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Amber Patrice Riley (born February 15, 1986) is an American Actress best known for her role on the series Glee as Mercedes Jones.

Early life and career[link]

Riley was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Tiny (née Hightower) and Elwin Riley.^[1] Riley auditioned for American Idol when she was 17 years old, during the show's second season, but was turned down by the producers.^[2] Amber graduated from La Mirada High School in La Mirada, California in 2004.^[3] In 2006 Riley auditioned unsuccessfully for the part of Effie White in Dreamgirls. She appeared at the 2010 MTV VMAs on September 12, 2010.

[edit] Glee and solo album

Riley plays the role of Mercedes Jones on the hit musical comedy-drama Glee. A member of the main cast, she has appeared since the show's pilot, which debuted in May 2009. She has sung numerous solos, including "Respect", "Bust Your Windows", "Hate on Me", "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going", "Beautiful", "Bridge over Troubled Water", "I Look to You", "Hell to the No", "Ain't No Way", "Try a Little Tenderness", "Spotlight", "All I Want for Christmas Is You" and, three days after Whitney Houston's death, a tribute version of "I Will Always Love You". Her character gets through her schooldays with her "diva-style", stylish clothes, and has a friendship with the only openly gay boy in school, Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer). In 2011, Riley received an NAACP Image Award nomination for her portrayal of Mercedes; she has won a Screen Actors Guild Award for her acting on Glee, along with the show's ensemble, and has also been nominated for a Teen Choice Award for her acting on the show. Her mother was a member of the choir in the song "Like a Prayer"—Mercedes dances with her—during the first season episode "The Power of Madonna".

Riley is also making a solo album.^[4] She is working with Mario Marchetti. .^[5]

Philanthropy[link]

In 2011, Riley acted as a campaign spokesperson for http://www.Dosomething.org and VH1 Save The Music Foundation's second annual "Battle for the Bands." Riley starred in a PSA campaign and engaged fans through social media to participate in the campaign that mobilized young people in the fight for keeping music education in schools.^[6]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Amber Riley

• Amber Riley at the Internet Movie Database

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Mercedes Jones
Glee character
Amber Riley as Mercedes on the Glee Live! In Concert! tour
First appearance	"Pilot"
Created by	Ryan Murphy Brad Falchuk Ian Brennan
Portrayed by	Amber Riley
Information
Occupation	High school student
Significant other(s)	Shane Tinsley Sam Evans
Religion	Christian

Mercedes Jones is a fictional character from the Fox popular musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actress Amber Riley, and has appeared in Glee from its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Mercedes was developed by Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan. She is a dynamic diva-in-training who refuses to sing back-up, and is a member of the glee club at the fictional William McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio.

Storylines[link]

Amber Riley (pictured) plays Mercedes.

Mercedes auditions for the school glee club, New Directions, by performing Aretha Franklin's "Respect".^[1] She develops a crush on fellow member Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer), unaware that he is gay. Though she is hurt when he rejects her, Mercedes is supportive when he confides his sexuality, and they become close friends.^[2] Mercedes has a rivalry with glee club co-captain Rachel Berry (Lea Michele), which comes to a head in the episode "Sectionals", when she impresses the club with a rendition of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going". Rachel agrees that Mercedes should perform the solo competitively, but she loses the chance when a rival school steals the song.^[3]

Frustrated with the lack of solos they receive, Mercedes and Kurt join the school cheerleading squad, the Cheerios, as vocalists.^[4] Mercedes struggles when cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) demands that she lose weight. She faints after crash-dieting, and is supported by former Cheerios captain Quinn Fabray (Dianna Agron), who tells her that she is beautiful regardless of her size. Later, during a pep rally, Mercedes sings the song "Beautiful" by Christina Aguilera.^[5] Being a member of the Cheerios increases her popularity, and Mercedes briefly dates football player and glee club member Noah Puckerman (Mark Salling). However, she feels that she is being untrue to herself, so she quits the squad and breaks up with Puck. A friendship develops between Mercedes and Quinn; she invites Quinn to live with her family after Quinn's parents evict her for becoming pregnant,^[6] and supports her through the birth of her daughter.^[7]

