Biography
Maria Lawson spent years working as a session vocalist before achieving wider recognition through one of the most disputed eliminations in the history of a popular televised talent contest. She entered the world in London during 1975 and discovered her voice while still a child. The styles of Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, and Tina Turner shaped her approach, and Active Music Management soon spotted her talent, securing a recording contract with President Records. Her debut release, a Shalamar cover titled “A Night to Remember,” supplied the soundtrack for a Gala Bingo television commercial yet never registered on the charts. After leading the short-lived group Skye—managed by her husband Lawrence Garry—she secured a publishing agreement with Parr Music in 2002 and contributed vocals to successful singles by Gabrielle and Lemar.
Lawson first tried out for the inaugural season of ITV’s The X Factor in 2004, when the open-age competition still held auditions open to performers of any background, but she was eliminated before the live stages. Returning the following year, she advanced to the finals; Simon Cowell later conceded that turning her away at the earlier boot camp had been a mistake. Placed under Sharon Osbourne’s guidance, the singer quickly emerged as the contestant most widely expected to triumph, buoyed by an impassioned reading of Janis Joplin’s “Piece of My Heart” and a deeply felt version of James Blunt’s “You’re Beautiful.” A misguided selection in week five—the Rolling Stones’ “Brown Sugar”—led to her abrupt departure. When she landed in the bottom two, Louis Walsh elected to save his acquaintances the Conway Sisters, prompting widespread claims of bias and demands that the judge be dismissed.
In 2006 Lawson joined the Phonogenic imprint of Sony BMG after attracting interest from four additional major companies. The lead single “Sleepwalking” earned substantial rotation on Radio 2 and peaked at number 20, though her self-titled debut album—featuring compositions from Diane Warren, Steve Kipner, and Andrew Frampton—stalled outside the Top 40. By 2008 she had begun recording the follow-up project Emotional Rollercoaster alongside Grammy Award-winning producer Brian Rawling while completing her debut self-help memoir, Life Starts Now.
Lawson first tried out for the inaugural season of ITV’s The X Factor in 2004, when the open-age competition still held auditions open to performers of any background, but she was eliminated before the live stages. Returning the following year, she advanced to the finals; Simon Cowell later conceded that turning her away at the earlier boot camp had been a mistake. Placed under Sharon Osbourne’s guidance, the singer quickly emerged as the contestant most widely expected to triumph, buoyed by an impassioned reading of Janis Joplin’s “Piece of My Heart” and a deeply felt version of James Blunt’s “You’re Beautiful.” A misguided selection in week five—the Rolling Stones’ “Brown Sugar”—led to her abrupt departure. When she landed in the bottom two, Louis Walsh elected to save his acquaintances the Conway Sisters, prompting widespread claims of bias and demands that the judge be dismissed.
In 2006 Lawson joined the Phonogenic imprint of Sony BMG after attracting interest from four additional major companies. The lead single “Sleepwalking” earned substantial rotation on Radio 2 and peaked at number 20, though her self-titled debut album—featuring compositions from Diane Warren, Steve Kipner, and Andrew Frampton—stalled outside the Top 40. By 2008 she had begun recording the follow-up project Emotional Rollercoaster alongside Grammy Award-winning producer Brian Rawling while completing her debut self-help memoir, Life Starts Now.
Albums
Singles