1986–2004: Early life and American Idol Leah LaBelle Vladowski was born on September 8, 1986, in
Toronto, Ontario, and raised in
Seattle, Washington. Her parents, Anastasia and Troshan Vladowski, are Bulgarian singers, and her uncle made
rock music in Bulgaria. Anastasia recorded
pop music and was in a group with Troshan, who was a founding member of Bulgaria's first
rock band,
Srebyrnite grivni. After
defecting from Bulgaria during a 1979 tour, LaBelle's parents emigrated to Canada and later the United States, becoming
naturalized citizens in both countries. LaBelle grew up listening to music, including
jazz and
the Beatles, but felt the most connected to
R&B. and was mentored by Pat Wright, seen here in 2016. LaBelle began performing publicly in 1990, including singing on stage during her parents' tours. From age 11, she joined the
Total Experience Gospel Choir after being inspired by
Lauryn Hill's performance in the 1993 film
Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit. LaBelle cited Hill as her primary musical influence. While performing in the choir, she became interested in
gospel and
soul music. LaBelle also participated in beauty pageants, and in 1997, she won the Washington State Pre-teen Miss America Pageant and was the first runner-up in the National Pageant. A year later, she performed in the musical
Black Nativity and remained with the production for five years. During this time, the Total Experience Gospel Choir's founder, Pat Wright, mentored LaBelle. In 2000, she joined the children's show
Caught in the Middle and remained part of the program for two years. LaBelle attended
Garfield High School, where she performed in a
jazz band led by
Clarence Acox Jr. After winning the grand prize at
KUBE 93.3's Summer Jam Idol in 2002, she performed as the
opening act for Summer Jam 20. At age 17, LaBelle auditioned for the
third season of the television show
American Idol, and performed
Whitney Houston's "
I Believe in You and Me". During her appearances on the series, she was a
junior in
high school. After becoming one of the 32 semi-finalists, LaBelle was eliminated in the top 30 round, but judge
Paula Abdul chose her as her "
wildcard selection" to advance as one of the 12 finalists. She placed twelfth during the season finals, after performing a cover of
the Supremes' "
You Keep Me Hangin' On". Looking back on
American Idol in a 2016 interview, LaBelle said she was "too young at that time and not developed enough as an artist". LaBelle covered
the Stylistics' "
Betcha by Golly, Wow" for the 2004 compilation album
American Idol Season 3: Greatest Soul Classics.
AllMusic's Heather Phares praised LaBelle as "surprisingly strong and mature", writing that "the
studio brings out colors in her voice that she didn't display on-stage".
NUVO's Steve Hammer criticized her as "crushing the life" from the original.
2004–2010: YouTube and backup singing In 2004, following her elimination from
American Idol, LaBelle performed "
The Star-Spangled Banner" at a
National Football League game and "
Lift Every Voice and Sing" during a
National Basketball Association game. The same year, she was featured on
Lisa Leuschner's cover of "
Silent Night" on her Christmas album
Sing Me Home, and recorded "Christmas Time" for the
charity album Christmas in the Northwest, Vol. 7. After graduating from Garfield High School in 2005, LaBelle attended the
Berklee College of Music in Boston. In a 2006 interview with
The Seattle Times, she explained she moved away from Seattle to "come into my own world, my own zone and really appreciate me and my music". LaBelle briefly returned to Seattle in 2007 to perform a solo for the tenth anniversary of
Black Nativity. , pictured here in 2009, became a mentor for LaBelle after hiring her as a
backing vocalist. While attending Berklee College, LaBelle rejected two
recording contracts, including one with
Andreao Heard, based on her attorney's advice. Her mother said, "the contract they were offering was too binding". Heard became interested in LaBelle after watching a video of her performance in the Total Experience Gospel Choir. She worked with Heard in New York City, and recorded a
demo written by
Makeba Riddick, which was sent to several
