X Factor in 2004, but she was rejected by judge Simon Cowell after reaching the "bootcamp" rounds. In 2005 she auditioned for the second series of the show. Lawson outlined in her 2008 autobiography life starts now, that during her second addition for the X factor, Cowell immediately remembered her from the previous year, stating that he had "made a mistake" in not putting her through to the live shows. After performing "Stop" by Sam Brown at her audition, Lawson proceeded through to the bootcamp rounds with fellow singer, Sharon Osbourne emerging as her new mentor. Following the bootcamp rounds, Lawson continued to proceed to the Osbourne household in Los Angeles, where she sang in the live stages of the show as part of Osbourne's final four. At the beginning of the live shows, Lawson performed"Piece of My Heart" and "You're Beautiful". Lawson became one of the notable returnees, and eventually rose to the top making the final eight. Lawson outlines week four of her live shows, where she performed a cover to cover the James Blunt hit "You're Beautiful", receiving the most public votes for that week. Performances on The X Factor Elimination controversy In the fifth week of the live shows, Lawson performed "Brown Sugar", receiving criticism from judges that it was unsuitable for her. After the public vote, Lawson found herself in the bottom two for the first time with Irish girl group The Conway Sisters. Voting figures showed that Lawson received twice as many votes as The Conway Sisters, meaning that if it came to a deadlock, Lawson would be saved. Following the sing off, the two out of the three judges voted against Lawson, sending her home. Simon Cowell voted against Lawson, backing his act The Conway Sisters. Louis Walsh also voted against Lawson, stating that he “followed his heart”. Lawson's mentor, Sharon Osbourne, said that she was a victim of the "Irish Mafia", referring to Irish judge Louis Walsh's decision to vote in favour of the Irish act at Lawson's expense. This caused a media uproar and Walsh threatened to quit the show after days of negative press. Lawson's elimination was also a shock for bookmakers who had her as a 66–1 outsider to leave the programme. Post-X Factor: Maria Lawson After Lawson was eliminated from the show, she was approached by at least three major record labels. On 6 March 2006 Lawson announced