Leah LaBelle facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Leah LaBelle
LaBelle in 2012
Born	Leah LaBelle Vladowski (1986-09-08)September 8, 1986 Toronto, Canada
Died	January 31, 2018(2018-01-31) (aged 31) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Citizenship	Canada United States
Occupation	Singer
Years active	2004–2018
Musical career
Origin	Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Genres	Pop R&B soul
Labels	I Am Other Epic So So Def

Leah LaBelle Vladowski (born September 8, 1986 – died January 31, 2018) was a talented American singer. She became well-known in 2004 when she competed on the third season of American Idol. She finished in twelfth place in the finals.

Later, in 2007, Leah started recording popular R&B and soul music songs for her YouTube channel. These videos helped her get work as a backup singer starting in 2008. In 2011, she signed a record deal with Epic Records, working with I Am Other and So So Def Recordings. Leah released a special collection of songs called a sampler, three singles, and an extended play (EP) that came out after she passed away.

Leah was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and grew up in Seattle, Washington. She dreamed of a music career from a young age. As a child, she sang in the Total Experience Gospel Choir and performed in the musical Black Nativity. In 2005, Leah attended the Berklee College of Music for a year before moving to Los Angeles. While in college, she worked with Andreao Heard on a demo. Following advice from someone in the music industry, Leah shared her music on her YouTube channel.

Keri Hilson hired Leah as a backup singer after hearing her sing "Energy". This led to Leah working with other artists on their tours. She signed a record deal after famous producers Pharrell Williams and Jermaine Dupri contacted her. Her sampler, Pharrell Williams and Jermaine Dupri Present Leah LaBelle (2012), was given only to record companies. It featured two singles, "Sexify" and "What Do We Got to Lose?". Leah also won the Soul Train Centric Award in 2012. The next year, she released another single called "Lolita".

Sadly, on January 31, 2018, Leah and her boyfriend, Rasual Butler, passed away in a car accident in Los Angeles. An EP called Love to the Moon was released after her death on September 7, 2018.

Leah LaBelle's Life and Music Journey

Early Life and Her Start on American Idol

Leah LaBelle Vladowski was born on September 8, 1986, in Toronto, Ontario. She grew up in Seattle, Washington. Her parents, Anastasia and Troshan Vladowski, were both singers from Bulgaria. Her uncle also made rock music in Bulgaria.

Leah's mother sang pop music, and her father was a founding member of Bulgaria's first rock band. Her parents moved from Bulgaria to Canada and then to the United States. Leah grew up listening to many types of music, like jazz and the Beatles. But she felt the strongest connection to R&B music.

As a teenager LaBelle performed in the Total Experience Gospel Choir and was mentored by Pat Wright, seen here in 2016.

Leah started performing publicly in 1990, even singing on stage during her parents' tours. When she was 11, she joined the Total Experience Gospel Choir. She was inspired by Lauryn Hill's performance in the movie Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit. Leah often said Lauryn Hill was her biggest musical influence. While in the choir, she became very interested in gospel and soul music.

Leah also took part in beauty pageants. In 1997, she won the Washington State Pre-teen Miss America Pageant. She was also the first runner-up in the National Pageant. A year later, she performed in the musical Black Nativity for five years. During this time, Pat Wright, the founder of the Total Experience Gospel Choir, guided Leah. In 2000, she joined a children's show called Caught in the Middle for two years.

Leah went to Garfield High School. There, she sang in a jazz band led by Clarence Acox Jr. In 2002, she won a big prize at KUBE 93.3's Summer Jam Idol. This allowed her to be the opening act for Summer Jam 20.

When she was 17, Leah auditioned for the third season of American Idol. She sang Whitney Houston's "I Believe in You and Me". She was still in high school during her time on the show. Leah made it to the top 32 semi-finalists. She was then eliminated in the top 30 round. However, judge Paula Abdul chose her as a "wildcard selection". This allowed Leah to move on as one of the twelve finalists. She finished in twelfth place after singing the Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On". Looking back in 2016, Leah felt she was "too young" and "not developed enough as an artist" for American Idol at that time.

Leah sang the Stylistics' "Betcha by Golly, Wow" for the 2004 album American Idol Season 3: Greatest Soul Classics. Music critics praised her voice as "surprisingly strong and mature". They noted that the studio recordings showed more of her vocal range than her live performances.

Becoming a YouTube Star and Backup Singer

After American Idol in 2004, Leah performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" at a National Football League game. She also sang "Lift Every Voice and Sing" at a National Basketball Association game. That same year, she was featured on Lisa Leuschner's Christmas album. She also recorded "Christmas Time" for a charity album.

After graduating from Garfield High School in 2005, Leah went to the Berklee College of Music in Boston. She explained that she moved away from Seattle to "come into my own world". She wanted to "appreciate me and my music". In 2007, Leah briefly returned to Seattle to perform for the tenth anniversary of Black Nativity.

Keri Hilson, pictured here in 2009, became a mentor for LaBelle after hiring her as a backing vocalist.