Mercedes' friendship with Kurt is tested when they disagree over religion; Mercedes is a devout Christian, and Kurt an atheist. When his father has a heart attack, Mercedes convinces Kurt to attend church with her, devoting the service to the Hummels and performing "Bridge Over Troubled Water" with her church choir for him.^[8] Kurt later develops a strong friendship with Blaine Anderson (Darren Criss), a gay student from another school. He begins to neglect Mercedes, and offends her by trying to set her up with another student. When Sue Sylvester, temporarily Acting Principal, begins a healthy eating initiative at the school and declares a ban on Tater Tots, Mercedes organizes a student protest and fills the tailpipe of Sue's car with Tots, causing $17,000 worth of damage. Kurt suggests that she is substituting food for love and their friendship for a romantic relationship, and Mercedes agrees to talk to the student Kurt attempted to set her up with.^[9] She remains romantically unattached, however, and explains to Kurt and Rachel that sometimes it is necessary to choose between love and talent.^[10]

Mercedes writes an original song entitled "Hell to the No" to be a contender for the glee club's set list for the Regionals competition; though director Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) thinks it's a great song, he also doesn't think it's appropriate for the competition.^[11] When New Directions plans a benefit concert, Mercedes allows her performance slot to be moved to a less desirable place in the program; club member Lauren Zizes (Ashley Fink) is surprised by her failure to stand up for herself, and offers to be her agent, suggesting that she make diva-like demands to ensure they appreciate her talent. Ultimately, Mercedes takes the closing slot from Rachel by performing an overwhelming rendition of Aretha Franklin's "Ain't No Way" so good that Rachel doesn't even try to follow it.^[12] Mercedes attends the junior prom as part of a group with Rachel and fellow New Directions member Sam Evans (Chord Overstreet).^[13] In the season two finale episode, "New York", it is revealed that she and Sam have begun secretly dating.^[14]

At the beginning of the third season, Mercedes says that she had Sam had dated for a while, but after he moved out of state she started a relationship with Shane Tinsley, a member of the football team. Shane encourages her to believe in her talent, and she auditions for the role of Maria in the school's production of West Side Story. Both she and Rachel are given callbacks. Mercedes is angry about what she perceives as continued favoritism shown to Rachel, especially in the awarding of solos, and quits glee club. In the audition callbacks, Mercedes gives a performance that Rachel privately concedes was better—Mercedes is sure it is—and when they are both offered the role with half of the performances, she refuses to accept a split role; instead, she joins Shelby Corcoran's (Idina Menzel) rival glee club, and soon has recruited Santana and Brittany away from New Directions into the newly named Troubletones. Sam returns in "Hold On to Sixteen" to rejoin New Directions, and tells Mercedes that he wants to rekindle their relationship; she tells him she's moved on and is with Shane. The Troubletones lose the Sectionals competition to New Directions, and Mercedes and the others rejoin New Directions with the promise that the Troubletones will be given one performance number per competition. In the episode "Yes/No" she reveals to Tina, Santana, and Rachel that she remembers her fling with Sam and she thinks that the spark is still there, and she and Sam briefly kiss in "Michael". Mercedes breaks up with Shane in "Heart", but she feels very guilty for having hurt him and will not begin a relationship with Sam until she is sure of her feelings.

Musical performances[link]

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Season one[link]

Mercedes (Riley, left) and Puck (Salling, right) duet on "The Lady Is a Tramp" in the episode "Laryngitis".

As Mercedes, Riley features in many ensemble musical performances. She has had several solos and duets, which have been released as singles, available for download, and included on Glee's soundtrack albums. Her first performance, "Respect" by Aretha Franklin, was included in full on the series' first DVD box set, Glee – Volume 1: Road to Sectionals.^[15] In the episode "Acafellas", she gives a performance of Jazmine Sullivan's "Bust Your Windows", which was called "showstopping" by Raymund Flandez of The Wall Street Journal.^[16] It was included on the album Glee: The Music, Volume 1,^[17] and released as a single, which peaked at number 35 in Ireland.^[18] Riley recorded a version of Dionne Warwick's "Don't Make Me Over" for the episode "Hairography". It was used as an instrumental within the episode, rather than performed by Mercedes on-screen,^[19] but was included in full on Glee: The Music, Volume 2.^[20] Her performance of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" in the episode "Sectionals" also features on this album.^[20] As a single, its peak position was number 85 in Canada.^[21] The rendition of Aguilera's "Beautiful" in the episode "Home" was called "so forced that it loses any power it might have from what's a genuinely nice arrangement of the song" by Todd VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club,^[22] while Tim Stack of Entertainment Weekly wrote that it was "a great moment for not only Amber Riley but for the entire show."^[23] The number peaked at 39 in Ireland,^[18] and 44 in Canada.^[24]

