Pop sensation Mika's dream of a record deal was shattered by Simon Cowell - the media mogul rejected the Grace Kelly hit-maker's demos when he was a teenager.

The star sent off some rough copies of his tracks to Cowell back in 1996, but the record boss refused to give Mika his seal of approval.

The singer tells Britain's Heat magazine, "The first time I met him, at 16, he very professionally rejected me... He did say back then, 'You've got a good really good voice - you just need to work on your songs.' He was right, so I went away and worked on my songs."

However, the 26 year old proved the American Idol judge wrong by finding fame with his debut release Life in Cartoon Motion - and shocked Cowell by turning up to a star-studded Academy Awards party earlier this year.

Mika adds, "Last time I saw him was at Madonna's house party after the Oscars. I'd just had a drink with James Bond (actor Daniel Craig) after almost getting the s**t kicked out of me by Bruce Willis - I'd pushed him out of the way to get to the bar!"

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(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)