GOLDEN-VOICED Sarah Whatmore failed to reach the final of TV's Pop Idol -- but was stunned when notorious judge Simon Cowell asked her to marry him.

The 20-year-old singer wowed viewers of the ITV1 show after appearing in a revealing, golden lace dress to sing the classic track Endless Love. And that prompted Cowell, who has become famous for directing nasty criticism at contestants, to say: "Marry me!"

Looking visibly shocked, Sarah then listened as the other three judges, Pete Waterman, Dr Fox and Nicki Chapman, tipped her for future stardom.

She said that the reaction from Cowell was surprising given his previous comments to wannabe singers which have included telling one contestant: "You should never have got this far."

When later asked about the marriage proposal, Sarah said: "I was shocked. I think he was only joking, though."

Over on ITV2's Pop Idol Extra, the plaudits kept on coming as viewers e-mailed to congratulate her on a stunning performance.

Yet she was eventually beaten by controversial entrant Rik Waller, the 20-stone singer who came first with 25.6 per cent of the vote.

Sarah, from Worsley, managed to win nearly 20 per cent of the votes, leaving her in fourth place but out of the final.

Despite the setback, she remained confident that she would land a top record deal and be gracing the UK Top 10 within a year.

She said: "I enjoyed the performance, was happy with the result and got a brilliant reaction from the judges. Now I can move on.

"A few offers have been made already and, although I know it won't happen overnight, I think I'll get a record contract and be bigger than Pop Idol itself."

Songwriter Waterman described Sarah's performance as "fantastic", while DJ Dr Fox said she "sung beautiful" and had "a smile worth a million dollars".

But Sarah had a thing or two to say about Rik. She said she felt the programme was suffering because of all the attention given to the fat singer.

A campaign has been launched by lads' magazine FHM to make him the winner -- something mentioned by Cowell on the show after accusing Rik of letting the fame "get to his head".

Sarah said: "Rik has had more publicity than most of us. But I think Pete Waterman was right. He is not a pop idol."

Sarah is now hoping her exposure on the show will land her a record deal. She already has a selection of self-written dance and trance-inspired tracks she hopes will impress music label bosses.

Aaron Bayley, from Newcastle, came second with 24.9 per cent of the vote and Darius Danesh, who also entered Popstars, came third with 19.9per cent. Sarah won 19.8 per cent.