Michelle McManus

This article is about the Scottish singer and TV personality. For the Michigan politician, see Michelle McManus (politician).

Michelle McManus
McManus performing at the Glasgow East Woman of the Year, 2010
McManus performing at the Glasgow East Woman of the Year, 2010
Background information
Born (1980-05-08) 8 May 1980 (age 44)
Glasgow, Scotland
OriginBaillieston, Scotland[1]
GenresPop
Occupations
  • Singer
  • columnist
  • television presenter
InstrumentVocals
Years active2003–present
Labels

Michelle McManus (born 8 May 1980[3]) is a Scottish singer, columnist, and television presenter who won the second and final series of the UK talent show Pop Idol in 2003. In January 2004, McManus made history when she became the first Scottish female artist to debut atop the UK Singles Chart with a debut single.[4]

McManus's debut single, "All This Time", entered the UK Singles Chart at number one in January 2004. Her debut album, The Meaning of Love, was released in February 2004, and debuted at number one on the Scottish Albums Charts and number three on the UK Albums Chart. Later that year, BMG dropped McManus from the label, and in 2007 she founded her own record label, McMannii Records. Later that year, McManus released a promotional single, "Just For You" from her then upcoming second album Dancing to a Different Beat, which was scheduled for release in 2008, but the release was eventually shelved.[5] A return to music in 2012 saw the release of "Take You There", a duet with Mànran, which reached number seventy on the Scottish Singles Charts, and in 2017, McManus was a featured vocalist as part of the Choirs with Purpose release "We All Stand Together".

From 2009 to 2011, McManus was a co-presenter of STV's lifestyle magazine show The Hour, originally alongside Stephen Jardine and later Tam Cowan. She was also a columnist for the Glasgow Times until 2018. In 2019, McManus released her second album, the Christmas inspired Michelle McManus' Winter Wonderland, featuring the SoundSational Community Choir.[6] In 2023, McManus released the single "Christmas Glow", and featured in a BBC Scotland documentary highlighting her Pop Idol win in 2003 and subsequent career titled Michelle McManus: Talent Show Winners.[7][8]

  1. ^ "Michelle McManus hits town with new material". Dailyrecord.co.uk. 1 April 2009. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  2. ^ "Whatever happened to Pop Idol's Michelle McManus?". 24 January 2016. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  3. ^ "Twitter". Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  4. ^ "McManus goes straight to No 1". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  5. ^ "Michelle McManus". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  6. ^ "Michelle McManus' Winter Wonderland". Spotify. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  7. ^ "Michelle McManus: Talent Show Winners". BBC Scotland. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  8. ^ "ITV Loose Women: Michelle McManus emotional as she reflects on Pop Idol win 20 years later". Daily Record. Retrieved 30 November 2023.