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Latoya London

African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans or Afro-Americans, and formerly as American Negroes) are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa. In the United States, the terms are generally used for Americans with at least partial Sub-Saharan African ancestry.
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Angie Stone
Angie Stone (born Angela Laverne Brown on December 18, 1961) is an American R&B; and soul singer-songwriter, keyboardist, record producer, and occasional actress.
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Ashford & Simpson
Nickolas Ashford (born May 4, 1942, in Fairfield County, South Carolina) and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946 in The Bronx, New York) are a husband and wife songwriting/production team and recording artists. They met at Harlem's White Rock Baptist Church in 1963. After having recorded unsuccessfully as a duo, they joined aspiring solo artist and former member of the Ikettes, Josie Jo Armstead, at the Scepter/Wand label where their compositions were recorded by Ronnie Milsap ("Never Had It So Good"), Maxine Brown ("One Step At A Time"), as well as the Shirelles and Chuck Jackson. Another of the trio's songs "Let's Go Get Stoned" gave Ray Charles a number one U.S. R&B; hit in 1966. That same year Ashford & Simpson joined Motown where their best-known songs included "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", "You're All I Need To Get By", "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing", and "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)". As performers, Ashford and Simpson's best-known song is "Solid" (1984 US and 1985 UK). The duo was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002.
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Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (; born August 4, 1961) is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned after his election to the presidency in November 2008.
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Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand ( ; born Barbara Joan Streisand, April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, director, and songwriter. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, and a Peabody Award.
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Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow (born June 17, 1943) is an American singer–songwriter, musician, arranger, producer, conductor, and performer, best known for such recordings as "Could It Be Magic", "Mandy", "Can't Smile Without You", and "Copacabana (At the Copa)."
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Bee Gees
The Bee Gees
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Black Thought
Tariq Trotter (born on October 3, 1971), better known as Black Thought, is an American hip-hop artist who is the lead MC of the Philadelphia-based hip hop group The Roots and occasional actor. Thought, who co-founded The Roots with drummer
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Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan (born Yvette Marie Stevens; March 23, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter who gained fame in the seventies as the front woman and focal point of the funk band Rufus. While still a member of the group in 1978, Khan embarked on a successful solo career. Her signature hits, both with Rufus and solo, include "Tell Me Something Good", "Sweet Thing", "Ain't Nobody", "I'm Every Woman", "I Feel for You" and "Through the Fire".
http://wn.com/Chaka_Khan
Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera ( in English; born December 18, 1980) is an American pop singer, songwriter, dancer and actress. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994. Aguilera signed to RCA Records after recording "Reflection" for the film Mulan.
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Dave Hollister
Dave Hollister (born August 17, 1971) is an American R&B; vocalist who found fame during the 1990s as one quarter of the Platinum-selling R&B; quartet BLACKstreet before going on to a solo career.
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David Foster
David Walter Foster, OC, OBC (born November 1, 1949), is a Canadian musician, record producer, composer, singer, songwriter and arranger, noted for discovering successful singers Celine Dion, Josh Groban, Charice and Michael Bublé and for producing some of the most successful artists in the world.
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David LaChapelle
David LaChapelle (born March 11, 1963 in Fairfield, Connecticut) is a photographer and video/commercial/film director who works in the fields of fashion, advertising, and fine art photography, and is noted for his surreal, unique and often humorous style.
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Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is an English singer-songwriter, composer and pianist. He has worked with his songwriting partner Bernie Taupin since 1967; they have collaborated on more than 30 albums to date.
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Fantasia Barrino
Fantasia Monique Barrino (born June 30, 1984) commonly known as Fantasia, is an American R&B;/pop singer, Broadway and television actress who rose to fame as the winner of the third season of the television series American Idol in 2004. She has been nominated for eight Grammy Awards. After playing the part of Celie in the Broadway musical The Color Purple, she has been cast to be in the film adaptation of the musical.
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Garth Brooks
Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962), best known as Garth Brooks, is an American country music artist who helped make country music a worldwide phenomenon.. His eponymous first album was released in 1989 and peaked at #2 in the US country album chart while climbing to #13 on the Billboard 200 pop album chart. Brooks' integration of rock elements into his recordings and live performances has earned him immense popularity. This progressive approach allowed him to dominate the country single and album charts while quickly crossing over into the mainstream pop arena, exposing country music to a larger audience.
http://wn.com/Garth_Brooks
Gary Payton
Gary Dwayne Payton, nicknamed "The Glove" for his tenacious defense, (born July 23, 1968) is a former American professional basketball player. He is best known for his 13-year tenure with the Seattle SuperSonics, and holds Seattle franchise records in points, assists, and steals. He has also played with the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics and Miami Heat, the last with whom he won his only NBA Championship.
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Goapele
Goapele (pronounced gwa-puh-LAY; born July 11, 1977), is an American soul and R&B; singer-songwriter. Her name means to move forward in Setswana, a Southern African language.
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Jaguar Wright
Jaguar Wright (born May 17, 1977) is a soul/R&B; vocalist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is part of the Okayplayer collective. She has performed along rap acts such as The Roots, Jay-Z, and Blackalicious.
