Maria Lawson (singer)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Maria Lawson | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Born | 24 May 1975 |
| Origin | London, England |
| Genre(s) | R&B Soul Rock |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Label(s) | Sony BMG |
| Associated acts | Leona Lewis, Shayne Ward |
| Website | Marialawson.co.uk |
Maria Lawson, (born 24 May 1975) is an English singer who appeared on The X Factor.
Contents |
[edit] Background
Lawson was born and raised in London. She is the youngest in a family of five, with three brothers and one sister. She began singing at the age of five.
Before finding fame on the prime-time TV show, The X Factor, was discovered by Active Music Management, who obtained her first record deal with President Records and her first publishing deal. Her first single was " A Night To Remember " which was used by the Gala Bingo Advert, after the producers of the advert thought that her version was better than the original. Lawson was in a band called Skye. This band was managed by Lawson's husband, Lawrence Garry. Kyra Simone provided backing vocals, Mark Coutier and Mark Hubden played guitar, Evgeni Vachov was on bass and the drums were courtesy of Ramy Abood. Two of the Skye tracks include "Woman's Intuition" and "Body & Soul".
Lawson was also represented well by the independent publisher, Peer Music. During this time she worked with established producer, David Brant, who produced three solid tracks for her - "Rush", "I Wanna Say Yes" and "Inferno".
Lawson started her career as a published singer/songwriter. She was signed to Peer Music Publishing in 2002 to 2005
During her time as a singer songwriter Maria worked with recording artist Gabrielle and performed on Gabrielle’s hit singles 'Out Of reach' for the Bridget Jones' Diary, 'Don't Need The Sun To Shine To Make Me Smile' and the live version of 'Rise'
[edit] The X Factor
In 2004, Lawson auditioned for the first series of The X Factor in 2004, but she was rejected by judge Simon Cowell, once having made it to the final 'boot camp rounds'.. In 2005 she auditioned for the second series of the show.
Once she came face to face with the judges on her audition for the second series, Simon Cowell immediately remembered her from the previous series and told her he had made a mistake in not putting her through to the live shows. Her rendition of "Stop" by Sam Brown was good enough for her to be put through to the next stage of the show 'boot camp' with Sharon Osbourne as her mentor. With a number of outstanding performances at Boot Camp and at the Osbourne household in Los Angeles, Lawson was given a chance to sing in the live stages of the show as part of Osbourne's final four.
Lawson was hotly tipped to take the title at the beginning of the live stages and performances of "Emotion" (Samantha Sang; Destiny's Child), "The Way You Make Me Feel" (Michael Jackson), "Piece of My Heart" (Janis Joplin) and "You're Beautiful" (James Blunt) made her one of the favourites to win. In fact, she was the bookmakers favourite to win from the start of the live stages until she was eliminated from the show.
[edit] X Factor Performances
| Week Theme | Song | Original Artist | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audition | Stop! | Sam Brown | Through to Bootcamp |
| Bootcamp (Day 1) | All The Man That I Need | Whitney Houston | Through to Next Stage |
| Bootcamp (Day 2) | I'm Gonna Make You Love Me | Diana Ross & The Supremes | Through to Next Stage |
| Bootcamp Final Stage | Since U Been Gone | Kelly Clarkson | Through to Live Shows |
| Top 12 | Emotions | Samantha Sang ; Destiny's Child | Safe |
| Top 11 | The Way You Make Me Feel | Michael Jackson | Safe |
| Top 10 | Piece Of My Heart | Janis Joplin | Safe |
| Top 9 | You're Beautiful | James Blunt | Safe - Highest Votes |
| Top 8 | Brown Sugar | The Rolling Stones | Eliminated |
[edit] Elimination Controversy
On the fifth round of the live shows, Lawson gave a performance of "Brown Sugar," by The Rolling Stones. The song was widely regarded unsuitable,[2] both lyrically and in terms of its appeal to a largely teenage target audience, and she finished in the bottom two with Irish four-piece The Conway Sisters after the public vote. After facing a sing-off, the judges decided who they wanted to keep and who they wanted to send home. The casting vote was left with Irish judge Louis Walsh, a close personal friend of The Conway Sisters who are from Sligo, the same small town as Walsh's band Westlife. He had the deciding vote, after Cowell and Osbourne voted to save their own acts. Saying that he had to "vote with his heart," Louis decided to eliminate Maria from the competition. Maria's mentor, Sharon, claimed that Maria was a victim of the 'Irish Mafia' and that Louis Walsh's decision was unjust.
This caused a media uproar [3] and Louis threatened to quit the show after days of negative press [4].
[edit] Record deal
On March 6, 2006 Maria announced that she had signed to the Phonogenic branch of the Sony BMG record label. Her debut single, "Sleepwalking", was released on 14 August. BBC Radio 2 "A-listed" the track (putting it on heavy rotation), but the single only entered the UK Singles chart at number 20.
Her self-titled debut album, recorded in L.A, was released on August 28 and charted at number 41 on the UK Album Chart.
Maria also went on to sign a lingerie deal with Bravissimo to become the new face and body for the lingerie and clothing line, which is especially designed for curvaceous women like Maria. [1]
On July 3, 2007, Maria announced in her latest diary entry that she would not be releasing "Lover's Kiss" as a single, but is working on a new album.
Her second studio album is now set for a mid 2008 release, along with a single. [2] Maria is quoted on her website saying that "The direction of the new album is much more alternative, soulful and rocky." [3]
Maria's website is currently closed, as she has been revamping the site because of the latest update of her upcoming second studio album and new single.
On her MySpace page, a new blog was posted, confirming that her new album is finished and that it would be coming soon. On this blog, it was also revealed that exclusive clips of Maria's new single and sample clips from the upcoming album would be put on the myspace page soon. It was also revealed that she will appear in next month's issue of Pride Magazine for an interview.
[edit] Personal life
In Lawson's official website she announced that she was pregnant with her first baby, due in 2008. This reason is probably why her second single 'lover's kiss' was cancelled for release.
Maria gave birth to her son Brandon on 6th February 2008.
[edit] Discography
| Album information |
|---|
| Maria Lawson (debut album) |
| TBA (second album) |
[edit] Albums
| Year | Album | Chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK | IRE | ||
| 2006 | Maria Lawson | 41 | - |
| 2008 | TBA | TBA | TBA |
[edit] Singles
| Year | Single | Album | Chart positions | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | IE | AU | FRA | GER | ITA | AUS | SPA | |||
| 2005 | "Whatcha Gonna Do" | Michael Gray Pres. Hi Fashion Featuring Maria Lawson | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2006 | "Sleepwalking" | Maria Lawson | 20 | 44 | 67 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2008 | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA |
[edit] References
- ^ Bravissimo news… Bravissimo.com.
- ^ Second Studio Album… MariaLawson.co.uk.
- ^ [1] MariaLawson.co.uk.
