Leah LaBelle

Leah LaBelle was born on September 8, 1986 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Her parents are originally from Bulgaria, where her father was a former rock band member. Before joining season 3 of American Idol, Leah was in the middle of her academics in Garfield, High School, where held a steady GPA of 3.8. Like other American Idol Finalists, Leah started singing at around the same time she first started talking. Leah's other interests include playing the piano, swimming and dancing. She is more inclined towards R&B, Gospel and Soul music, but her favorite aritists include Justin Timberlake, Beyonce and Lauryn Hill. Leah has also traveled quite a bit, having visited countries like Bulgaria, South Africa and Germany.

Leah took the trip from her hometown in Seattle, Washington to New York City to try out for season 3 of American Idol. Although she made it to the semifinals, the votes she received were not enough to see her through to the next round. Fortunately, Paula Abdul chose Leah as her wildcard pick, and she was able to gain a place in the Top 12. Her rendition of "You Keep Me Hanging On" during the first week of the Finals was not so well-received by the judges nor by the voters, and she was the first to pack her bags the following day.

LaBelle has been performing, singing and dancing, publicly since 1990 but marks 1993 as the start of her pursuit of a music career. In 1997, LaBelle won the Washington State Pre-teen Miss America Pageant and was 1st runner-up in the National Pageant. In 1998 she joined the nationally acclaimed Total Experience Gospel Choir and can be heard in several recordings with the group and as part of the Langston Hughes musical, Black Nativity over the following five years. In 2000, LaBelle was part of the WAM Network children's reality show, Caught in the Middle and continued on the show for two seasons. In 2002, LaBelle won the Grand Prize at KUBE 93.3 Summer Jam Idol and was the opening act at Summer Jam 20. Headline acts included Usher, Nelly, Jermaine Dupri, Mario, Da Brat, LL Cool J, Busta Rhymes, Nappy Roots, and others. In 2004, LaBelle was a finalist on the FOX Network Series American Idol, placing 12th overall out of over 70,000 contestants. In 2005, Leah LaBelle pursued a management contract with Sixthboro Entertainment of NYC and recorded a demo with Vocal Arranger, Tavarius Polk and Grammy Award winning producer, Andreao "Fanatic" Heard.