Leah LaBelle Vladowski (September 8, 1986 – January 31, 2018) was an American singer. She rose to prominence in 2004 as a contestant on the third season of American Idol, placing twelfth in the season finals. In 2007, LaBelle began recording covers of R&B and soul music for her YouTube channel. These videos led to work as a backing vocalist starting in 2008 and a record deal in 2011 with Epic in partnership with I Am Other and So So Def Recordings. LaBelle released a sampler, three singles, and a posthumous extended play (EP).
Born in Toronto, Ontario, and raised in Seattle, Washington, LaBelle began pursuing music ambition as a career in her teens. As a child, she performed in the Total Experience Gospel Choir and the musical Black Nativity. In 2005, LaBelle attended the Berklee College of Music for a year before dropping out and relocating to Los Angeles. While in college, she collaborated with Andreao Heard on a demo. Following the advice of an industry contact, LaBelle released her music through her YouTube channel. Keri Hilson hired LaBelle as a backing vocalist after hearing her rendition of "Energy", which led to her working for other artists on their tours.
LaBelle signed a record deal after Pharrell Williams and Jermaine Dupri contacted her. Her sampler Pharrell Williams and Jermaine Dupri Present Leah LaBelle (2012) was distributed only to record companies. It was supported by two singles, "Sexify" and "What Do We Got to Lose?" LaBelle received the Soul Train Centric Award at the 2012 Soul Train Music Awards. She released the non-album single "Lolita" the following year. On January 31, 2018, LaBelle and her boyfriend Rasual Butler died in a single vehicle car crash in Los Angeles, when Butler, under the influence of alcohol and drugs, lost control of the car. A posthumous EP, Love to the Moon, was released on September 7, 2018.
Life and career
1986–2004: Early life and American Idol
Leah LaBelle Vladowski was born on September 8, 1986, in Toronto, Ontario, and raised in Seattle, Washington.[1][2] Her parents, Anastasia and Troshan Vladowski, are Bulgarian singers,[1] and her uncle made rock music in Bulgaria.[2] Anastasia recorded pop music and was in a group with Troshan, who was a founding member of Bulgaria's first rock band, Srebyrnite grivni.[3] After defecting from Bulgaria during a 1979 tour,[1][3] LaBelle's parents emigrated to Canada and later the United States, becoming naturalized citizens in both countries.[1] LaBelle grew up listening to music, including jazz and the Beatles, but felt the most connected to R&B.[4]
As a teenager LaBelle performed in the Total Experience Gospel Choir and was mentored by Pat Wright, seen here in 2016.
LaBelle began performing publicly in 1990,[1] including singing on stage during her parents' tours.[5] 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.[6][7] LaBelle cited Hill as her primary musical influence.[4] While performing in the choir, she became interested in gospel and soul music.[8] LaBelle also participated in beauty pageants,[1] and in 1997, she won the Washington State Pre-teen Miss America Pageant and was the first runner-up in the National Pageant.[7] 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.[1]
At age 17, LaBelle auditioned for the third season of the television show American Idol,[3] and performed Whitney Houston's "I Believe in You and Me".[6] During her appearances on the series, she was a junior in high school.[3] 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 twelve finalists. She placed twelfth during the season finals, after performing a cover of the Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On".[6] 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".[5]
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".[17] Heard became interested in LaBelle after watching a video of her performance in the Total Experience Gospel Choir.[19] She worked with Heard in New York City, and recorded a demo written by Makeba Riddick, which was sent to several record labels.[17][19] 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."[17] In a 2018 Billboard article, Heard said "the business side of the industry" prevented him from working further with LaBelle.[19]