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Jasmine Trias
Jasmine Trias (born November 3, 1986) is an American singer-entertainer who was the third place finalist on the third season of American Idol, due in part to tremendous call-in support from California, New York, and her native state of Hawaii. She has released one album to date, Jasmine Trias. Along with Camile Velasco, she is among the first two people of Filipino descent to ever advance to the American Idol finals.
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Jennifer Hudson
Jennifer Kate Hudson (born September 12, 1981) is an American recording artist, actress and spokesperson. She came to prominence in 2004 as one of the finalists on the third season of American Idol coming in seventh place. She made her film debut in the 2006 film Dreamgirls which won her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA Award, an NAACP Image Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
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John Payne (singer)
John Payne is a British musician, best known as the lead singer and bassist of Asia from 1992 to 2006 and from June 2007 with ASIA Featuring John Payne.
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Kim Fields
Kim Victoria Fields (born May 12, 1969) is an American actress and television director. She is known for her roles as Tootie Ramsey on the NBC sitcom The Facts of Life, and as Regine Hunter on the Fox sitcom Living Single. She is the daughter of actress/director Chip Fields and the older sister of actress Alexis Fields.
http://wn.com/Kim_Fields
La Chanze
http://wn.com/La_Chanze
NAACP Theatre Awards
The NAACP Theatre Awards is an award presented annually by the Beverly Hills-Hollywood branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to honor outstanding people of color in theatre.
http://wn.com/NAACP_Theatre_Awards
Natalie Cole
Natalie Maria Cole (born February 6, 1950) is an American singer, songwriter and performer. She achieved success in her early career as an R&B; star, but smoothly changed her repertoire toward a more pop and jazz oriented musical style in the early 1990s. She has won nine Grammy Awards. Cole has been singing since she was 5 years old.
http://wn.com/Natalie_Cole
Nickolas Ashford
#redirectAshford & Simpson
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Paula Abdul
Paula Julie Abdul (; born June 19, 1962) is an American pop singer, record producer, dancer, choreographer, actress and television personality.
http://wn.com/Paula_Abdul
People (magazine)
People (originally called People Weekly) is a weekly American magazine of celebrity and human-interest stories, published by Time Inc. As of 2006, it has a circulation of 3.75 million and revenue expected to top $1.5 billion. It was named "Magazine of the Year" by Advertising Age in October 2005, for excellence in editorial, circulation and advertising. People ranked #6 on Advertising Age's annual "A-list" and #3 on ''Adweek's'' "Brand Blazers" list in October 2006.
http://wn.com/People_(magazine)
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and occasional actor. In the early 1990s he began his career as an independent filmmaker whose films used nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence. His most notable films include Reservoir Dogs (1992), Pulp Fiction (1994), Jackie Brown (1997), Kill Bill (2003–2004), Death Proof (2007) and Inglourious Basterds (2009), all of which enjoyed critical success to varying degrees. His films have earned him an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA and a Palme d'Or and he has been nominated for Emmy and Grammy awards.
http://wn.com/Quentin_Tarantino
Randy Jackson
Randall Darius "Randy" Jackson (born June 23, 1956) is an American bassist, singer, record producer, music manager, A&R; executive and television personality. He is best known as a judge on American Idol and Executive Producer for MTV's ''America's Best Dance Crew''. Jackson has won a Grammy Award as a producer.
http://wn.com/Randy_Jackson
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930June 10, 2004), better known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. Ray was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm & blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records. He also helped racially integrate country and pop music during the 1960s with his crossover success on ABC Records, most notably with his Modern Sounds albums. While with ABC, Charles became one of the first African-American musicians to be given artistic control by a mainstream record company.
http://wn.com/Ray_Charles
Ryan Seacrest
Ryan John Seacrest (born December 24, 1974) is an American radio personality, television host, network producer and voice actor. He is the host of On Air with Ryan Seacrest, a nationally syndicated Top 40 radio show that airs on KIIS-FM in Los Angeles and throughout the United States and Canada on Premiere Radio Networks, and the internationally syndicated chart show American Top 40, also syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks. On television, Seacrest hosts E! News, and ''American Idol.
http://wn.com/Ryan_Seacrest
Simon Cowell
Simon Phillip Cowell (born 7 October 1959) is a British music executive, television producer and entrepreneur. He is known in the United Kingdom and in the United States for his role as a talent judge on TV shows such as Pop Idol, The X Factor, ''Britain's Got Talent, and American Idol''. He is also the owner of the television production and music publishing house Syco.
http://wn.com/Simon_Cowell
Smokey Robinson
William "Smokey" Robinson, Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American R&B; and soul singer-songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. Robinson is one of the primary figures associated with Motown, second only to the company's founder, Berry Gordy. Robinson's consistent commercial success and creative contributions to the label have earned him the title "King of Motown."
http://wn.com/Smokey_Robinson
Thelma Houston
Thelma Houston (née Jackson; born May 7, 1946, Leland, Mississippi) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She scored a number-one hit in 1977 with her cover version of the song "Don't Leave Me This Way", which won the 1978 Grammy Award for Best Female R&B; Vocal Performance.
http://wn.com/Thelma_Houston
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor, producer, writer and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title role in Forrest Gump, Commander James A. Lovell in Apollo 13, Captain John H. Miller in Saving Private Ryan, Joe Fox in ''You've Got Mail and Chuck Noland in Cast Away. Hanks won consecutive Best Actor Academy Awards, in 1993 for Philadelphia and in 1994 for Forrest Gump''. U.S. domestic box office totals for his films exceed $3.9 billion. He is the father of actor Colin Hanks.
http://wn.com/Tom_Hanks
Vivian Green
Vivian Green is an American R&B; and soul singer, songwriter and pianist.
http://wn.com/Vivian_Green
Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg (; born Caryn Elaine Johnson; November 13, 1955) is an American comedian, actress, singer-songwriter, political activist, and talk show host.
http://wn.com/Whoopi_Goldberg