Also during season one, Riley duetted with Colfer as Kurt on "4 Minutes" by Madonna. This track was included on the extended play (EP) Glee: The Music, The Power of Madonna,^[25] and reached number 32 in Ireland.^[18] In the episode "Laryngitis", Mercedes duetted with Puck on "The Lady Is a Tramp" by Sammy Davis, Jr., and with Santana Lopez (Naya Rivera) on "The Boy is Mine" by Brandy and Monica. The former was included on Glee: The Music, Volume 3 Showstoppers,^[26] and reached number 72 in Canada,^[24] while the latter features on the compilation album Glee: The Music, The Complete Season One,^[27] and reached 46 in Ireland.^[18]

Season two[link]

In the season two episode "Grilled Cheesus", Mercedes performed Whitney Houston's "I Look to You", and led a choral rendition of Aretha Franklin's cover of "Bridge Over Troubled Water".^[28] Erica Futterman of Rolling Stone commended Riley's vocals on the latter song, and commented that series creator Ryan Murphy should assign Mercedes more solos.^[29] MTV's Aly Semigran felt that "I Look to You" was the episode's weakest song, preferring Riley's "more powerful" rendition of "Bridge over Troubled Water".^[30] Amy Reiter of the Los Angeles Times expressed disappointment in both numbers, as they left her "strangely unmoved". She suggested that, "Mercedes sang admirably, beautifully even, but she didn’t seem truly transported by the music; so we weren't."^[31] "I Look to You" peaked at number 74 in Canada and the U.S., while "Bridge Over Troubled Water" reached 69 and 73 respectively in the same territories.^[32] Mercedes later assumed the role of Frank N. Furter in the glee club's performance of The Rocky Horror Show, and sang "Sweet Transvestite". The song was included on the EP Glee: The Music, The Rocky Horror Glee Show,^[33] and caused disagreement amongst critics over her casting in a traditionally male role. Semigran felt that, as sung by a female, the song lost its shock value.^[34] Flandez would have preferred Salling's Puck in the role, but praised Riley's vocals, and wrote that her solo "woke us all up from the timid pacing".^[35] Anthony Benigno of the New York Daily News also enjoyed the number, and found that while Mercedes lacked the stage presence of Tim Curry, Riley did something "completely remarkable" as Frank, giving a largely flawless performance.^[36] "Hell to the No", Mercedes' original song, was titled for the character's signature catchphrase. Co-written by Glee's music supervisor Adam Anders, composer Peer Åström, and executive producer Ian Brennan,^[37] it peaked at number 53 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[38] In the episode "A Night of Neglect", she performed another Franklin song, this time "Ain't No Way".^[39] Her final solo of the season was Otis Redding's "Try a Little Tenderness", which was included on the album Glee: The Music, Volume 6.^[40][41]

During the season, Mercedes again duetted with both Santana and Rachel: with the former on Ike & Tina Turner's "River Deep – Mountain High"^[42] and ABBA's "Dancing Queen",^[43] and with the latter on "Take Me or Leave Me" from the musical Rent.^[44] "River Deep, Mountain High" was included on the album Glee: The Music, Volume 4 and peaked at number 30 in Ireland.^[18][45] "Take Me or Leave Me" featured on the following album, Glee: The Music, Volume 5, and reached number 51 in the U.S.^[46][47] "Dancing Queen" appeared on the season's final soundtrack album, Volume 6,^[41] and peaked at number 74 in the U.S.^[48] Futterman criticized the arrangement of "Dancing Queen" for diluting Riley and Rivera's "power vocals", which, she said, "[gave] them the thin sound of ABBA's original even though they're both much better than that."^[43]

Reception[link]

Ryan Brockington for the New York Post has written that "the key to this show lies directly within the female leads", praising Riley as Mercedes and noting that in "Acafellas", Riley "finally got a chance to shine".^[49] Similarly, Stack commented that the best aspect of "Acafellas" was the focus it placed on previously more minor characters such as Mercedes.^[50] Eric Goldman of IGN criticised Mercedes' actions in the episode "Ballad", in which Puck confesses to her he is the father of Quinn's baby, and Mercedes responds by telling him to leave Quinn alone. Goldman questioned: "Really? She doesn't think Finn should know he's not really the dad? She doesn't think Puck should be involved, given he actually is the dad? It was a really strange response, and given Mercedes is not generally written to be an unlikable, manipulative person (That's Terri!), I'm not sure how the writers thought this was a justified viewpoint for her."^[51]

