LaKisha Jones
LaKisha Jones inThe American Idol Experience motorcade atWalt Disney World.
Background information
Born	LaKisha Ann Jones
Origin	Flint,Michigan, United States[1]
Genres	R&B,soul,gospel
Occupations	Singer,plus-size model
Instrument	Vocals
Years active	2007–present
Labels	Elite Music LLC
Website	[1],www.myspace.com/LakishaJonesMusic

LaKisha Ann Jones^[2] is anAmerican singer. She placed fourth on thesixth season ofAmerican Idol.

Jones was born at Hurley Medical Center inFlint,Michigan, to a teacher at the Flint Foundation Academy. She was raised by her grandmother, Ruth Jefferson Morris.

Anonly child, Jones is aBaptist who began singing at the Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church at age five.^[2] She was formally trained inclassical music,^{[citation needed]} although her favorite genre isgospel music.^{[citation needed]} Jones always dreamed of becoming a singer.

She washome schooled in Flint, then attendedFlint Central High School, where, in one of her earliest performances, she appeared in a play calledLead Poisoning. While in high school, Jones performed with one of the groups in the choral department: the Madrigal Singers. Jones graduated in 1998 and attended theUniversity of Michigan-Flint, majoring inmusic. During college, she performed in the playGodspell. Jones stated in herIdol interview that Flint, Michigan was her home. She was a single mother with a five-year-old daughter who encouraged her to try out forIdol.

Jones moved toHouston,Texas, where she lived for six years. One of her earliest jobs in Houston was that of a secretary at Abundant Life Cathedral, a church with 7,000 parishioners. Prior to working at the church, Jones sang in the 70-member choir. The choir has produced well-known gospel singerYolanda Adams, among others. In 2006, Jones moved toFort Meade, Maryland, in order to be closer to her cousins and other relatives. At that time, Jones obtained a job as a bank teller atProvident Bank inMillersville, Maryland, which she gave up when she moved to Hollywood to compete inAmerican Idol.

Jones was the 1997 winner of Flint's amateur talent show, The Supershow, which is now-defunct. While living inHouston, she took second place in the 2005Gimme the Mic competition.

On October 5, 2008 in Beverly Hills, California, she married Larry Davis, a financial advisor. She has two daughters.^[3]

Jones auditioned singing "Think" byAretha Franklin. The judges were impressed with her powerful vocal and performance, and Simon noted that he "loved this girl". Jones was shown emotionally embracing her daughter after being sent into the next round.In her farewell montage on the episode of her elimination it was shown that she also sang "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" during her audition.She also performed Stevie Wonder's "Until You Come Back To Me" during one of the Hollywood audition rounds.

• ^Note 1 WhenRyan Seacrest announced the results for this particular night, Jones was declared safe placing in the top three.
• ^Note 2 When Ryan Seacrest announced the results for the particular night, Jones was among in the bottom three, but declared safe second whenSanjaya Malakar was eliminated.
• ^Note 3 Due to theIdol Gives Back performance, the Top 6 remained intact for another week.

Jones toured with the Top 10 Idols on theIdols tour. She received positive reviews for her solo performance of "I Will Always Love You". She performed the Star-Spangled Banner atComerica Park before the Detroit Tigers game on June 8, 2007 versus the New York Mets.

Jones also had two homecoming events. The first at the Abundant Life Cathedral Church inHouston, Texas (Houston was her home from 2000 to 2006) on May 30, 2007. This date was also declared 'LaKisha Jones Day' inHouston by Mayor Bill White.

The other homecoming was atAtwood Stadium,Flint, Michigan, where Jones was born and raised and where most of her family still resides, on June 9, 2007. It was at this ceremony that she received a $6,000 check and six-month free lease on a new Buick LaCrosse. She also received a Flint watch, personalized tree ornaments from Bronner's and a card signed by 300 fans.

In late September 2007, it was announced that Jones would take over the role of the church soloist in the Broadway musicalThe Color Purple as of January 9, 2008. Jones played the role of Sofia during matinées (standing in forChaka Khan).^[4]

In June 2008, Jones vocal coached the girls on MTV'sLegally Blonde: The Musical – The Search for Elle Woods. She demonstrated 'Amazing Grace' using chest and head voice with different vibratos.^[5] In May 2008, she appeared on American Idol Extra andJust As I Am, a song from her upcoming album.^[6] Her debut singleSo Glad I'm Me, written by Melanie Rutherford and produced by Edwin Nicholas, who produced soul musicians such asPatti LaBelle andGerald Levert, was released on October 21, 2008. The album with the same title was released on May 19, 2009.

LaKisha Jones competed on the 2013 season ofThe Winner Is. She performed "Lady Marmalade" and was eliminated in the first round.^{[citation needed]}

• LaKisha Jones' YouTube Channel
• LaKisha Jones atIMDb

• Living people
• 21st-century American singers
• African-American Christians
• 20th-century African-American women singers
• 20th-century American women singers
• 20th-century American singers
• American Idol participants
• American soul singers
• Baptists from Texas
• Flint Central High School alumni
• Singers from Baltimore
• Musicians from Flint, Michigan
• Singers from Houston
• People from Fort Meade, Maryland
• University of Michigan–Flint alumni
• Singers from Michigan
• 21st-century American women singers
• Baptists from Michigan
• Baptists from Maryland
• 21st-century African-American women singers

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• Articles with unsourced statements from March 2008
• Articles with unsourced statements from November 2024
• Year of birth missing (living people)