Pop Idol 2 - Michelle McManus

Michelle's second single flops

Michelle's second single, The Meaning Of Love, has flopped. It entered the UK singles chart at a disappointing number 16 on 11th April 2004.

All This Time

Michelle's first single, All This Time, was released on 5th January 2004.

It was number one in the official UK top 40 on 11th January.

Michelle wins Pop Idol

Michelle won the Pop Idol final on 20th December 2003. She beat Mark during the final which attracted 10.26 million votes.

Michelle said afterwards that when the result was announced: "I thought my knees were going to buckle underneath me!"

Ant said he thought they would have to get an ambulance.

Michelle steadied herself saying to herself: "Get back up!"

Michelle's mum said: "I'm so proud that she's my daughter."

Pete Waterman was reminded he had said: "You are not a pop idol. You will never be a pop idol."

Simon was the one who had said: "I want this competition to produce somebody different."

Michelle wins a place in the Pop Idol final

In a shock result on Pop Idol the previous week the favourite Sam was voted off the show.

During that show each contestant sang two songs chosen by the Pop Idol judges. Glaswegian Michelle performed Dionne Warwick’s Say a Little Prayer and Without You, a hit for Maria Carey.

Foxy and Nicki had said they thought Mark would be voted off - as they had done the previous week. Pete said he thought Michelle would go.

As ever with the last word, Simon was asked who he thought would go.

"I haven't got a clue," he replied.

Ant replied: "And it's taken you all this time to realise that."

Simon added: "I think there's going to be an upset this evening." He was right.

Michelle before Pop Idol

Michelle appeared with Fame Academy winner David Sneddon in 1999 when they appeared at a charity gig in Blantyre, Lanarkshire.. David, 24, went on to win BBC’s Fame Academy and hit No1 with Stop Living The Lie.

The promoter Cath Orr said: "I knew both were star quality."

Pete Waterman on Michelle

Pete Waterman said it would be a joke if Michelle won Pop Idol.

Pete said: "To me Michelle has not got the greatest voice. She has a strong voice but I can take you to karaoke bars across Britain and you will find stronger voices.

"If you look at our pop idols in the past 40 years, they are not like her. It's like thinking that she could become the next supermodel - I do not think so.

"Someone once told me that 'to be successful, we have to look successful' and that's the best advice I've ever been given."

Michelle and Kim could make it big

Simon Cowell has advised Michelle and Kim: "Don't diet."

He said losing weight could cost the girls votes and added: "It would work against them. The public voted for them because they didn't look like normal pop stars. That's their appeal."

Both girls weighed in at 15 stone before the auditions. Michelle lost two and a half stone on a spinach and broccoli diet but Kim said she would not lose any weight.

Michelle through to final twelve

Michelle McManus sang Don't Be a Stranger on the Pop Idol show on 13th September. She had lost 35 pounds in weight since the first Pop Idol audition!

Neil told her: "I thought you sang really well."

Nicki said: "You deserve to be standing there in front of us tonight."

Pete said: "The best I've seen so far."

Simon told Michelle she would breeze through and be in the top ten.

Michelle was shocked at receiving such positive comments and said: "I can't believe it."