29 Facts About Leah LaBelle

Leah LaBelle rose to prominence in 2004 as a contestant on the third season of American Idol, placing twelfth in the season finals.

Leah LaBelle released a sampler, three singles, and a posthumous extended play.

In 2005, Leah LaBelle attended the Berklee College of Music for a year before dropping out and relocating to Los Angeles.

Leah LaBelle signed a record deal after Pharrell Williams and Jermaine Dupri contacted her.

Leah LaBelle released the non-album single "Lolita" the following year.

Leah LaBelle Vladowski was born on September 8,1986, in Toronto, Ontario, and raised in Seattle, Washington.

Leah LaBelle began performing publicly in 1990, including singing on stage during her parents' tours.

Leah LaBelle 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.

Leah LaBelle attended Garfield High School, where she performed in a jazz band led by Clarence Acox Jr.

At age 17, Leah LaBelle auditioned for the third season of the television show American Idol, and performed Whitney Houston's "I Believe in You and Me".

Leah LaBelle placed twelfth during the season finals, after performing a cover of the Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On".

In 2004, following her elimination from American Idol, Leah LaBelle performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" at a National Football League game and "Lift Every Voice and Sing" during a National Basketball Association game.

Leah LaBelle briefly returned to Seattle in 2007 to perform a solo for the tenth anniversary of Black Nativity.

Leah LaBelle's mother said, "the contract they were offering was too binding".

Leah LaBelle worked with Heard in New York City, and recorded a demo written by Makeba Riddick, which was sent to several record labels.

Leah LaBelle stayed at Berklee College for one year before moving to Los Angeles at 21 to pursue her music career.

In 2008 Keri Hilson heard Leah LaBelle's cover of her single "Energy" and hired her as a backing vocalist.

Leah 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".

In March 2008, Leah LaBelle sang at Quincy Jones' 75th birthday party at the Northwest African American Museum.

When Benet was an opening act in Fantasia's Back to Me Tour, Leah LaBelle was his backing vocalist, and she performed duets with him as a part of his set list.

Dupri and Williams became interested in Leah LaBelle after watching her YouTube covers, which led to Dupri contacting her.

On May 1,2012, LaBelle released the five-track sampler Pharrell Williams and Jermaine Dupri Present Leah LaBelle, which was distributed to record companies.

Leah 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".

At the 2012 Soul Train Music Awards, Leah LaBelle received the Soul Train Centric Award and performed a tribute to Aretha Franklin and Teena Marie with Fantasia.

Leah LaBelle 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.

Leah LaBelle was a dancer in the 24-hour music video for Williams' 2013 single "Happy".

Leah LaBelle reunited with Heard in 2017 during the 59th Annual Grammy Awards.

Leah LaBelle had a blood alcohol level of 0.144 and methamphetamine and amphetamine in her system at the time of the incident.

Leah LaBelle's mother provided a $10,000 scholarship under her daughter's name to a University of Southern California student with an art major.