LaBelle stayed at Berklee College for one year before moving to Los Angeles at 21 to pursue her music career.[20][5] Following an industry contact's advice, she created a YouTube channel on December 1, 2007,[5][21] and gained recognition for her covers of R&B and soul music.[7][8] In 2018, Vibe's Desire Thompson noted "the early days of YouTube were a blessing to singers like LaBelle".[8]
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".[8] 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.[8][22] In March 2008, LaBelle sang at Quincy Jones' 75th birthday party at the Northwest African American Museum.[23] The same year, she was included on American Idol Rewind,[24] and in 2009, she was featured on rapper Kumasi's single "Angel" from his debut studio album The One.[25] 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.[26]
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.[7] Dupri and Williams became interested in LaBelle after watching her YouTube covers, which led to Dupri contacting her.[4] Like Wright and Hilson had before, they acted as mentors for LaBelle.[8] 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.[7] On May 1, 2012, LaBelle released the five-track samplerPharrell Williams and Jermaine Dupri Present Leah LaBelle, which was distributed to record companies.[27] It was also made available on her SoundCloud account.[28]
The sampler was promoted with the singles "Sexify" and "What Do We Got To Lose?".[29][30] "Sexify" peaked at number 23 on the Adult R&B Songs and at number 89 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop SongsBillboard charts.[31][32] In a 2018 Billboard article, Natalie Maher referred to it as LaBelle's breakthrough single.[33] 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".[34] Although her debut album was reportedly set for a 2012 release, later being delayed to 2013,[35] it was ultimately never released.[8]
In 2013 LaBelle was featured on Brian Cross's single "Shot Gun" on his album Pop Star – The Album,[42][43] and provided background vocals for Nelly's seventh studio album M.O.[44] In October, she was the opening act for JoJo's Agápē Tour,[45][46] and appeared in the music video for her single "André" on her mixtape Agápē.[47] LaBelle was also a dancer in the 24-hour music video for Williams' 2013 single "Happy".[48] Throughout the day-long video, Williams dances with people in several Los Angeles locations.[49][50] In 2014, she was featured with JoJo on the hidden track "Freq" on Williams' second studio album G I R L.[51][52]
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.[19]
Death and aftermath
On January 31, 2018, LaBelle and her boyfriend, retired NBA player Rasual Butler,[53] died in a single vehicle car crash in the Studio City neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, after he lost control of his Range Rover on Ventura Boulevard, hit a curb, and crashed into a strip mall parking lot. The car flipped twice before coming to rest.[53] Before the crash, which occurred at 2:25a.m. Pacific Time, Butler was driving two to three times over the speed limit.[53] They both died instantly from "multiple traumatic injuries".[54] According to an autopsy report, Butler had methamphetamine, oxycodone, and marijuana in his system and a blood alcohol level of 0.118.[55] LaBelle had a blood alcohol level of 0.144 and methamphetamine and amphetamine in her system at the time of the incident.[55][56]
While multiple reports at the time of the incident referred to Butler as LaBelle's husband,[57] her obituaries and her official website clarified that they were not married.[58] On February 3, 2018, Butler's daughter from a past relationship, Raven, held a joint memorial service at Potter's House, a Christian church in Los Angeles. LaBelle and Butler had both been members of the church. The memorial was streamed online.[59] An individual service was held for LaBelle on February 24 at Garfield High School.[1] Her mother provided a $10,000 scholarship under her daughter's name to a University of Southern California student with an art major.[60]
In February 2018, Dupri and Bryan-Michael Cox released two tracks – "Scumbag" and "Stereo" – by LaBelle.[61][62] The same month, Heard expressed interest in making available unreleased material that he had recorded with her.[19] A posthumous EP, Love to the Moon, was released on September 7, 2018. The five songs were donated by their producers: Williams, Midi Jones, Sam Hook, and Tom Strahle. JoJo included dedications to LaBelle on her social media for a week.[63] A trailer for the EP was released on LaBelle's Vevo account on September 11, 2018.[64] Proceeds from the EP were donated to other yearly scholarships.[60]
