Maria Lawson was born on 24 May 1979 and is an English singer.
28 Facts About Maria Lawson
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Maria Lawson released her second studio album, Emotional Rollercoaster in 2014.
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Maria Lawson is the youngest in a family of five, with three brothers and one sister.
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Maria Lawson's mother is Jamaican, her father has Cuban heritage and her grandfather is Chinese from a family descending from the name Chang.
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Maria Lawson released her first single, "A Night to Remember," in 1982, which was used in a Gala Bingo advertisement.
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Maria Lawson was signed to Peer Music Publishing from 2002 to 2005 and started her career as a singer-songwriter.
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Maria Lawson has provided backing vocals for many other artists, including Kelly Clarkson, Anita Baker and British soul singer Lemar.
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In 1997, Maria Lawson, known as Kimara Maria Lawson in Italy, achieved chart success with several singles in collaboration with Italian dance group Ti.
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Maria Lawson auditioned for the first series of The X Factor in 2004, but she was rejected by judge Simon Cowell after reaching the "bootcamp" rounds.
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Maria Lawson outlined in her 2008 autobiography life starts now, that during her second addition for the X factor, Cowell immediately remembered her from the previous year, stating that he had "made a mistake" in not putting her through to the live shows.
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Maria Lawson became one of the notable returnees, and eventually rose to the top making the top eight.
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Voting figures showed that Maria Lawson received twice as many votes as The Conway Sisters, meaning that if it came to a deadlock, Maria Lawson would be saved.
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Simon Cowell voted against Maria Lawson, backing his act The Conway Sisters.
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Maria Lawson's mentor, Sharon Osbourne, said 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 Maria Lawson's expense.
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On 6 March 2006 Maria Lawson announced that she had signed to the Phonogenic branch of the Sony BMG record label.
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Maria Lawson's self-titled debut album was recorded in Los Angeles where she worked with multi-Grammy winning songwriter Diane Warren, Steve Kipner, Lester Mendez and the Heavy Weights.
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Maria Lawson went on to sign a lingerie deal with Bravissimo to become the new face and body for the lingerie and clothing line.
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On 3 July 2007, Maria Lawson announced in her latest diary entry that she would not be releasing her exclusive second single "Lover's Kiss", but would instead be working on her second album.
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On 27 June 2008, Maria 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.
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Maria Lawson's website announced a radio and TV tour across the UK from 18 to 29 August 2008.
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Maria Lawson performed the single again at the Freedom Festival on 30 August 2008.
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Maria Lawson was interviewed on GMTV on Friday 24 October 2008, promoting "Breaking Me Down" and her new book Life Starts Now.
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Maria Lawson's run lasted through from 14 April 2009 to March 2010.
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In October 2010, Maria Lawson signed a lingerie deal with Brastop to be the face and body of the brand for 2011.
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Maria Lawson began her attempt to represent Switzerland at the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in September 2011, by submitting the song "Champion".
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Maria Lawson has been signed to Wilhelmina in the US, one of the most prominent model and celebrity agencies in the fashion industry with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Miami.
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Maria Lawson gave birth to her first son in February 2008.
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Maria Lawson gave birth to her second child, a daughter, in January 2012.