Maria Lawson (singer)

Maria Lawson
Origin	London, England
Genres	R&B, soul, rock
Years active	2005–present
Labels	Sony BMG, Metamorphis Music, Universal
Associated acts	Leona Lewis, Shayne Ward
Website	Marialawson.co.uk

Maria Lawson is an English singer who finished in eighth place in the second UK series of television talent show The X Factor in 2005.

Early life

Lawson was born and raised in London. She is the youngest in a family of five, with three brothers and one sister.

Maria is of Jamaican, Chinese and Cuban Desent. Her Mother being Jamaican and her father part Cuban. Her grand father Chinese from the family descending from the name Chang.

Before finding fame on The X Factor, Lawson 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.^{[citation needed]} Lawson was in a band called Skye, managed by her 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. Some of Skye's most popular tracks included "Woman's Intuition" and "Body & Soul".

Lawson was signed to Peer Music Publishing from 2002 to 2005 and started her career as a published singer/songwriter. During this time she worked with established producer David Brant, who produced three tracks for her – "Rush", "I Wanna Say Yes" and "Inferno". During her time as a singer/songwriter she worked with recording artist Gabrielle and performed on Gabrielle’s hit singles "Out Of Reach" (as featured in the Bridget Jones' Diary soundtrack), "Don't Need the Sun to Shine (to Make Me Smile)" and the live version of "Rise". She has also provided backing vocals for many other artists, including British soul singer Lemar.^{[citation needed]}

Music career

2004 - 2005: The X Factor

In 2004, Lawson auditioned for the first series of The X Factor, but she was rejected by judge Simon Cowell after reaching the "Bootcamp" rounds. In 2005 she auditioned for the second series of the show.

According to her 2008 autobiography "Life Starts Now" - Once she came face to face with the judges at her audition for the second series, Cowell immediately remembered her from the previous year and told her he had made a mistake in not putting her through to the live shows. Her rendition of "Stop" was good enoughto be put through to the next stage with Sharon Osbourne as her mentor. After successful performances at Bootcamp 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.

At the beginning of the live shows Lawson was hotly tipped to take the title, and performances of "Piece of My Heart" and "You're Beautiful" made her one of the solid favourites to win. In fact, she was the bookmakers' favourite from the start of the live stages until she was eliminated from the show.^{[citation needed]}

X Factor performances

Round	Song	Result
Audition (first song)	"Stop!"	Through to Bootcamp
Audition (second song)	"Open Arms"	Through to Bootcamp
Bootcamp (stage 1)	"All The Man That I Need"	Through to next stage
Bootcamp (stage 2)	"I'm Gonna Make You Love Me"	Through to next stage
Judges' Houses (top 24)	"Since U Been Gone"	Through to live shows
Top 12	"Emotion"	Safe
Top 11	"The Way You Make Me Feel"	Safe
Top 10	"Piece of My Heart"	Safe
Top 9	"You're Beautiful"	Safe (highest votes)
Top 8	"Brown Sugar"	Eliminated (Bottom 2)

In Lawson's 2008 autobiography, Life Starts Now, she revealed she had topped the vote the week before her elimination. Lawson also mentioned that she was scheduled to sing the following songs for the coming weeks if she had made it further on the show: "I Will Always Love You", "I'm Outta Love" and "She Will Be Loved".

Elimination controversy

In the fifth round of the live shows, Lawson gave a performance of "Brown Sugar", a song that was widely regarded as unsuitable for her. After the public vote, Lawson found herself in the bottom two with Irish girl group The Conway Sisters. According to voting figues published in the Sunday Mirror, she actually received twice as many public votes as the Conway Sisters, but was nevertheless eliminated by the judges after a sing-off. Her mentor, Sharon Osbourne, claimed that she was a victim of the "Irish Mafia", referring to Irish judge Louis Walsh's decision to vote in favour of the Irish act at Lawson's expense. This caused a media uproar and Walsh threatened to quit the show after days of negative press.

Lawson's elimination was also a shock for bookmakers who had her as a 66/1 outsider to leave the programme.

