Shayne Ward to be dropped by Cowell?

Shayne Ward will be dropped from Simon Cowell's record label next year, reports claim.

The singer, who marked his comeback to music last month after a three-year absence, is said to be on the verge of being dumped by label SyCo after his latest single 'Gotta Be Somebody' and album Obsession underperformed in the charts, News of the World reports.

A source said: "Shayne is finished at SyCo. Simon has tried his best to turn him into a star but it simply hasn't worked.

"He gave Shayne one more chance after ending his working relationship with Louis but his music hasn't connected with the public.

"The chances of him being a popstar again are incredibly low. It's a huge personal blow to Shayne. For a long time people thought he'd become the next Robbie Williams. But the music industry is ruthless and he is costing the company a lot of money at the moment."

They continued: "Shayne is also quite arrogant about his music [and] isn't the easiest person to work with. He will be quietly let go next year and the focus will turn to the new crop of X Factor contestants."

Ward recently revealed that he had recorded several tracks with top producers RedOne, Taio Cruz and Darkchild, but were all "still in the pipeline".

Ward's next single 'Obsession' is slated for release early next year.