Maria Lawson (born 24 May 1979) is a British singer who finished 8th in the second UK series of television talent show The X Factor in 2005. Lawson became the very first female contestant on the UK version to get signed by a major recording label. The second female contestant to achieve this would then be series three winner Leona Lewis. (http://www.marialawson.co.uk) Lawson was born and raised in London. She is the youngest in a family of five, with three brothers and one sister. Maria found fame on Britain’s biggest talent show, the X Factor, which starred Simon Cowell. She was one of the favourites to win under mentor Sharon Osbourne in 2005. Following a controversial exit from the show, which made national headlines, Maria went on to sign to Sony BMG in 2006 and recorded her debut album in LA with a song written by Diane Warren. Her self titled album was released later that year and charted with a top 20 single "Sleepwalking" Maria went on to sign a lingerie modelling deal with Bravissimo after being recognised on the show. 
 On 6th February 2008, Maria gave birth to her first son Brandon. In September of that year she released a new single entitled "Breaking Me Down". Later than year, she released her first self-help/autobiography, entitled ''Life Starts Now'' In 2009, Maria became the female lead role in the West End production of Thriller - Live at The Lyric Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, London. The show featured the hit songs of Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5. Her run lasted through from April 2009 until March 2010. In late 2010, Maria 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 made 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 in 2013 through Right Track Music/ Universal Music Operations. http://www.MariaLawson.co.uk http://www.myspace.com/marialawson http://www.bebo.com/marialawsonofficial http://www.youtube.com/marialawsonmusic Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.