Post X Factor: Maria Lawson

On 6 March 2006 Lawson 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), and it achieved a position of number 20 in the UK Singles Chart.

Her self-titled debut album, recorded in Los Angeles, was released on 28 August 2006 and charted at number 41 on the UK Album Chart. Lawson also went on to sign a lingerie deal with Bravissimo to become the new face and body for the lingerie and clothing line.

On 3 July 2007, Lawson announced in her latest diary entry that she would not be releasing her intended second single "Lover's Kiss" (a song not included on her debut album), but would instead be working on her second album. In Maria's 2008 autobiography, Life Starts Now, she revealed that her then record company, Sony BMG, decided (after much delay) to part ways and not continue with the release of the single.

2008 – 2010: West End production of Thriller – Live

On 27 June 2008, Lawson stated in a MySpace blog that her forthcoming album would be entitled Emotional Rollercoaster and confirmed "Breaking Me Down" as the first single to be released from the album. An interview with Lawson appeared in the June issue of Pride Magazine and a clip of the official video for "Breaking Me Down" was made available on her website. Her website also announced a radio and TV tour across the UK from 18 August to 29 August 2008. Lawson performed "Breaking Me Down", along with a rendition of Janis Joplin's classic hit "Piece of My Heart" (a song which she had performed during her run on The X Factor), at Party in the Park, Temple Newsham, Leeds on Sunday 27 July. She performed the single again at the Freedom Festival on 30 August 2008. The single was released on 8 September 2008.

Lawson was interviewed on GMTV on Friday 24 October 2008, promoting "Breaking Me Down" and her new book Life Starts Now.

Lawson's self-help/autobiography, entitled Life Starts Now was released to stores on 28 November 2008. It follows Lawson’s journey from hopeful unknown, through the audition process and beyond to her appearance on a major national television show.

On 11 April 2009, it was announced on Lawson's Myspace page that she would be performing the female lead role in the West End production of Thriller – Live at The Lyric Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, London. The show features the hit songs of Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5. Lawson's run lasted through from 14 April 2009 - March 2010.

2010 - Present: Emotional Rollercoaster

In late 2010, Lawson signed a new lingerie deal with Brastop.com to be the face and body of the brand for 2011. Brastop.com is a heavenly website for all curvy girls, offering gorgeous lingerie and swimwear.

In September 2011, Maria started her attempt to represent Switzerland at the Eurovision Song Contest 2012, by submitting the song "Champion".

Maria’s second studio album, “Emotional Rollercoaster” has been produced by Brian Rawling. The album shows off Maria’s talent as one of the UK’s premiere singer and songwriter artists. Emotional Rollercoaster is due out sometime between 2011 and 2012 through Right Track Music/ Universal Music Operations.

Personal life

Lawson gave birth to her first son Brandon on 6 February 2008. She currently lives with her husband Lawrence and son in Canary Wharf, London.

Discography

Albums

Year	Album details	Chart peak positions		Sales
		UK	IRE
2006	Maria Lawson Released: 28 August 2006 Genre: R&B, Soul, Pop Label: Sony BMG Format: CD, digital download	41	-	UK: 19,000
2011	Emotional Rollercoaster Released: 2011/2012 Genre: R&B, Soul, Rock Label: Universal Music Group Format: CD, digital download	TBA	TBA	UK: TBA

Singles

Year	Single	Chart positions			Album
		UK	IRE	AUS
2006	"Sleepwalking"	20	44	67	Maria Lawson
2008	"Breaking Me Down"	110	98	-	Breaking Me Down - Single
2011	"Champion"	TBA	TBA	TBA	Emotional Rollercoaster

Collaborations

Year	Title	Chart positions
		UK Singles Chart
2003	"Whatcha Gonna Do" Michael Gray Presents. Hi Fashion Featuring Maria Lawson	102

External links

• Official website
• Maria Lawson on Myspace
• Maria Lawson's channel on YouTube
• Maria Lawson on Facebook
• Bebo