Korbi Ghosh of Zap2it has named Mercedes' best moment as her performance of "Imagine" in the episode "Hairography", commending her as: "instead of overpowering their performance with her spectacular talents, she toned it down, allowing the deaf choir to truly shine as she humbly sang beside them, showing her support."^[52] Ghosh deemed her low point vandalizing Kurt's car in "Acafellas", commenting: "Mercedes has clearly got some anger and aggression issues — not to mention being a bit clueless... the boy is into other boys, hello! — But we'll forgive her. We got to watch her sing "I Bust The Windows Out" because of it, so it's all good."^[52] Stack approved of the budding friendship between Mercedes and Quinn in the episode "Home", and added, "Their scene together in the nurses office was really touching and sweet. Damn, these kids can act."^[23]

The relationship between Mercedes and Shane was initially well-received. The Hollywood Reporter's Lesley Goldberg called their first scene together "adorable", and wrote that her "new love life seems to have refreshed the character on screen as her newfound happiness translates well".^[53] Vicki Hyman of The Star-Ledger hoped their coupling would continue,^[54] though Matt Zoller Seitz of Salon.com lamented Sam's departure, as he felt a relationship between the two "would have been groundbreaking for all sorts of reasons".^[55]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Mercedes Jones at Fox.com
• Mercedes Jones at the Internet Movie Database

Deitrick Haddon
Background information
Birth name	Deitrick Vaughn Haddon
Born	(1973-05-17) May 17, 1973 (age 39)
Origin	Detroit, Michigan
Genres	Gospel, urban gospel, R&B, pop, pop rock, funk, soul, dance
Occupations	Singer, Songwriter, Arranger, Producer, Pastor
Instruments	Vocals, Piano
Years active	1997-Present
Labels	Tyscot, Arista, Verity
Associated acts	Deitrick Haddon & Voices Of Unity Damita Haddon

Deitrick Vaughn Haddon (born May 17, 1973) is a Gospel singer, songwriter, producer and pastor. A popular artist known for his contemporary style of music, he is well known for his progressive gospel styles.

Early years[link]

Haddon is a native of Detroit, Michigan.

Haddon launched his solo career as a Christian R&B vocalist with the Lost & Found on Tyscot/Verity in 2002. The set peaked at #1 on Billboard's Top Gospel Charts^[1] and received wide critical acclaim and spawned the hit "Sinner's Prayer" which received heavy spins on gospel and mainstream R&B radio stations.^[2]

The 70's-leaning Crossroads followed in 2004, led off by the upbeat single "God Is Good". In an uncharacteristic move for marketing a gospel album, Detrick made an appearance on the long-running syndicated series Soul Train performing the single as well as the title track from the album.^[3]

Haddon appeared to be pushing his Gospel artistry for many things further into the ranks of mainstream venues with 7 Days, released October 10, 2006. 7 Days was executive produced and produced almost entirely by R&B stalwart producers Tim & Bob^[4] (also responsible for hits by Sisqo, Chante Moore, Karen Clark Sheard, and others). Balancing out the contemporary bulk of the album is the traditional gospel flavored lead single "Heaven Knows" which Deitrick produced himself.

On December 1, 2006, Deitrick and Damita Haddon's 85 South Gospel Street Show premiered on The Word Network. The show features notable gospel artists such as Men of Standard, Donnie McClurkin, Kierra Sheard, Natalie Wilson, and many other prominent gospel artists. In essence, Deitrick and Damita Haddon provide novice artists an opportunity to display their talents and gifts. 85 South Gospel Street airs every Friday at 4:30 p.m. on The Word Network.

Haddon once inked a recording contract with major label Arista Records, not known for producing gospel artists. Haddon and his brother Gerald also produced the comeback album Brand New Day for veteran gospel vocalist Vanessa Bell Armstrong. Deitrick Haddon & Voices Of Unity's Live The Life won Gospel Music Workshop of America Excellence Awards for "New Artist of the Year—Urban Contemporary" and "Album of the Year—Urban Contemporary".

On September 2, 2008, Deitrick Haddon released another album called "Revealed". This album includes the popular single, "Love Him Like I Do" (featuring Mary Mary and Ruben Studdard). On July 27, 2010 Haddon made his film debut in a movie released directly to DVD called "Blessed and Cursed."

On January 25, 2011 Deitrick Haddon released the much anticipated "Church On The Moon", his fifth album with Verity Records. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboards Top Gospel charts and #65 on the Billboard 200.