Discography
Sampler
Title
Album details
List of songs
Pharrell Williams and Jermaine Dupri Present Leah LaBelle
Pharrell Williams and Jermaine Dupri Present Leah LaBelle (Media notes). Leah Labelle. Epic Records. 2012. 88725 40238 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
Sing Me Home (Inlay cover). Lisa Leuschner. Succession Records. December 21, 2004.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
This article uses bare URLs, which are uninformative and vulnerable to link rot. Please consider converting them to full citations to ensure the article remains verifiable and maintains a consistent citation style. Several templates and tools are available to assist in formatting, such as reFill (documentation) and Citation bot (documentation). (August 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) The following ferries once crossed the North River between New York City and New Jerse…
Organic reaction in which 2+ molecules combine to form a larger one In organic chemistry, an addition reaction is an organic reaction where two or more molecules combine to form a larger one (the adduct).[1][2] Addition reactions are limited to chemical compounds that have multiple bonds, such as molecules with carbon–carbon double bonds (alkenes), or with triple bonds (alkynes), and compounds that have rings, which are also considered points of unsaturation. Molecules containi…
Masjid At Ta'awuunAgamaAfiliasiIslamLokasiLokasiCisarua, Bogor, Jawa Barat, IndonesiaArsitekturTipeMasjidPeletakan batu pertama1997Rampung1999 Masjid At Ta'awuun merupakan sebuah masjid yang terletak di Cisarua, Bogor, Indonesia. Masjid ini dibangun pada tahun 1997 dan selesai pada tahun 1999. Bangunan masjid yang diberi nama At Ta'awuun tersebut tergolong tidak megah. Namun, kombinasi bangunan yang sederhana, penataan taman dan kolam yang indah di sekitar masjid, serta lokasi yang luar biasa in…
Les paramètres cristallins, aussi appelés paramètres de maille, sont des grandeurs utilisées pour décrire la maille d'un cristal. On distingue trois longueurs (a, b, c) et trois angles (α, β, γ) qui déterminent entièrement le parallélépipède qu'est la maille, élémentaire ou multiple. Les paramètres a, b et c sont mesurés en ångströms (Å), en nanomètres (nm), parfois en picomètres, et α, β et γ en degrés (°). On utilise aussi l'expression constantes de réseau mais elle…
لوسيا فراي (بالبولندية: Łucja Frey-Gottesman) معلومات شخصية الميلاد 3 نوفمبر 1889 لفيف الوفاة سنة 1942 [1] لفيف مواطنة الجمهورية البولندية الثانية الحياة العملية المدرسة الأم جامعة لفيف الوطنية تعلمت لدى جامعة وارسو المهنة أعصابياتية، وطبيبة ال…
Pour les articles homonymes, voir Quadratique. Exemple de courbe de fonction quadratique à une variable. Exemple de courbe de fonction quadratique à deux variables. En mathématiques, une fonction quadratique est une fonction de plusieurs variables polynomiale de degré 2. Cette notion généralise ainsi celle de fonction du second degré. Elle réalise aussi la partie régulière du développement de Taylor à l’ordre 2 pour une fonction de plusieurs variables. La matrice hessienne associé…
Political party in Poland (1990–2000) Politics of Poland Government Constitution of Poland Law Human rights Legislature Parliament of Poland Current Parliament Sejm Marshal Szymon Hołownia (PL2050) Deputy Marshals Senate Marshal Małgorzata Maria Kidawa- Błońska (PO) Deputy Marshals Executive President of Poland Andrzej Duda (I) Prime Minister of Poland Donald Tusk (PO) Cabinet Ministries Judiciary Supreme Court of Poland First President Małgorzata Manowska Constitutional Tribunal Presiden…
Questa voce sugli argomenti allenatori di calcio ungheresi e calciatori ungheresi è solo un abbozzo. Contribuisci a migliorarla secondo le convenzioni di Wikipedia. Segui i suggerimenti dei progetti di riferimento 1, 2. Vilmos Wilheim Nazionalità Ungheria Calcio Ruolo Allenatore (ex calciatore) Termine carriera 1950 - allenatore Carriera Squadre di club1 192? Vicenza? (?) Carriera da allenatore 1923-1924 Vicenza1928-1931 Vicenza1931-1935 Spezia1935-1936 Fogg…