While at Berklee College, Leah turned down two recording contracts. Her lawyer advised her that the contracts were "too binding". One of these offers was from Andreao Heard. He became interested in Leah after seeing a video of her singing in the Total Experience Gospel Choir. She worked with Heard in New York City. They recorded a demo song that was sent to several record labels.

During this time, Leah decided to mix R&B and pop music. She wanted to "bring real music back but make it marketable and mainstream". She felt "real music isn't everything being synthesized, computerized". Andreao Heard later said that the "business side of the industry" stopped him from working more with Leah.

Leah stayed at Berklee College for one year. Then, at age 21, she moved to Los Angeles to follow her music dreams. Following advice from someone in the industry, she started a YouTube channel on December 1, 2007. She became known for her covers of R&B and soul songs. In 2018, Vibe magazine noted that "the early days of YouTube were a blessing to singers like LaBelle".

In 2008, Keri Hilson heard Leah's cover of her song "Energy". Hilson then hired Leah as a backing vocalist. Leah saw Hilson as a mentor. She said Hilson "brought me along with her and allowed me to see into the industry a little bit deeper". This connection led to more work as a background singer. Leah performed for artists like Robin Thicke, Jordin Sparks, the Jonas Brothers, Britney Spears, and Eric Benét on their tours.

In March 2008, Leah sang at Quincy Jones' 75th birthday party. The same year, she was featured on American Idol Rewind. In 2009, she was on rapper Kumasi's song "Angel". When Eric Benét opened for Fantasia's tour, Leah was his backup singer. She also sang duets with him during his performances.

Signing a Record Deal and Releasing Music

In 2011, Leah signed a record deal with L.A. Reid's company, Epic Records. This was a partnership with Pharrell Williams' I Am Other and Jermaine Dupri's So So Def Recordings. Dupri and Williams became interested in Leah after watching her YouTube covers. Dupri then contacted her. Like Pat Wright and Keri Hilson before them, they became mentors for Leah.

Leah first met Pharrell Williams when she was 17. It was backstage at a concert by his band N.E.R.D.. She told him that one day he would produce her album. On May 1, 2012, Leah released a five-song collection called Pharrell Williams and Jermaine Dupri Present Leah LaBelle. This was given to record companies and also put on her SoundCloud account.

LaBelle performing at the Crocodile Cafe in Seattle in October 2013

The sampler was promoted with two singles: "Sexify" and "What Do We Got To Lose?". "Sexify" reached number 23 on the Adult R&B Songs chart and number 89 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Billboard charts. In 2018, Natalie Maher from Billboard called it Leah's breakthrough song. Leah said the sampler sounded like what her first album would be. She described it as "feel-good texture music" with a "throwback-but-new feel". Her first album was planned for 2012, then 2013, but it was never released.

At the 2012 Soul Train Music Awards, Leah won the Soul Train Centric Award. She also performed a tribute to Aretha Franklin and Teena Marie with Fantasia. She sang at the 2012 Essence Music Festival in New Orleans. She also performed at BET's Music Matters showcase during the weekend of the 55th Annual Grammy Awards. The single "Lolita" was released in May 2013. A digital set of remixes and instrumentals of the song came out a month earlier. This single reached number seven on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart.

In 2013, Leah was featured on Brian Cross's song "Shot Gun". She also provided background vocals for Nelly's album M.O.. In October, she was the opening act for JoJo's Agápē Tour. Leah also appeared in the music video for JoJo's song "André". Leah was also a dancer in the 24-hour music video for Pharrell Williams' 2013 song "Happy". In this video, Williams dances with people in different places in Los Angeles. In 2014, Leah was featured with JoJo on a hidden song called "Freq" on Williams' album G I R L.

Leah met with Andreao Heard again in 2017. Heard said she was going through a "dark period". He thought she might have given up on her music career because her singles had not done as well as hoped.

Her Legacy and Final Music

On January 31, 2018, Leah LaBelle and her boyfriend, retired NBA player Rasual Butler, passed away. They were in a car accident in the Studio City area of Los Angeles, California.

While some early reports said they were married, her official website and obituaries later confirmed they were not. On February 3, 2018, Rasual Butler's daughter, Raven, held a joint memorial service for them. It took place at Potter's House, a Christian church in Los Angeles, where both Leah and Rasual were members. The service was also streamed online. A separate service for Leah was held on February 24 at Garfield High School. Leah's mother created a $10,000 scholarship in her daughter's name. It is for a University of Southern California student studying art.

In February 2018, Jermaine Dupri and Bryan-Michael Cox released two of Leah's songs: "Scumbag" and "Stereo". That same month, Andreao Heard said he was interested in releasing more unreleased music he had recorded with her. A special EP called Love to the Moon was released after her death on September 7, 2018. The five songs on it were given by their producers: Williams, Midi Jones, Sam Hook, and Tom Strahle. JoJo posted tributes to Leah on her social media for a week. A preview video for the EP was released on Leah's Vevo account on September 11, 2018. Money from the EP was donated to other yearly scholarships.

Discography

Sampler

Extended play

Singles

Other appearances

Filmography

Stage