Bay Area
http://wn.com/Bay_Area
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 large professional theatres with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan, New York City.Although theater is the preferred spelling in the U.S.A. (see further at American and British English Spelling Differences), the majority of venues, performers, and trade groups for live dramatic presentations use the spelling theatre. Along with London's West End theatre, Broadway theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English-speaking world.
http://wn.com/Broadway_theatre
Illinois
Illinois ( {{respell|-i-), is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. It is the most populous state in the Midwest region, however with 65% of its residents concentrated in the Chicago metropolitan area, most of the state has either a rural or a small town character. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and western Illinois, and natural resources like coal, timber, and petroleum in the south, Illinois has a broad economic base. Illinois is an important transportation hub; the Port of Chicago connects the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River via the Illinois River. As the "most average state", Illinois has long had a reputation as a bellwether both in social and cultural terms and politics, though the latter has not really been true since the early 1970s.
http://wn.com/Illinois
Oakland, California
Oakland () is the eighth-largest city in the U.S. state of California. It is a major West Coast port, located on San Francisco Bay, about 8 miles (13 km) east of San Francisco. Oakland is a major hub city for the Bay Area subregion collectively called the East Bay, and it is the county seat of Alameda County. Based on United States Census Bureau estimates for 2010, Oakland is the 41st-largest city in the USA with a population of 446,901.
http://wn.com/Oakland_California
Singapore
{{Infobox Country
http://wn.com/Singapore

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LaToya London More

4:15

Latoya London - All By Myself

4:21

Latoya London - Don't Rain On My Parade

1:48

latoya london all by myself

2:50

Latoya London - Ain't Nobody (With Judges Comments)

