is something I’ve wanted to do for some time, and to be given the opportunity to potentially give new artists a platform is an incredible feeling.

“I hope to sing some really exciting artists down the line.”

Jack, who grew up in Half Acres and Townville, started singing at the age of eight.

He said: “It all started when I was about eight and I sang in a karaoke competition at Xscape. It was quite a big competition with adults as well and I finished fourth.

“Then when I was in year seven I won a talent competition at school called the Cas Factor.”

At the age of 16 he quit Pontefract’s NEW College to sing full time. He sang in pubs and clubs across the area before auditioning for the X Factor last summer.

He was handed a wildcard back into the competition by judge Simon Cowell but was voted out of the show in November.

No-one from Louis Tomlinson’s management or Syco entertainment was available for comment.