Leah LaBelle

Leah LaBelle was born in Toronto, Canada, and raised in Seattle, Washington. At age 16, she was a finalist on the third season of American Idol. She signed a record deal in 2011 with Epic in partnership with I Am Other and So So Def Recordings. She and her boyfriend Rasual Butler died in a car crash in Los Angeles on January 31, 2018, at the age of 25.

About Leah LaBelle in brief

Summary Leah LaBelleLeah LaBelle was born in Toronto, Canada, and raised in Seattle, Washington. At age 16, she was a finalist on the third season of American Idol. She signed a record deal in 2011 with Epic in partnership with I Am Other and So So Def Recordings. A posthumous extended play, Love to the Moon, was released on September 7, 2018. She and her boyfriend Rasual Butler died in a car crash in Los Angeles on January 31, 2018, at the age of 25. She is survived by her mother, Anastasia and Troshan Vladowski, and her father, Michael. She was a member of the Total Experience Gospel Choir and performed in the musical Black Nativity. Her uncle made rock music in Bulgaria, while her father was a Bulgarian pop singer. She said she was discouraged from pursuing a career in the genre, but said she ignored stereotypes involving blue-eyed soul. Her early influences included Whitney Houston, Stevie Wonder, Sade, Brandy Norwood, and Kim Burrell. She also cited Lauryn Hill as her biggest musical influence. She started performing publicly in 1990, including singing on stage during her parents’ tours.

In 2000, she joined the children’s show Caught in the Middle. She sang in a jazz band led by Clarence Acox Jr. Winning the Grand Prize at KUBE 93. 3 Summer Jam Idol in 2002, she performed as the opening act for the Summer Jam 20. She appeared on the series while a senior in high school. After becoming a semi-finalist on American Idol, she became one of the 32 high-finalists, but was eliminated in the top 30 round. She placed twelfth in the season finals, after performing a cover of The Supremes’ “You Keep Me Hangin’ On”. While recording her version of The Stylistics’ “Betcha Golly Wow”, she recorded a version of “You and Me Believe in Me” with Andreao Heard. In a 2016 interview, she said that she was too young at the time and not developed enough as an artist to be considered an artist. She later released the single “Sexify” and the promotional single “What Do We Got To Lose?\”. She received the Soul Train Centric Award at the 2012 Soul Train Music Awards. In 2013, she released the stand-alone single “Lolita” and her album “The Greatest Soul Classics”