Category: TV Entertainment; 91Èȱ¬ ONE
Date: 12.08.2006
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Laura Sicurello, 26, a Police Intelligence Officer from Milton Keynes, was the
first Maria to be voted out by the viewers in tonight's How Do You Solve a
Problem Like Maria?, hosted by Graham Norton on 91Èȱ¬ ONE.
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Tonight the ten Maria finalists auditioned live for the nation for the first
time with an array of songs chosen to show the viewers that they can tackle a
tune and give it their all - whether it be pop, rock or musical theatre.
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After performing their songs and hearing the feedback from Andrew Lloyd Webber and the expert panel - David Ian, Zoe Tyler and John Barrowman - the Marias
waited for the viewers to cast their votes.
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The two with the lowest votes were
Laura and Helena who had to sing for survival with a joint rendition of No
Matter What from Whistle Down the Wind.
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Then it was up to the Lord of the
Theatre alone to choose which Maria should be saved for another week.
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Andrew Lloyd Webber said: "Both of you were the two who I thought were the weakest tonight. I'm as nervous
as you are as I don't want to make the wrong decision."
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Andrew chose to save Helena who will sing again next week, and Laura was left to
say goodbye.
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She joined the other Marias in a rendition
of So long, Farewell from The Sound of Music before taking her final bow.
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Laura said after the show: "I'd like to thank everybody for giving me this chance. I loved every minute of
it and I wish all the other girls the best of luck.
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"I'm really happy with the
song I had and what I did with it tonight and I can go home with my head held
high.
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"I've never done anything like this before and I think I've done myself
proud."
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Tonight the highest number of votes went to Connie and the lowest number went to
Helena.
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When Graham asked the panel "Who was Maria tonight?", David and John both chose
Connie, but Zoe picked Leanne.
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Safe for another week are Leanne, Connie, Simona, Abi, Belinda, Siobhan, Meliz,
Aoife and Helena.
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These hopefuls l go on to next week's show where they will
again audition for the nation to decide who could be Maria in the new West End
version of The Sound of Music.
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Also performing this evening was Ronan Keating with his new single Iris.
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Notes to Editors
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Individual songs this evening were:
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Leanne Dobinson - It's Oh So Quiet (Bjork);
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Laura Sicurello - Torn (Natalie Imbruglia);
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Aoife Mulholland - Runaway (The Corrs);
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Abi Finley - Nobody Does It Better (Carly Simon);
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Siobhan Dillon - Man I Feel Like A Woman (Shania Twain);
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Connie Fisher - Natural Woman (Aretha Franklin);
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Simona Armstrong - Over The Rainbow (Eva Cassidy);
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Belinda Evans - Somewhere Over The Rainbow (Judy Garland);
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Helena Blackman - Crazy Chic (Charlotte Church);
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Meliz Serman - Son of a Preacher Man (Dusty Springfield).
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Group songs tonight were How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?, I Have
Confidence and So long Farewell.
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EP
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