Michelle McManus
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]
This article is about the Scottish singer and TV personality. For the Michigan politician, see Michelle McManus (politician).
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]
Early life
Michelle McManus was born in 1980 in Glasgow, Scotland to John and Helen McManus,[9] and is the oldest of five sisters. Before auditioning for Pop Idol, McManus lived in the Glasgow district of Baillieston, to the east of the city with her parents and sisters.[10]
Personal life
McManus married Jeff Nimmo on 23 September 2017.[62] They have two children.[63] McManus had a "brief" friendship with recording artist Robbie Williams following her Pop Idol win in 2003, with McManus claiming that Williams showed her "kindness at a time when I really needed it". Following this, Williams and McManus lost contact until 2022. After meeting Williams backstage following one of his concerts, Williams invited McManus to his home to participate in her Talent Show Winners documentary, where McManus said that Williams befriended her in 2003 as he "was getting battered in the press at the same time I was", further adding that Williams said he had "never seen someone take the battering I did".[64]
McManus became known for her weight and appearance during her Pop Idol tenure, and McManus has credited her weight for lack of promotion and has said that she "felt hated in the media". McManus has since lost a considerable amount of weight, which she claims was for her children.[65]
Michelle McManus discography
2
1
7
7