About Leah LaBelle

Leah LaBelle (born Leah LaBelle Vladowski on 8 September 1986) is an American singer, one of the finalists on the third season of the reality/talent-search television series American Idol. LaBelle was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada to Bulgarian immigrants. Her father, Troshan Vladowski, was a member of the Bulgarian rock band The Silver Bracelets. She currently lives in Seattle, Washington, where she graduated from Garfield High School in 2005. She has applied to the Berklee School of Music and hopes to attend there starting in January 2006. LaBelle auditioned for the third season of American Idol in New York City; she was a member of the third group of semifinalists, but was not voted through to the final round. LaBelle was instead brought back for the wildcard round and put through as a finalist by contest judge Paula Abdul. On March 17, 2004, LaBelle became the first of the 12 finalists to be voted off the show. LaBelle can understand but can't speak Bulgarian; her mother can't speak Bulgarian either, and sang from memory when performing in her native country. In November 2004, LaBelle would appear on an album in a duet with Lisa Leuschner, who was eliminated in the top 32 round on the same season of American Idol, and another duet between the two was released on another album in late 2005.