It has been nearly 20 years since Maria Lawson competed on The X Factor – but you wouldn’t know it.
The singer, now 44, has barely aged since she reached the live rounds of the ITV show, under the guidance of Sharon Osbourne, before controversy struck.
Maria had been an early favourite in the show but was booted out in the fifth week of the live shows in a shock elimination.
She landed in the bottom two with The Conway Girls, although received double the amount of public votes, but the judges ultimately saved the girl group.
Predictably Simon Cowell voted to save his act, The Conway Girls, while Sharon backed Maria.
However, in a move that sparked national outcry Louis Walsh cast his vote for The Conway Girls, who were Irish, with Sharon accusing him of ‘voting with his passport.’
The fallout and backlash over Louis’ decisions was so intense that the music manager even threatened to quit the X Factor.
While Maria’s exit from the show was deemed premature by many, she was swiftly offered record deals by four major labels.
The following year she released her debut self-titled album, which sold 20,000 copies in the UK.
She also signed a deal with lingerie giant Bravissimo and starred in the West End hit musical Thriller Live.
Now she lives in the US with her children, and is an actress, singer, songwriter and voiceover artist.
Her acting credits include TV series The Equalizer, I Am Homicide, Killision Course and Love Soup.
On the stage, Maria toured around the US in a production of Saturday Night Fever.
Fans will also recognise Maria’s speaking voice as she is the narrator for the Bingo Gala advert.
Maria’s series of the X Factor was eventually won by Shayne Ward.
She had auditioned the year before but was rejected by Simon at the bootcamp stage, a decision he later said he regretted.
Before the X Factor, Maria was signed to management firm and music publishing company.
During that time, she worked as a singer-songwriter with the likes of Gabrielle, performing on her hit single Out of Reach which was featured on the Bridget Jones’s Diary soundtrack.
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