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The Conway Sisters were a semi-professional singing group from County Sligo, Ireland, who achieved a measure of fame through their appearance in the final stages of the second UK series of television talent show The X Factor in 2005. The group were nominated in the "best Irish pop act" category at the 2006 Meteor Awards.

Beginnings

Laura, Marie, Sharon and Sinead Conway were born and raised in County Sligo, Ireland. The four sisters formed a group, The Conway Sisters, in 2002. Throughout 2002 they wrote, produced, and recorded music, and played locally. In 2003, they released their first single, "What Do You Do?", which debuted in the Top 20 in Ireland. A second single, "Now That It's Over", followed in 2004, and their third single, "Miss You", entered the Top 20 in the Irish charts in May 2005. Their self-financed debut album, Waiting for You, was released in May 2005.

The X Factor

In May 2005, the sisters auditioned for the UK television programme The X Factor. Along with eleven other acts, they made it through to the final live stages of the competition. In week 5 of The X Factor knockout stages, The Conways found themselves in the final showdown alongside Maria Lawson. Lawson was voted off on the casting vote of Louis Walsh, prompting booing from the studio audience and fellow judge Sharon Osbourne to claim that he had "voted with his passport", referring to the fact that Walsh was also Irish. The decision provoked some controversy in the UK media. It was also reportedly revealed that Walsh had known the Conways prior to the competition.

Following their nomination for expulsion and the generally negative comments of their mentor, Simon Cowell, the Conways worked for the next episode of the show without his guidance. They were eliminated in week 7, their third consecutive week in the bottom two, after Cowell voted against them – the first and so far only time that an X Factor judge had voted off their own act. Upon their dismissal from the competition, the group stated that Walsh had been their true mentor. Following the final of The X Factor, they performed with the other Top 7 finalists from the live shows on The X Factor Live tour at venues throughout the UK.

Breakup

In August 2006 on the ITV show The X Factor – One Year On, Laura Conway announced that the Conways had split up for good. On their official website they said: "We will be finishing up as the Conway Sisters for now, we've come to a place where we want to pursue individual career paths and now we feel ready to do that!"

Following the split, Laura announced her intention to pursue a solo music career. Sinead later performed with a Dublin-based band, "Red Shoes". As of 2011, Sharon Conway was also reportedly "fronting her own band".

References

1. "Host hails world class Meteor Music Awards". irishexaminer.com. Irish Examiner. 21 November 2005.
2. ^ "It's far from over as Conway Sisters release new single". Sligo Champion. 7 April 2004. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
3. "Chart search - results for "conway sisters"". irishcharts.ie. Irish Recorded Music Association. Archived from the original on 27 November 2022.
4. ^ "'Experience of a lifetime' for Sligo's Conway sisters". Sligo Champion. 7 September 2011. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
5. "I'm not rude - I'm realistic". standard.co.uk. Evening Standard. 12 April 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
6. "Louis Walsh quits X Factor". irishexaminer.com. Irish Examiner. 23 November 2005. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
7. "Cowell puts pop genius behind Conway Sisters". independent.ie. 4 December 2005. Retrieved 5 December 2022.

External links

• Snapshot of the former Conway Sisters website (Archived July 2006)

• Irish girl groups
• Musicians from County Sligo
• The X Factor (British TV series) contestants
• Musical groups established in 2002
• Musical groups disestablished in 2006
• 2002 establishments in Ireland