Michelle McManus

This article is about the Scottish singer and TV personality. For the U.S. politician, see Michelle McManus (Michigan politician).

Michelle McManus

Michelle McManus (born 8 May 1980, Glasgow, Scotland) is a Scottish singer, actress, radio DJ and television presenter, who rose to fame after winning the second series of the UK talent show Pop Idol.

McManus released two singles and one album in the UK and Ireland before being dropped by her management and record label. She has subsequently appeared in musicals and theatre productions throughout the UK, Ireland and Asia, as well as establishing herself as a radio DJ and television presenter in Scotland.

Currently, Mcmanus is the co-host of STV's daily topical magazine show The Hour alongside Stephen Jardine.

Early life

Michelle McManus was born on 8 May 1980 in Queen Mothers Hospital, Glasgow, Scotland to John McManus and Helen McManus., and is the oldest of five sisters. Before auditioning for Pop Idol Michelle lived in the Glasgow district of Baillieston, to the east of city with her mother and sisters.

Pop Idol

Main article: Pop Idol (series 2)

In early 2003, McManus auditioned for the second season of Pop Idol, along with thousands of other aspiring singers from around the UK. Of the four judges, Pete Waterman in particular was critical as to whether she could make a career in the music industry, mainly due to her size. However, she was the favourite of Simon Cowell, and after being put through to the semi-final stages, the public voted McManus into the top twelve, though she entered the finals as the bookmaker's rank-outsider. Throughout the finals, McManus was in the bottom 3 only once, and on 20 December 2003, she was declared the winner of Pop Idol.

Performances

Week	Theme	Song	Original artist	Result
Top 12	Your pop idol	"All By Myself"	Eric Carmen	Safe
Top 10	Birthyear songs	"On the Radio"	Donna Summer	Safe
Top 8	Elton John songs	"Your Song"	Elton John	Bottom 3
Top 7	Disco	"If I Can't Have You"	Yvonne Elliman	Safe
Top 6	The Beatles	"Hey Jude"	The Beatles	Safe
Top 5	Big band	"Feeling Good"	Nina Simone	Safe
Top 4	Christmas songs	"Merry Christmas Everyone"	Shakin' Stevens	Safe
		"Oh Holy Night"	N/A
Top 3	Judges' choice	"I Say a Little Prayer"	Aretha Franklin	Safe
		"Without You"	Harry Nilsson
Final	Contestant's choice	"On the Radio"	Donna Summer	Winner
	B-side	"The Meaning of Love"	N/A
	Winner's single	"All This Time"	Michelle McManus

Music Career

Following her win on the second season of Pop Idol, Michelle McManus was immediately signed to the Sony BMG record label, and going under the single name Michelle, her debut single "All This Time" was released between late 2003 and early 2004. The song went straight to number one on the UK Singles Chart, and stayed there for three weeks. In Ireland, the song debuted at Number 5 before rising to 2.. Her debut album, The Meaning of Love was released on 16 February 2004 and peaked at number three on the UK Album Charts and Number 64 on the Irish Album Charts. The title track of the album was released as the second single, however it stalled at number sixteen in the UK charts and Number 29 in Ireland.

In July 2005 it was announced that McManus had parted company with her management company 19 Entertainment, 19 months after winning Pop Idol. She then went on to sign with Sanctuary Entertainment. During a 2007 appearance on ITV's Loose Women, McManus stated that she believed that she was dropped due to her weight, as her record company could not build any merchandise around her image.

In 2007, after taking time away from the music industry, McManus decided to set up her own record label in order to release new material, named McManii Records. She made two appearances on the television show Loose Women, on the first she stated that she was taking her time with her second album as she wanted to make it something to be proud of, and on her second appearance she talked of her departure from Sony BMG, stating that it was a mutual agreement. In November 2007 a single, Just For You was released. It was intended to be on her second album, Dancing To A Different Beat, which has yet to be released.

You Are What You Eat

On 22 June 2005, Michelle McManus appeared on a 60-minute television special of You Are What You Eat with the author and TV personality Gillian McKeith. A follow-up was broadcast on 13 December 2005, which caught up on how she was doing since the last programme. As of October 2006, McManus had lost 10 stone, but is planning on losing more to get to her target of 10 stone and a size 12. McManus has said that she may have surgery to remove excess skin from around her arms, legs and stomach.

McManus released a book in December 2005 entitled You Are What You Eat: Michelle's Diary. The book documented her journey from winning Pop Idol to appearing on You Are What You Eat, with particular reference to her weight issues and subsequent slimming. Further to this, in December 2006 McManus released a DVD called The Life Plan, a guide to healthy living, exercise and eating.

Radio, TV and theatre career

In September 2005, Michelle McManus appeared in an episode of the BBC One holiday magazine programme Departure Lounge. The episode showed McManus travelling to and around Memphis, Tennessee, with a budget of £500. As part of the trip, McManus visited Graceland, home to her idol Elvis Presley.

In 2006, McManus began guest-presenting on the Scottish radio station Clyde 1, and then gained her own regular Saturday show on the station. McManus then hosted two series of the BBC Radio Scotland show titled Lets Do The Show Right Here. On television, McManus announced the Scottish votes during the Making Your Mind Up 2006 programme in March 2006, and in November 2006 she was a reporter on Children in Need live from Scotland. In June 2006, Mcmanus performed in the theatre production, The Vagina Monologues, a role which she has subsequently repeated for various tours.

In June 2007, McManus guest-starred as herself in an episode of the BBC sitcom Still Game. In December 2007, McManus was seen in a run of the Musical Discotivity at the Arts Theatre in London's West End. in January 2008 she toured Asia in a theatre production of The Rise and Fall of Little Voice. In November 2008, McManus switched on the Christmas Lights in Kilmarnock, Scotland.

Michelle McManus appeared regularly as a guest co-host of the Scottish TV show The Hour in the Summer of 2009. In October 2009, McManus became the main co-host of the programme with Stephen Jardine.

In December 2009, McManus presented a documentary for STV, as part of the channel's Hogmanay programming. Entitled Scotland's Always Had Talent, the documentary charted the history of noted Scottish variety performers through the years.

Discography

Michelle McManus discography
Studio albums	1
Music videos	2
Singles	4

Albums

Year	Album details	Peak chart positions			Certifications	Sales
		UK	IRE	SCO
2004	The Meaning of Love Released: February 16, 2004 Label: Sony BMG Formats: CD, digital download	3	64	1	UK: Gold	UK: 250,000+
TBA	Different Beat Released: To be released Label: McManni Records Formats: CD, digital download	TBA	TBA	TBA	UK: TBA	UK: TBA

Singles

Year	Song	UK	IRE	Album
2003	"All This Time"	1	2	The Meaning of Love
2004	"The Meaning Of Love"	16	29
2006	"Breaking Free"[a]	-	-	Different Beat
2007	"Just for You"	-	-

Notes

• a ^ "Breaking Free" was originally being promoted in 2006, but the release date for the song was cancelled.

TV Appearances and Filmography

Film
Year	Film	Role	Notes
2005	You Are What You Eat	Herself	After her time on the show, Michelle releasead a diary Michelle's Diary in 2005.
2007	Still Game	Herself	Michelle appears in the 2007 Episode Second's Out as herself
2009	The Hour	Co-host	Prior to the announcement that Michelle was going to be the main host along side Stephen Jardine, she had appeared on the show 5 times as a Co-Host before.
2009	Scotland's Always Had Talent	Host	Michelle hosts STV's main Hogmanay programme, leading into the New Year.

External links

• Michelle McManus at stv.tv
• Michelle McManus at Star Management
• Michelle McManus on Facebook