Michelle McManus is the reason why we need competitions like Pop Idol in the world. A girl like her would probably never be signed by a major recording label because of her appearance (personally, I think she's actually quite pretty). But she has one of the most pure, unaffected voices in the music industry today and with the help of her label released what, to me, was unquestionably the best Pop album of 2004, one of the best overall albums of 2004, and one of the greatest Pop albums of the past 5 years. Here's hoping that Michelle can overcome the stigma of Pop Idol competitions and go on to have a long and successful recording career.
