Leah LaBelle Vladowski (September 8, 1986 – January 31, 2018) was a Canadian-born American singer. She was known for being a finalist on the third season of American Idol and releasing cover versions of R&B and soul music on her YouTube channel.

LaBelle was born in Toronto, Canada, and raised in Seattle, Washington, where she pursued a career in music beginning in her teens. She performed in the Total Experience Gospel Choir and the musical Black Nativity. After competing on American Idol, she attended the Berklee College of Music and worked with Andreao Heard. Keri Hilson hired LaBelle as a backing vocalist after watching her YouTube video; LaBelle also worked with Robin Thicke, Jordin Sparks, the Jonas Brothers, Britney Spears, and Eric Benét on their tours.

L.A. Reid's company Epic, in a partnership with Pharrell Williams' label I Am Other, and Jermaine Dupri's label So So Def Recordings, signed a record deal with LaBelle. Her sampler album Pharrell Williams and Jermaine Dupri Present Leah LaBelle was made available to record companies. Her single "Sexify" and the promotional single "What Do We Got To Lose?" supported the album. LaBelle received the Soul Train Centric Award at the 2012 Soul Train Music Awards. In 2013, she released the stand-alone single "Lolita". On January 31, 2018, LaBelle and her boyfriend Rasual Butler died in a car crash in Studio City, Los Angeles.

Contents 1 Life and career 1.1 1986–2004: Early life and American Idol 1.2 2004–2010: Breakthrough with YouTube 1.3 2011–2018: Record contract 2 Death 3 Discography 3.1 Albums 3.2 Singles, as primary artist 3.3 Promotional singles 3.4 Other appearances 4 Filmography 5 Notes 6 References 6.1 Citations 6.2 Book sources 7 External links Life and career 1986–2004: Early life and American Idol

Leah LaBelle Vladowski[a] was born on September 8, 1986, in Toronto, Canada, and raised in Seattle, Washington.[2][3] She was the only child of Anastasia and Troshan Vladowski, who were Bulgarian singers.[2] Anastasia had previously recorded pop music, and she formed Bulgaria's first rock band with Troshan called the Silver Bracelets.[4] LaBelle also had an uncle who released rock music in Bulgaria.[3] After defecting from the country during a 1979 tour,[5][6] LaBelle's parents emigrated to Canada and later the United States. They became naturalized citizens in both countries.[2] While in the United States, they formed a Christian music group and toured the country.[7] During this time, LaBelle's parents divorced, and she was raised primarily by her mother.[8] As a child, LaBelle listened to music, including jazz and the Beatles, with her mother but felt the most connected with R&B.[9] During a 2012 interview, she said she had been discouraged from pursuing a career in the genre,[10] but explained she ignored "the clichés surrounding white artists singing R&B".[9] Her early influences included Whitney Houston, Stevie Wonder, Sade, Brandy Norwood, and Kim Burrell.[9][11]

Leah LaBelle attended Garfield High School.

LaBelle started performing publicly in 1990,[2] including singing on stage during her parents' tours.[7] At the age of 11, she joined the Total Experience Gospel Choir,[12] after being inspired by Lauryn Hill's performance in Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit.[13] LaBelle cited Hill as her biggest musical influence.[9][11] While performing in the choir, she became interested in gospel and soul music.[14] She also participated in beauty pageants; in 1997, she won the Washington State Pre-teen Miss America Pageant and was the first runner-up in the National Pageant.[5] A year later, she performed in the musical Black Nativity, and stayed in the production for five years under the mentorship of Pat Wright. In 2000, she joined the children's reality show Caught in the Middle and remained a part of the program for two years.[2] LaBelle attended Garfield High School,[5] where she sang in a jazz band led by Clarence Acox Jr.[2] After winning the Grand Prize at KUBE 93.3 Summer Jam Idol in 2002, she performed as the opening act in the Summer Jam 20.[5]

At the age of 16, LaBelle audition for the third season of the television show American Idol.[5] She appeared on the series while a senior in high school.[2] For her audition, she performed a cover of Whitney Houston's "I Believe in You and Me". After becoming one of the 32 semi-finalists, LaBelle was eliminated in the top 30 round, but judge Paula Abdul chose her as a "wildcard selection" to advance as one of the twelve finalists.[12] LaBelle placed twelfth during the season finals,[5] after performing a cover of The Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On".[12] Looking back on American Idol in a 2016 interview, LaBelle felt that she was "too young at that time and not developed enough as an artist".[7] The compilation album American Idol Season 3: Greatest Soul Classics (2004) included her version of The Stylistics' "Betcha by Golly, Wow".[15] While recording the song, LaBelle was briefly mentored by one of album's producers, but he focused on his work with Rihanna instead.[7] AllMusic's Heather Phares praised LaBelle as "surprisingly strong and mature", and wrote that "the studio brings out colors in her voice that she didn't display on-stage".[15] On the other hand, Steve Hammer of NUVO criticized her as "crushing the life" from the original in her rendition.[16]

American Idol Season 3 performances and results:[12] Week # Theme Song choice Original artist Results Audition N/A "I Believe in You and Me" Whitney Houston Advanced Hollywood N/A "Young Hearts Run Free" Candi Staton Advanced Top 30 Semi-final/Group 1 "I Have Nothing" Whitney Houston Eliminated Wildcard "Let's Stay Together" Al Green Paula Abdul's choice Top 12 Motown "You Keep Me Hangin' On" The Supremes Eliminated