6:23

Latoya London - Somewhere

3:31

Latoya London - If You Don't Know Me By Now

2:49

Latoya London - Complete Idol Performances - Season 3 (part 1/2)

13:27

Latoya London

2:29

Latoya London - Someone Saved My Life Tonight

3:25

LaToya London - "All By Myself" (Studio Version)

4:02

Jazzy R&B; (Paul Taylor feat. Latoya London - I Want to Be Loved (By You)) - Planet Chill

4:53

LaToya London - Somewhere

4:16

Latoya London - Complete Idol Performances - Season 3 (part 2/2)

11:30

remove add to playlist show more results video results for: latoya london

Latoya London-Meet Me Halfway

6:10

Latoya London - How I love the Rain

5:16

Latoya London Elimination Seasn 3 Part 2

6:11

Latoya London All By Myself

2:51

I Want To Be Loved (By You) - Paul Taylor Feat. LaToya London

5:01

Latoya London Elimination Season 3 Part 1

6:34

Latoya London Too Close For Comfort &Don;'t Rain On My Parade

5:53

Latoya London : Appreciate ( Feat Black Tought From The Roots )

3:43

Latoya London - Don't Leave Me This Way - With Comments

2:41

LaToya London

Name	LaToya London
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	LaToya Renee London
Birth date	December 29, 1978
Birth place	San Francisco, California, United States
Years active	2004–present
Genre	R&B;, soul, jazz
Occupations	Singer, actress
Label	Peak Records (2005-2006)
Associated acts	Michelle Williams, Jennifer Hudson, Vivian Green, Fantasia Barrino, Goapele
Url	The Official Homepage of LaToya London

LaToya Renee London (born on December 29, 1978) is an American R&B; and soul singer and actress who was the fourth-place finalist on the third season of the reality/talent-search television series American Idol. She released her debut album, Love & Life, in September 2005 and recently completed a starring role as Nettie in the national tour of the Broadway musical, The Color Purple.

Early life

London was born in San Francisco, California and raised in Oakland, California, where she had her first public musical performance when, at the age of 7, she sang in her mother's wedding. Her interest in singing began when she was just 4 years old, when she frequently sang when attending Allen Temple Baptist church. As a teenager, she sang with the Oakland Youth Chorus from 1993 to 1996. In 1996, she graduated from Skyline High School (the same school actor Tom Hanks and basketball player Gary Payton attended). She also worked as a waitress and a bartender and even sang in a Christian rock group. She was also a backup vocalist and did frequent guest vocals for several Bay Area artists. When she began American Idol, she was the lead vocalist in a band, All-Star Jukebox, which usually performed at weddings.

American Idol

London auditioned for the third season of American Idol in Los Angeles, California. Although she seamlessly moved on through each round, she had not been featured prominently in any aired footage and was written off by many fans before the first studio performances. However, as a member of the third group of eight semifinalists, she sang Eric Carmen's "All by Myself," and received a standing ovation from celebrity judges Donna Summer, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul. Jackson labeled her performance as "brilliant" and "what the search for a superstar is all about," Abdul called her "unbelievable" and praised her "quiet confidence," and notoriously harsh judge Simon Cowell said she was "the best of the group" and that it was a "superb, outstanding performance." As expected, she was voted through to the final 12 contestants with 32.3 percent of audience votes, the largest percentage for every week of the semifinals.

For nine weeks, London wowed the nation with her showstopping performances on American Idol. Cowell called her performance of Chaka Khan's "Ain't Nobody" as "amazing" and "awesome." Abdul said that she reminded her of "a young Gladys Knight" after she performed the Garth Brooks song "Ain't Goin' Down ('Til the Sun Comes Up)," Nickolas Ashford of famed soul duo Ashford & Simpson called her performance of "Ooo Baby Baby" by Smokey Robinson as "beautiful" and full of "sex appeal," Famed film director Quentin Tarantino called her a "powerhouse" after her performance of "Somewhere" from the musical West Side Story, and Cowell announced her as "the best singer in the competition" after she sang "All the Time" by Barry Manilow and gave her "a ten out of ten" for her performance of "Don't Rain on My Parade," which also garnered standing ovations from Abdul and Jackson.

