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Susanne
'Soose' Manning is a gorgeous cheerful girl who at 21 has the whole
world at her feet. She's fashionable, funky, has a boyfriend who's
in an indie band, and of course she rose to national fame through
Pop Idol.
She's
also a Christian. And that her faith only produced negative comments
in the national press is pretty indicative of the stereotype the general
public has of Christians.
Says Susanne:
"They made up a story that started 'despite being a devout Christian
- and I hate that word 'devout' cos it makes me sound like a right
nutcase - Susanne wanted two bodyguards'…it's only really negative
stuff."
Incidentally
the tabloid story hasn't a shred of truth to it but it shows that
while the Kaballah faith - an offshoot of Judaism - is the latest
celebrity craze, spearheaded by Madonna, Christianity is seen as a
bit wet.
Even her
English Literature lecturer at Norwich University of East Anglia was
"horrified" to learn that his bright student was a Christian and henceforth
treated Susanne as "a halfwit".
But luckily
this is all water off a duck's back for Susanne, who regarded her
faith and her friends' prayers as a rock during the Pop Idol show.
She believes
that God was listening to her friends' prayers, as she mustered up
a strength inside her that she never had before in the face of criticism.
She didn't even know her friends were praying for her.
"Criticism
has always cut me, as a kid I was really badly bullied, even if someone
made a negative comment about my shoes I'd be down. And then the nationals
made up stories about me refusing to sign autographs and about calling
Michelle McManus a 'fat cow'.
"There
was no milligram of truth in any of them. But whereas before it would've
destroyed me I was upset for maybe half an hour.
"The way
I handled stuff, I never would've thought I could do it. I know now
that a lot of people were praying for me though I didn't know that
at the time, I really do think their prayers made a huge difference
- humiliation in front of 12 million people I wouldn't normally handle
that well", she said, lifting an eyebrow and smiling.
Her
church and friends also kept her grounded and strong in the aftermath
of Pop Idol.
"It's
calculated to mess with your head", she explains, "you're taken
from obscurity into photo shoots, premieres and then they drop you."
But going
to church and seeing her friends "take the mick" out of her by doing
the side-step clapping the contestants had to do at the start of each
show, she could be among a 'real' environment.
Her
Pop Idol experience has certainly woken her up to the reality of
celebrity, her values of "loving God and loving other people" allow
her to see fame for what it really is:
"It
doesn't mean anything, it makes you realise it's smoke and mirrors,
it's crap. There's no substance to it, I don't think it could've
gone to my head.
"A lot
of people who make it up there squash a lot of people along the way
- that goes against the grain for me."
Susanne
sings in the Reading Vineyard Church band with her boyfriend, who
drums in hotly-tipped band Pure Reason Revolution.
She
hopes to develop her music career and is currently
working on indie songs.
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