record labels. During this time, LaBelle decided to combine R&B and pop music, later explaining: "I want to bring real music back but make it marketable and mainstream. To me real music isn't everything being synthesized, computerized." In a 2018
Billboard article, Heard said "the business side of the
industry" prevented him from working further with LaBelle. LaBelle stayed at Berklee College for one year before moving to Los Angeles at 21 to pursue her music career. Following an industry contact's advice, she created a
YouTube channel on December 1, 2007, and gained recognition for her covers of R&B and soul music. In 2018,
Vibe's Desire Thompson noted "the early days of YouTube were a blessing to singers like LaBelle". In 2008
Keri Hilson heard LaBelle's cover of her single "
Energy" and hired her as a
backing vocalist. LaBelle viewed Hilson as a mentor and said she "brought me along with her and allowed me to see into the industry a little bit deeper than I already have". Her connection with Hilson led to further work as a background singer, and she performed for
Robin Thicke,
Jordin Sparks, the
Jonas Brothers,
Britney Spears, and
Eric Benét on their respective tours. In March 2008, LaBelle sang at
Quincy Jones' 75th birthday party at the
Northwest African American Museum. The same year, she was included on
American Idol Rewind, and in 2009, she was featured on rapper Kumasi's single "Angel" from his debut studio album
The One. When Benét was an opening act in
Fantasia's
Back to Me Tour, LaBelle was his backing vocalist, and she performed duets with him as a part of his
set list.
2011–2018: Record contract LaBelle signed a record deal in 2011 with
L.A. Reid's company,
Epic Records, in a partnership with
Pharrell Williams'
I Am Other and
Jermaine Dupri's
So So Def Recordings. Dupri and Williams became interested in LaBelle after watching her YouTube covers, which led to Dupri contacting her. Like Wright and Hilson had before, they acted as mentors for LaBelle. She first met Williams when she was 17, while backstage at a concert by his band
N.E.R.D., and told him he would produce her album one day. On May 1, 2012, LaBelle released the five-track
sampler Pharrell Williams and Jermaine Dupri Present Leah LaBelle, which was distributed to record companies. It was also made available on her
SoundCloud account. in Seattle in October 2013 The sampler was promoted with the singles "
Sexify" and "What Do We Got To Lose?". "Sexify" peaked at number 23 on the
Adult R&B Songs and at number 89 on the
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Billboard charts. In a 2018
Billboard article, Natalie Maher referred to it as LaBelle's breakthrough single. LaBelle said the sampler resembled the sound for her debut studio album, which she described as "feel-good texture music" with a "throwback-but-new feel". Although her debut album was reportedly set for a 2012 release, later being delayed to 2013, it was ultimately never released. At the
2012 Soul Train Music Awards, LaBelle received the
Soul Train Centric Award and performed a tribute to
Aretha Franklin and
Teena Marie with Fantasia. She sang at the 2012 Essence Music Festival in New Orleans and
BET's Music Matters showcase, which was held over the weekend of the
55th Annual Grammy Awards. The non-album single, "
Lolita", was released in May 2013, and a digital set of remixes and instrumentals of the song was made available a month earlier. The single reached number seven on the
Billboard Dance Club Songs chart. In 2013 LaBelle was featured on
Brian Cross's single "Shot Gun" on his album
Pop StarThe Album, and provided background vocals for
Nelly's seventh studio album
M.O. In October, she was the opening act for
JoJo's
Agápē Tour, and appeared in the music video for her single "André" on her mixtape
Agápē. LaBelle was also a dancer in the 24-hour music video for Williams' 2013 single "
Happy". Throughout the day-long video, Williams dances with people in several Los Angeles locations. In 2014, she was featured with JoJo on the
hidden track "Freq" on Williams' second studio album
G I R L. LaBelle reunited with Heard in 2017 during the
59th Annual Grammy Awards. Heard said she was going through a "dark period", and he believed she had given up on her music career when her singles underperformed. == Death and aftermath ==