London was central to one of the first controversies of the show. On April 21, 2004, the night after the final seven contestants performed Barry Manilow songs, London, Jennifer Hudson, and eventual winner Fantasia Barrino shockingly ended up in the bottom three with the least viewer votes. Together, these three had been dubbed "The Three Divas" for their lush, commanding, and mature vocal capabilities and showstopping and critically acclaimed performances. London had the highest vote totals out of the three, and Hudson was ultimately eliminated. Because all three of the singers were African American and the frontrunners of the competition, music icon Elton John deemed the voting as "racist," igniting a flurry of news and speculation over the validity of the voting system. John complained at a promotional news conference that, "The three people I was really impressed with, and they just happened to be black, young female singers, and they all seem to be landing in the bottom three."

London's second controversy occurred on May 11, 2004, when the final four contestants each performed two disco songs. Simon Cowell, who previously endorsed her as the best singer in the competition, suggested that his only complaint with London was that after ten weeks he still did not know anything at all about her. Cowell also suggested that contestant Jasmine Trias would almost certainly be voted off the next day. However, on May 12, in a result that came as a surprise to many, including the judges, London became the ninth of the 12 finalists to be eliminated, finishing in fourth place, with Barrino also landing in the bottom two. Paula Abdul was in tears when LaToya sang her farewell song, "Don't Rain on My Parade," and the other two judges gave her a standing ovation.

Performances

The songs London sang on the show follow:

{|class="wikitable" |colspan="100" bgcolor="CCCCCC" align="Center"|Week # |colspan="100" bgcolor="CCCCCC" align="Center"|Song Choice |colspan="100" bgcolor="CCCCCC" align="Center"|Original Artist |colspan="100" bgcolor="CCCCCC" align="Center"|Result |- |-no air |colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Top 32 |colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|"All by Myself" |colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Eric Carmen |colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Advanced |- |colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Top 12 |colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|"Ain't Nobody" |colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Chaka Khan |colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Top 11 |colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|"Ain't Goin' Down ('Til the Sun Comes Up)" |colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Garth Brooks |colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Top 10 |colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|"Ooo Baby Baby" |colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|The Miracles |colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Bottom 3 |- |colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Top 9 |colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|"Someone Saved My Life Tonight" |colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Elton John |colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Top 8 |colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|"Somewhere" |colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|West Side Story |colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Top 7 |colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|"All the Time" |colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Barry Manilow |colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Bottom 3 |- |colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Top 6 |colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|"Rhythm Is Gonna Get You" |colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Gloria Estefan |colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Top 5 |colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|"Too Close for Comfort""Don't Rain on My Parade" |colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Natalie Cole Barbra Streisand |colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Top 4 |colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|"Love You Inside Out""Don't Leave Me This Way" |colspan="100]]" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Bee Gees Thelma Houston |colspan="100" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Eliminated |}

Post-Idol

Immediately after being eliminated from the series, London was featured in the Norman Lear-helmed Declare Yourself voting campaign by famed photographer David LaChapelle, alongside music stars like Christina Aguilera and André 3000. Her appearance on Idol host Ryan Seacrest's daily television talk show was one of its highest-rated episodes, and Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown officially declared May 4 to be LaToya London Day; one month later, she officially received the key to the city. Her rendition of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes "If You Don't Know Me by Now" on the top-selling compilation disc, , was praised as one of the album's best. She was also heavily featured on the group track, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough."

In the summer of 2004, London performed with the other top 10 finalists in American Idol season three international tour, which crossed the United States and also visited China and Singapore. She had a guest co-hosting gig on the national entertainment news show, Access Hollywood, and she has performed for such events and galas as the Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation, 100 Black Men of America, and the Clear Channel holiday party. London has also performed the national anthem for numerous National Football League games, including the 2005 Super Bowl NFL Commissioner pre-game party. She has shared the stage with such icons and superstars as Elton John, Whoopi Goldberg, Barry Manilow, Gladys Knight, Nancy Wilson, Chaka Khan, Rachelle Ferrell, Goapele, and Burt Bacharach.

In November 2004, it was announced that London had been signed to jazz recording label Peak Records, an imprint of Concord Records, the final label of jazz legend Ray Charles before his death. Her first single, "Appreciate," which featured a guest rap from Black Thought of the Hip-Hop group The Roots, hit the airwaves in July, and a music video of that song followed. The CD single, "Appreciate/Every Part of Me/All By Myself" reached #8 on the Billboard Singles Sales Chart. The single sold 8,500 units.

