Pop Idol series 2
The second and final series of British reality television show Pop Idol aired on ITV on from 13 September to 20 December 2003. Michelle McManus was announced as the winner and received a £1 million recording contract to release her debut album. Ant & Dec returned to present the show on ITV, whilst Simon Cowell, Neil Fox, Nicki Chapman and Pete Waterman all returned as judges.
The second series was not as successful as the first series, and the viewing figures for the finale were much lower. Waterman considered McManus an unworthy winner. In 2004, Pop Idol was axed and ITV announced a new show created by Cowell, with no involvement from Pop Idol creator Simon Fuller—The X Factor. The perceived similarity between the two shows later became the subject of a legal dispute.
Live shows
The live shows began on 25 October, and continued through to the live final on 20 December.Finalists
- as of the start of the series
Heats and live shows
Results summary
;Colour key- In week 1 of the finals, Chris and Andy received the same vote percentage as did Roxanne and Brian. In week 2, Mark and Chris received the same vote percentage.
Live show details
Heat 1 (13 September- Recorded on 10 September 2003)
| Act | Order | From | Song | Result |
| Emma Dane | 1 | Preston | "Hero" | Eliminated |
| Jade Hewitt | 2 | Sheffield | "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" | Eliminated |
| Eddie Parry | 3 | Staffordshire | "Still" | Eliminated – |
| Helen O'Brien | 4 | Kessingland | "Promise Me" | Eliminated |
| Tim Mvula | 5 | Chester | "Just the Way You Are" | Eliminated |
| Michelle McManus | 6 | Glasgow | "Don't Be a Stranger" | Advanced – |
| Darja Schabad | 7 | Riga | "Underneath Your Clothes" | Eliminated |
| Chris Hide | 8 | Lancing | "End of the Road" | Advanced – |
| Jason Brock | 9 | Woburn | " I Do It for You" | Eliminated – |
| Rebecca Hayes | 10 | London | "Stop!" | Eliminated – |
;Notes;
- The hosts revealed the contestants who received the top five numbers of votes in reverse order. Michelle McManus and Chris Hide advanced to the top 12 of the competition. The other eight contestants were eliminated.
- Jason Brock and Rebecca Hayes returned for a second chance at the top 12 in the Wildcard Round.
Heat 2 (20 September-Recorded on 17 September 2003)
| Act | Order | From | Song | Result |
| Samantha Jones | 1 | Tamworth | "The Power of Love" | Eliminated |
| Maxwell Roche | 2 | Staines | "Your Song" | Eliminated |
| Bianca Lindgreen | 3 | London | "Think Twice" | Eliminated |
| Wesu Wallace | 4 | Brighton | "Overjoyed" | Eliminated |
| Kelly-Marie Smith | 5 | South London | "Endless Love" | Eliminated |
| Susanne Manning | 6 | Reading | "Piece of My Heart" | Eliminated – |
| Brian Ormond | 7 | Dublin | "Amazed" | Advanced – |
| Kirsty Crawford | 8 | Northampton | " A Natural Woman" | Advanced – |
| Adam Garner | 9 | Buckinghamshire | "Knocks Me Off My Feet" | Eliminated – |
| Jodie Connor | 10 | Oldham | "One Day I'll Fly Away" | Eliminated – |
;Notes
- The hosts revealed the contestants who received the top five numbers of votes in reverse order. Kirsty Crawford and Brian Ormond advanced to the top 12 of the competition. The other 8 contestants were eliminated.
- Jodie Connor and Susanne Manning returned for a second chance at the top 12 in the Wildcard Round.
Heat 3 (27 September- Recorded on 24 September 2003)
| Act | Order | From | Song | Result |
| Kate Ainscough | 1 | Windermere | "Show Me Heaven" | Eliminated |
| Amy Kellegher | 2 | Romford | "Get Here" | Eliminated |
| Kieran McDonald | 3 | Musselburgh | "Goodnight Girl" | Eliminated – |
| Michael Morrison | 4 | Bromley | "Always and Forever" | Eliminated |
| Rachel Ifon | 5 | Birkenhead | " The Dock of the Bay" | Eliminated |
| Hayley Bamford | 6 | Yorkshire | "That's What Friends Are For" | Eliminated |
| Roxanne Cooper | 7 | Hull | "Beautiful" | Advanced – |
| Sam Nixon | 8 | Barnsley | "Walking in Memphis" | Eliminated – |
| Suzanne Carley | 9 | Watford | "Run to You" | Eliminated – |
| Andy Wood | 10 | Leeds | "Easy" | Advanced – |
;Notes
- The hosts revealed the contestants who received the top five numbers of votes in reverse order. Andy Wood and Roxanne Cooper advanced to the top 12 of the competition. The other 8 contestants were eliminated.
