Mary Byrne (singer)

Mary Byrne (born 3 November 1959) is a top 10 selling Irish singer and TV presenter based in Ireland and the UK. Mary rose to fame in 2010 after becoming a finalist on the seventh series of The X Factor. After finishing fifth on the show, she signed a record deal with Sony Music Ireland.^[1] Byrne and her fellow The X Factor finalists gained a number-one single on the UK Singles Chart and the Irish Singles Chart with a cover of David Bowie's "'Heroes'" in aid of Help for Heroes.^[2]

She was also Neil Diamond's special guest at the Aviva Stadium, where she performed in front of 55,000 people.^[3] In August 2011, Byrne appeared in GREASE: The Musical at the Grand Canal Theatre in Dublin.^[4] She began work on an autobiography, This Is My Life, and was released on 21 October 2011 in the UK and Ireland.^[5] Mary decided to leave Sony Music as she accepted a new record deal offer with Decca Music and Universal Music, who are confident they can "get her music career up and off the ground". She has produced her second album, called ...with Love.^[6] In 2012, Byrne appeared on Celebrity Bainisteoir.^[7] Mary is also the main presenter on 3 networks panel show Midday, a show that airs live weekdays in Ireland and follows a format such as the ITV series Loose Women. She is also a co-presenter on the talk show Elaine Crowley.