ROCK SCHOOL - BRITISH ROCK SCHOOL STAR LANDS BIG MONEY RECORD DEAL

ROCK SCHOOL contestant CHRIS HARDMAN has landed a GBP500,000 ($900,000) record deal with RCA aged just 15. The singer/guitarist was chosen by KISS legend GENE SIMMONS as the frontman for the band he created from pupils at an English high school, and wowed viewers with his musical talent and extrovert personality. Hardman - who is nicknamed LITTLE CHRIS by his friends in Lowestoft, England - is amazed by his achievement. He says, "I can't believe it. When they offered me the deal I genuinely thought it was a big joke. "It is going to be really cool making my first album." A spokesperson for RCA predicts Hardman will be a massive success in UK: "Little Chris is best described as a grown-up BART SIMPSON after he discovered rock music. "He has a massive personality. He's like a cartoon character in a good way." Simmons said of Hardman on the show, "He could be a recording artist within three years. He's a DAVID in a GOLIATH's world. "He has the heart of a lion, charisma and delusional self-confidence despite living in Lowestoft, which is the most depressing place I have seen."