Discography[link]

• Voices Of Unity: Come Into This House (Tyscot, 1995)
• Live The Life (Tyscot, 1997)
• This Is My Story (Tyscot, 1998)
• Chainbreaker (Tyscot, 1999)
• Nu Hymnz (Tyscot, 2001)
• Voices Of Unity: Supernatural (Tyscot, 2001)
• Lost And Found (Verity, 2002)
• Crossroads (Verity, 2004)
• Voices Of Unity: All Star Edition (Tyscot, 2004)
• Just The Hits (Tyscot, 2005)
• 7 Days (Verity, 2006)
• Voices Of Unity: Together in Worship (Tyscot, 2007)
• Revealed (Verity, 2008)
• Blessed & Cursed (Tyscot, 2010)
• Church on the Moon (Verity, 2011)

Personal life[link]

Haddon is now the Pastor at Detroit's Kingdom Culture Church, taking over from his father.

Deitrick's wife Damita Haddon is a vocalist and has released the self-titled Damita on Atlantic Records in 2000, which was also produced in part by Deitrick. She followed it with a sophomore effort, No Looking Back in 2008 on Tyscot Records of Voices of Unity fame.

External links[link]

• Deitrick Haddon at Allmusic
• Voices Of Unity at Allmusic
• Deitrick on MySpace
• Billboard review of Revealed
• Deitrick Haddon's Biography
• Official site to the Church On The Moon album

References[link]

Jenna Ushkowitz
Ushkowitz at the San Diego Comic-Con International, July 2010
Born	Jenna Noelle Ushkowitz (adopted name) (1986-04-28) April 28, 1986 (age 26) Seoul, South Korea
Occupation	Actress, singer, dancer
Years active	1989–present

Jenna Noelle Ushkowitz (born April 28, 1986) is an American stage and television actress and singer, who is perhaps best known for her performances in Broadway musicals and for her role as Tina Cohen-Chang on Glee.^[1]

Early life[link]

Ushkowitz was born in Seoul, South Korea; she was adopted at the age of three months and raised in East Meadow, New York.^[2][3] Ushkowitz was raised Catholic^[4] and attended Parkway Elementary School and Holy Trinity Diocesan High School, a Catholic school in Hicksville, Long Island known for its strong theater department. During high school, Ushkowitz appeared in several musicals, including the first-ever high school production of Les Misérables. Her other roles included Penny in Honk!, Inez in The Baker's Wife, Little Red Riding Hood in Into the Woods, and Romaine Patterson in The Laramie Project. She graduated from high school in 2004 and moved on to attend Marymount Manhattan College, where she once again took the role of Little Red Riding Hood in Into the Woods.^[5] She graduated from Marymount Manhattan in 2007 with a B.A. in Acting, with a concentration in Theater Performance and a minor in Musical Theater.

Career[link]

Ushkowitz has had a career in show business since the age of three. As a child, she appeared on Sesame Street and other children's television shows. Her first role in a Broadway musical was in a 1996 revival of The King and I.^[5]

Ushkowitz at the 2010 SAG Awards

Ushkowitz sang the American National Anthem at a Knicks game at Madison Square Garden when she was thirteen.^[5] Before joining the cast of Glee, she was an understudy for the roles of Anna, Martha, Thea and Ilse in the Broadway musical Spring Awakening.^[6]

In 2009, she landed the role of Tina Cohen-Chang on Fox's musical high school show Glee. Her character had a stutter for the first nine episodes until she revealed she had been faking one due to her extreme shyness. Her storylines have included dating fellow glee club members Artie Abrams and Mike Chang. Her solos have included the songs "Tonight" from West Side Story, "True Colors", and "ABC" by the Jackson 5.

Ushkowitz has performed live concert shows in the US, Canada, UK, and Ireland with her castmates from Glee. She has known Glee co-star Lea Michele since they were eight years old; they also co-starred on Broadway in Spring Awakening. Ushkowitz was initially given little information about Tina's backstory, and believed that her stutter was real. She was pleased when the truth was revealed, however, explaining: "It would have been fun to keep it because that just gives her one more quirk, but this opens up a whole new set of doors for Tina."^[7] During the show's first season, Ushkowitz created her own backstory for Tina, and believed that she was rebelling against her mother rather than genuinely being a goth. She explained in late 2009, "I don't think her room is filled with dark posters and heavy metal stuff—I just think this is a phase she's going through. There's definitely a lot of options for all the characters to evolve and change next year. I'm totally rooting for Tina to join The Cheerios [the school's cheerleading squad] or something crazy like that."^[7]