Sergio Córdova Nazionalità Venezuela Altezza 188 cm Peso 78 kg Calcio Ruolo Attaccante Squadra Soči Carriera Giovanili 2013-2015 Caracas Squadre di club1 2015-2017 Caracas36 (4)2017-2020 Augusta62 (7)2020-2021→ Arminia Bielefeld23 (2)2021-2022 Augusta13 (0)2022→ Real Salt Lake33 (9)2023 Vancouver Whitecaps19 (2)2023-2024 Alanyaspor18 (3)2024-→ Soči2 (0) Nazionale 2017 Venezuela U-2017 (5)2017- Venezuela17 (0) Palmarès M…
Halaman ini berisi artikel tentang transkripsi fonetik. Untuk kegunaan lain, lihat Transkripsi (disambiguasi). Transkripsi fonetik atau alih aksara bunyi (dikenal juga sebagai aksara fonetik atau notasi fonetik) adalah wujud perwakilan dari ujaran (atau bunyi) melalui makna simbol. Hal yang paling umum dari transkripsi fonetik adalah menggunakan abjad fonetik, seperti Alfabet Fonetik Internasional (the International Phonetic Alphabet). Pengertian Transkripsi Transkripsi merupakan pengubahan ujar…
Sexual entertainment venue Strip club in Munich, Germany A strip club is a venue where strippers provide adult entertainment, predominantly in the form of striptease or other erotic dances. Strip clubs typically adopt a nightclub or bar style, and can also adopt a theatre or cabaret-style. American-style strip clubs began to appear outside North America after World War II, arriving in Asia in the late 1980s and Europe in 1978,[1] where they competed against the local English and French s…
African youth organization This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages) This article is written like a personal reflection, personal essay, or argumentative essay that states a Wikipedia editor's personal feelings or presents an original argument about a topic. Please help improve it by rewriting it in an encyclopedic style. (July 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)…
Species of bird Not to be confused with the other birds, for which see Magpie and Magpie duck. Magpie goose Near East Point, Northern Territory Conservation status Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1] Scientific classification Domain: Eukaryota Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Anseriformes Family: Anseranatidae Genus: AnseranasLesson, 1828 Species: A. semipalmata Binomial name Anseranas semipalmata(Latham, 1798) Synonyms Anas semipalmata Latham, 1798 The magpie goo…
Ralph CudworthFRSRalph CudworthLahir1617Aller, Somerset, InggrisMeninggal26 Juni 1688(1688-06-26) (umur 70–71)KebangsaanInggrisAlmamaterUniversitas CambridgeEmmanuel College (BA, MA)Clare Hall (BD, DD)PekerjaanKlerus Anglikan, Christian Hebraist, klasikis, teolog, filsufEraFilsafat abad ke-17Filsafat modern awalKawasanFilsafat BaratAliranPlatonis Cambridge Dipengaruhi Plato Memengaruhi Masham, Shaftesbury Ralph Cudworth (lahir 1617 – meninggal 26 Juni 1688 pada umur 70/71 tahun) adalah …
Indian music composer and singer (1921–2011) Dilip Dholakia (15 October 1921 – 2 January 2011), often credited as D. Dilip or Diliprai in Hindi films, was an Indian music composer and singer. Born and educated in Junagadh, he was introduced to music in early life due to his family. Starting his career as singer, he assisted leading music composers of Bollywood and Gujarati cinema in 1960s and 1970s. He also composed music of eight Hindi as well as eleven Gujarati films. Early life Dilip Dhol…
Aviation arm of the Royal Navy For the division of the Royal Australian Navy, see Fleet Air Arm (RAN). Fleet Air ArmFounded1914 (As the Royal Naval Air Service)1924 (as the naval branch of the Royal Air Force) 1937 (as part of Naval Service)Country United KingdomBranch Royal NavySize5,000 personnelc. 160 aircraft[1]Part ofNaval ServiceEngagementsSecond World WarKorean WarOperation Musketeer (Suez Crisis)Falklands WarGulf War BosniaAfghanistan WarIraq WarWebsitewww.royalna…
German football manager (1971–2016) Sascha Lewandowski Lewandowski in 2016Personal informationDate of birth (1971-10-05)5 October 1971Place of birth Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia, West GermanyDate of death 8 June 2016(2016-06-08) (aged 44)Place of death Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia, GermanyManagerial careerYears Team2006 VfL Bochum II2007–2012 Bayer Leverkusen U192012–2013 Bayer Leverkusen2014 Bayer Leverkusen2015–2016 Union Berlin Sascha Lewandowski (5 October 1971 – 8 June …