- Kieran McDonald and Sam Nixon returned for a second chance at the top 12 in the Wildcard Round.
Heat 4 (4 October- Recorded on 1 October 2003)
| Act | Order | From | Song | Result |
| Elizabeth Rogers | 1 | Liverpool | "You're Still the One" | Eliminated |
| Sarah Nowak | 2 | Maidenhead | "Stuck in the Middle With You" | Eliminated |
| Jamie Tinkler | 3 | Middlesbrough | "Right Here Waiting" | Eliminated – |
| Kim Gee | 4 | Grimsby | "Son of a Preacher Man" | Advanced – |
| Laura Russ | 5 | Wirral | "Killing Me Softly with His Song" | Eliminated |
| David Archer | 6 | South Wales | "What Makes a Man" | Eliminated |
| Danielle Wooley | 7 | Nottingham | "When I Fall in Love" | Eliminated |
| Leon McPherson | 8 | Stoke Newington | "You Are Not Alone" | Advanced – |
| Becca Hossanney | 9 | Hailsham | "Without You" | Eliminated – |
| Tarek Jabre | 10 | East London | "Let Me Entertain You" | Eliminated – |
;Notes
- The hosts revealed the contestants who received the top five numbers of votes in reverse order. Leon McPherson and Kim Gee advanced to the top 12 of the competition. The other 8 contestants were eliminated.
- None of the contestants from this round made it into the Wildcard Round, making it the only group to not be represented at that stage.
Heat 5 (11 October- Recorded on 8 October 2003)
| Act | Order | From | Song | Result |
| Tamsin Vaughn | 1 | London | "Holding Out for a Hero" | Eliminated |
| Mark Rhodes | 2 | West Midlands | "She's Like the Wind" | Advanced – |
| Katy Pullinger | 3 | Weybridge | "Desperado" | Eliminated |
| Becky Oakley | 4 | Tonypandy | "You Might Need Somebody" | Eliminated |
| Tina Perry | 5 | Kent | "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" | Eliminated – |
| Craig Chalmers | 6 | Edinburgh | "I Believe I Can Fly" | Eliminated |
| Danielle Tedford | 7 | Barrow-in-Furness | "Fields of Gold" | Eliminated – |
| Andy Scott-Lee | 8 | Rhyl | "Careless Whisper" | Advanced – |
| Glen Harvey | 9 | Hampshire | "A Million Love Songs" | Eliminated – |
| Elizabeth Anastasiou | 10 | London | "When I Need You" | Eliminated |
;Notes
- The hosts revealed the contestants who received the top five numbers of votes in reverse order. Andy Scott-Lee and Mark Rhodes advanced to the top 12 of the competition. The other 8 contestants were eliminated.
- Glen Harvey and Danielle Tedford returned for a second chance at the top 12 in the Wildcard Round.
- Craig Chalmers later went on to make the live finals of Any Dream Will Do in 2007.
Wildcard round (18 October)
| Act | Order | Song | Result |
| Kieran McDonald | 1 | "I'm Your Man" | Eliminated – |
| Jodie Connor | 2 | "Heaven" | Eliminated |
| Rebecca Hayes | 3 | "I'll Be There" | Eliminated |
| Jason Brock | 4 | "Lately" | Eliminated |
| Glen Harvey | 5 | "Yesterday" | Eliminated |
| Susanne Manning | 6 | "I Don't Want to Talk About It" | Advanced – |
| Danielle Tedford | 7 | "Thorn in My Side" | Eliminated – |
| Sam Nixon | 8 | "Over My Shoulder" | Advanced – |
;Notes
- The judges selected Sam to move on into the Top 12 of the competition, before the hosts revealed the Top 3 vote getters. Susanne received the most votes, and completed the top 12. It was not made clear whether or not Sam was actually in the top 3, as the hosts stated that it was the top 3 of the remaining 7 contestants. Danielle missed out on the finals by one place for the second time.
- In 2010, Jodie Connor's vocals were featured on the UK number-one single "Good Times" by London grime collective, Roll Deep, and she later went onto launch a solo career.