In all fairness, she was in the bottom 2, so she doesn't have a right to feel so cheated!!

If she was soooooooooooo popular and so amazing, she would surely have gotten more votes than the likes of say Nicholas.

At the end of the day, she didn't have the support.

I think she should have some dignity now and just move on.

She is a good looking girl with a decent voice, if it's meant to be she will get a record deal.

All this sour grapes, is making her look very bitter, she should move on with dignity!!

I have just started a thread myself, i have to disagree, i personally think she had a much bigger fan base than Nicholas, Chico etc but so many of her fans thought she would definitely be safe and didnt feel the need to multiple vote (stupid i know) but i'm sure this will have happened, i am a fan of hers although i dont vote till nearer the final when i would'v thought she would still be in.. then the multiple voting would'v started!! Anyone else with the same opinion!!

Haven´t been following it much since Saturdays show but I always thought Maria showed a great amount of dignity, especially in defeat.

What appears to be happening now is a prime example of why Sharon Osbourne sucks as a mentor/manager. Seriously is there any doubt where all this bitterness and negativity is coming from? She screwed her over to start with given her a song she in no way related to (a song we later here Maria herself was very opposed to singing) and she´s going to nail the final nails into her coffin by taking away the incredible dignity she left with on the live show and replace it with the sort of thing that will turn the public right off her.

Didn´t care much for Maria but did recognize that with the right marketing someone might do something with her and leaving the way she did with the public behind her the way it was would have been the perfect opportunity to continue those sentiments. But noooooo, poor thing has Sharon guiding her.

I saw Maria interviewed on This Morning yesterday and on GMTV today. In both interviews she was incredibly dignified and gracious. She neither said nor suggested that she felt cheated. Clearly, she was terribly disappointed, but I think it's more the case that other people are outraged on her behalf.

This is the same argument that was used by 4Tune fans. The guys themselves mentioned in two interviews that people had been e-mailing, calling and coming up to them in the street saying that they were sorry for not having voted and it was because they thought they would be safe for a while.

At the time, this theory was ridiculed by non-4Tune fans and I seem to remember Maria fans were amongst the biggest critics of the theory, despite the fact that 4Tune being second favourites at the start of the series made the theory very credible. Funny then that Maria fans are resorting to it as an excuse now, despite Maria never having been as high in the stakes.

I would have been very surprised, judging by the reaction I was gauging to Maria away from the show and away from vociferous fans on websites, if she was really that popular. I was pushed to find anyone who thought she was more than just OK. As I have mentioned on another thread, the word was before the show on Saturday that a contestant widely thought to be very popular was consistently just scraping through each week in third from bottom or fourth from bottom place. For all we know that could have been Maria and for all we know she may have scored the lowest number of votes on Saturday.

I agree, she came over as incredibly professional, so much so I'm wondering if she has been coached for this situation over the past few weeks and her early elimination wasn't the shock for the producers we have been led to believe. Look at the publicity she has recieved since Saturday, more maybe, than the eventual winner????

I wasnt one of those people so i cant be included in that..


Could well have been, the amount of people who think she could get a record deal is vey high.. only time will tell!!

I dont come on these boards to argue, its just my opinion and i dont let these things take over my life as many people do!! I just wish people would stop constantly sayin she cant have been that well liked.. obviously she was otherwise there wouldn't be this amount of publicity since she left... as far as I know (altho not an expert) Chenai, Philip didnt get all this!!

I agree Maria showed a lot of dignity.

I also think her fans thought she was safe after seeing some of the performances on Saturdays show.

Is the publicity because people like Maria or dislike Louis?

We're over it.

Still a shame though. I was looking forward to hearing her do that Kelly Clarkson song she likes.

But it wasn't her previous performances she was being voted on on Saturday it was for her performance of Brown Sugar.
I like Maria and thought she was great some weeks and naff other's (thought Beautiful was guff IMO) but I possibly like many other voters, vote on the performance of that night.

But whatever I wish her the very best of luck in her career she seems a very determined lady and am sure she will succeed in whatever she chooses to do.

I have considered that possibility, but Maria's despondency on Saturday night looked genuine to me. There did seem to be something not quite right about Saturday night, but I can't quite explain it.

You are only as good as your last performance in a competition.

Maria was dire.

End of.

...so how are the rest of 'em gettin thru!!

You would have to ask the people with more money than sense......the voters.

The one she murdered at Sharon's house? Spare us. Kelly Clarkson she ain't.

At the time Chenai, Phillip, 4Tune and Addictiv Ladies left, the show was not losing in the Saturday night ratings. Cynical but true.

No she wasn't. End of!

She was pretty poor.

Ok thanks for that, like i say its entertainment for me, i'm not gonna get my knickers in a twist about it i come on here to find peoples opinions out and then i go home and rest!! Its mainly here for my boredom :yawn: at work!!


Ye fortunately i'm not one of them!!

Totally agree!
and Maria has been relativly nice about Louis, when most people would have been spitting venom at him, and I wouldnt have blamed her at all. But she has showed great humility and grace

I disagree compltely, I thought there were at least 4 acts worse than her on Saturday, and no way was her performance 'dire' .

I haven't read much about what Maria has said since being booted off and I wasn't a fan of hers – as a matter of fact, I didn’t take to her but, why should she get over it in the immediate aftermath? It was her dream that ended on Saturday.

I didn’t see Maria on the morning shows but, from what I’ve read on here, she sounded as though she came across as being gracious/dignified. However, from her newspaper interviews it seems; (a) she was given the impression she was going to leave irrespective of her last performance as, Louis apologised repeatedly in advance, and (b) she has since discovered that Louis knew the Conways much better than she'd first thought. From that point of view, it’s easy to think that a decision was based on e.g. cronyism rather than on who he genuinely felt gave the best last performance. Expressing feelings of disappointment etc can also be viewed as real and honest as opposed to being bitter.

in all fairness, she has been most ungracious in the sun today and milking the sympathy vote for all she's worth.

This is what I mean will turn people off her.

She should focus on her careeer and get on with it.
And she was very bad imo on Saturday!!

My theories on why Maria was in the bottom two: Firstly, people (myself included) assumed she was safe and didn't vote for her, secondly, more people, eg, voted for Nicholas and Chico because they were scared they would be in the bottom two, thirdly she is a woman, and with one exception (POP IDOL 2) men get more votes than woman. Fourthly, it wasn't her best performance, and although people obviously have their favourites, I think if you see/hear a great performance, it inspires you to vote for someone. Finally, although she comes across as very pleasant, she doesn't have a big, infectious personality like eg Brenda, which warms people to you.

Having said all that, I was still pretty surprised she was in the bottom 2. I think she handled herself with dignity. Chico seems to be gaining a cult following. I wouldn;t be surprised if he lasts a few more weeks.