Susanne Courtney (née Manning) (born 1982) was a contestant on the second series of Pop Idol in the UK in 2003. She was known for her husky voice and caused the most headlines out of all the contestants at the time. She now appears on the Breakfast Show on BBC Radio Berkshire. She also appears to have gone by the nickname of "Soose" from time to time.
At her Pop Idol audition she sang "Killing Me Softly". Neil Fox and Nicki Chapman reckoned she had potential and both voted 'yes' to put her through. Pete Waterman, however, said that he saw her music career as a crazy dream and voted 'no'. Simon Cowell then told her that he disagreed with Pete and she was put through to the theatre stages.
The judges failed to see anything special in her at the theatre stage but put her through the first round. She herself never expected to get through but the judges gave her a chance in the top 50.
In her group heat, she sang "Take a Little Piece of my Heart" by Erma Franklin. She received a mixed response. However, she got the third highest votes and missed out on a place in the top 10 by only 0.7%. She was pipped by Brian Ormond and Kirsty Crawford.
However, during the wildcard show, she was the judges' first choice and the public gave her the highest amount of votes and she made the top 12. Pete Waterman, who was indifferent to her earlier performances, was reduced to tears after her rendition of Rod Stewart's "I Don't Wanna Talk About It".
At the start of the live shows, she became the favourite. She sang "Ironic" and Pete Waterman called it "bloody marvellous". In the first week she got the highest votes; during the second week Simon Cowell branded her as "awkward". She still managed the 4th highest votes. In the top 6 show, where she sang "Ticket to Ride" during the Beatles week, she ended up in the bottom 2 with Roxanne Cooper but managed to survive till the top 5.
At that point, stories emerged of her branding fellow contestant and overall winner Michelle McManus a "fat cow" and Manning allegedly took umbrage when asked to pose for a photograph with McManus next to her when attending a film premiere. Susanne denied the claims vigorously, and many suspected that it was a story leaked by Pop Idol PR to boost ratings and enhance the chances for Michelle to win the contest. However, she lost a massive chunk of her fan support and was voted off.
| Week | Theme | Song Choice | Original Artist | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 50 | Free Choice | "Take a Little Piece of my Heart" | Erma Franklin | 3rd in voting |
| Wildcard show | Free Choice | "I Don't Wanna Talk About It" | Rod Stewart | 1st in voting |
| Top 12 | Your Pop Idol | "Ironic" | Alanis Morissette | Safe |
| Top 10 | Birthyear Songs | "Only You" | Yazoo | Safe |
| Top 8 | Elton John songs | I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues | Elton John | Safe |
| Top 7 | Disco | "Young Hearts Run Free" | Candi Staton | Safe |
| Top 6 | The Beatles | "Ticket to Ride" | The Beatles | Bottom 3 |
| Top 5 | Big Band | "Cry Me a River" | Julie London | Eliminated |
After being voted off Pop Idol she joined BBC Radio Berkshire as a broadcast assistant. She now produces many shows including the afternoon show. She is also used as a fill in presenter during the main presenters time off. In 2005 she married Andrew Courtney, former drummer of Pure Reason Revolution.
Additionally, Susanne participated in a Christian worship music album named "Love Divine", released in May 2007 by Vineyard UK, a recording group associated with the Association of Vineyard Churches. On the album, Susanne functions as the leading singer on two tracks on the album, "Unfailing Love" and "All Hail Jesus".