2005: Love & Life

Her first album, Love & Life, was released on September 20, 2005. A mix of R&B;, soul, jazz, and hip-hop, Love & Life was a critically acclaimed album that showcased her powerful voice and offered a chance at songwriting, while also featuring songs by such legendary producers as David Foster and Narada Michael Walden. The San Francisco Chronicle called her "impassioned and polished" with "sumptuous, wondrously elastic mezzo pipes," People magazine called it one of the best post-American Idol albums, and Apple Computer's iTunes named it one of the best albums of 2005, and her song "Non A What'cha Do" as one of the best individual recordings of the year. Love & Life sold 12,546 albums in its first week, landing at #82 on Billboard Top 200 Albums chart and at #27 on Billboard Top R&B;/Hip-Hop Albums. To date, it has sold approximately 58,000 copies. Additionally, La Toya has sold over 15,000 digital downloads.

”A glowing LaToya London…[the] cast conveys each character's essence in broad but believable strokes, especially the unimprovable Fields and London” – Bob Verini, Variety

“Nettie…[is] played with impressive restraint by "American Idol" alum LaToya London…” – Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Time

”Bayardelle’s… vocal talents are matched wonderfully by London and Williams, providing perhaps the strongest female singers on a Los Angeles stage this year.” – Jeff Favre, Los Angeles Downtown News

London ended her run as Nettie in 2010. London received a nomination for a NAACP Theatre Award in 2008 in the best supporting actress in an equity production category.

London was featured as a guest vocalist on Paul Taylor's new album, Ladies' Choice, released in May 2007.

Politics and endorsements

London posed for a bondage-themed print advertising campaign by Declare Yourself, a campaign encouraging voter registration among youth for the 2008 United States presidential election. In the ads by photographer David LaChapelle, London has a nail through her upper and lower lips, pinning her mouth shut in a symbolic function. The ads drew national attention.

London also performed "Ain't Nobody" in Oakland on Election Day 2008 celebrating Barack Obama's historic victory.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Appreciate/Every Part of Me/All By Myself (August 2005)

Every Part of Me

State Of My Heart #40 Hot AC Tracks

Guest contributions

"If U Buyin'" (with C-Bo) (1999)

"I Know You Want Me" (with from "The Mixtape Vol. 1") (2004) "I Want to Show You" (with from "The Mixtape Vol. 1") (2004) "Konfessions" (with from "The Mixtape Vol. 1") (2004)

With Okolo on "The "Real" Diamond N Tha Rough") (2005)

"Keeps Me Movin'" (with Golden Sol), from The Golden Sol EP) (August 2005)

"Keeps Me Movin'" (with Golden Sol from Keeps Me Movin' (Featuring Latoya London) EP) (August 2006)

"Keeps Me Movin' (DJ Solomon's Baltimore House Mix)" (with Golden Sol from Keeps Me Movin' (Featuring Latoya London) EP) (August 2006)

"Keeps Me Movin' (Ean's Disco Re-Rub)" (with Golden Sol from Keeps Me Movin' (Featuring Latoya London) EP) (August 2006)

"Hold Up (Wait a Minute)" (with John Payne from The Journey) (October 2006)

"Send My Baby Back" (with Donnie Williams and Park Place from "Just Like Magic") (March 2007)

"Funky Times" (with Donnie Williams and Park Place from "Just Like Magic") (March 2007)

"Just Like Magic" (with Donnie Williams and Park Place from "Just Like Magic") (March 2007)

"I Want To Be Loved (By You)" (with Paul Taylor from "Ladies' Choice") (March 2007)

"ahh means ahh" from (with from "Worldwide") (March 2007)

References

External links

The Official Homepage at Peak Records

Interview at britishhiphop.co.uk, June 2008

Category:1978 births Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:Living people Category:African American singers Category:American stage actors Category:American dance musicians Category:American female singers Category:American Idol participants Category:American musical theatre actors Category:American rhythm and blues singers Category:Baptists from the United States Category:People from San Francisco, California Category:People from Oakland, California Category:Concord Records artists

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