LeToya Luckett
LeToya Luckett |
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LeToya Nicole Luckett (born March 11 1981), professionally known as LeToya, is a Grammy Award-winning American R&B singer and songwriter. She is an original member of R&B group Destiny's Child and has since pursued a solo career.
Early life
Luckett was born in Houston, Texas and grew up singing in her local church. After her father, also a singer, spread the word of his daughter's talent, Luckett had the opportunity to sing her first church solo at the age of five. "The lady just gave me the mic one Sunday and I sang", she recalls. Shortly thereafter, she joined the children's choir and began performing in plays at her elementary school, where she met Beyoncé Knowles.
Destiny's Child
In 1993, Luckett joined the group "Girls Tyme" which later became Destiny's Child (Beyoncé Knowles, LeToya Luckett, Kelly Rowland, and LaTavia Roberson). The quartet underwent several name changes—Girls Tyme, the Dolls, Something Fresh, and Cliché—before sticking with Destiny's Child (a phrase that appears in the Book of Isaiah in the Bible). Graduating from the Houston club scene, the group began opening for such acts as Dru Hill, SWV, and Immature. Columbia Records signed Destiny's Child in 1997.
In 1998, Destiny's Child released their self-titled debut album Destiny's Child, which includes the singles "No, No, No" featuring Wyclef Jean and "With Me". They were also featured on the Why Do Fools Fall In Love soundtrack with the song "Get on the Bus" featuring Timbaland, which was released as a single in Europe. Destiny's Child toured as an opening act on TLC's Fanmail Tour and Christina Aguilera's debut tour.
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In 1999, Destiny's Child released their sophomore album, The Writing's on the Wall. It became one of the biggest selling albums released by a female group and was certified eight-times platinum in the U.S. The album includes four hit singles, "Bills, Bills, Bills", "Bug a Boo", "Say My Name", and "Jumpin' Jumpin'".
During 2000, in the midst of the success of The Writing's on the Wall, Luckett and member LaTavia Roberson tried to make a break with manager Mathew Knowles (Beyoncé Knowles' father) as they believed that he favored Knowles and was retaining too much of the group's profits. The pair said at the time they were only looking to secure outside management, but they soon found themselves on the outs with Knowles. [1] When the "Say My Name" video debuted in February 2000, they were shocked to find themselves replaced by two new members, Michelle Williams and Farrah Franklin.
Luckett and Roberson filed a lawsuit in March 2000 against Mathew Knowles and the group. This began a media battle in which the two sides exchanged barbs in magazine and newspaper interviews. Near the end of 2000, they agreed to a settlement that required them to drop the part of their lawsuit that targeted their former group members (though they retained the suit against Mathew Knowles) and required both sides to stop disparaging each other in public.
When it seemed as if the drama had subsided, shortly following the release of Destiny's Child remix album This Is the Remix in March 2002, Luckett and Roberson filed another suit against Destiny's Child. They claimed that the first single, "Survivor", from Destiny's Child's 2001 album Survivor violated their previous settlement due to its lyrics which they believed to reference the ugly split. The song featured such lyrics as "Now that you out of my life, I'm so much better, You thought that I'd be weak without you, But I'm stronger, You thought that I'd be broke without you, But I'm richer, You thought I wouldn't grow without you, Now I'm wiser, Thought that I'd be helpless without you, But I'm smarter, You thought that I'd be stressed without you, But I'm chillin', You thought I wouldn't sell without you, Sold 9 million".
The eventual settlement with former bandmates has allowed Luckett to receive royalties from Columbia Records for all Destiny's Child albums sold, including Survivor and Destiny Fullfilled (which were released after she left the group), since she had originally signed a five-album contract. Also she is still receiving royalties from ASCAP and other associations each time a song she has co-written is played or performed. [citation needed]
Life after Destiny's Child
After several months of media speculation, Luckett and Roberson began auditioning young women for a new female R&B quartet. Naty Quinones and Tiffany Beaudoin made the cut. The group, Anjel, recorded a 22 song demo in Atlanta with the help of Jagged Edge. The production company which handled the group fell through and all the members of Anjel went their separate ways. However, most of the recorded tracks leaked onto the Internet.
In 2003, Luckett opened a clothing boutique in Uptown Houston (Galleria area) called "Lady Elle" which is run by herself and her mother Pam Luckett. Currently, Knowles' clothing line, House of Dereon, is sold at the store as the two have reconciled.
Solo career
In 2004, Luckett decided to pursue a solo career and signed with Capitol Records. She immediately began working on her debut solo album and released her first track "You Got What I Need", a promo single available exclusively on vinyl. Luckett also appeared on Capitol labelmate Houston's song, "My Promise" and on the Capitol-released Coach Carter soundtrack which featured Luckett's "What Love Can Do".
Through 2005, many new tracks leaked onto the Internet and received some radio play, including the promo single "All Eyes On Me". Luckett was featured on Slim Thug's 2005 album Already Platinum on the track "This Is My Life", produced by The Neptunes. At the end of the year, she released the What It Do! Mixtape which included freestyles and album cuts.
Her self-titled debut album, LeToya, is set to be released on July 25, 2006. [2] [3] The first single, "Torn", is a ballad produced by Teddy Bishop. The song has reached number two on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, thirty-one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and number one on BET's 106 & Park countdown, and also #1 on Urban Mediabase. Luckett is participating in the 2006 Pantene Tour [4] and will be touring with Mary J. Blige during the summer. Her second single "She Don't" premiered on BET's Access Granted on Wednesday July 5 2006.
Vocal Profile
LeToya is a Lyric Coloratura Soprano.
Trivia
- She is sometimes marketed as "Da H-Town Chick" as she is from Houston, Texas.
- She has dated rapper Slim Thug, Young Rome (member of R&B group IMx), and Brian Casey (member of R&B group Jagged Edge).
- She is still close to former Destiny's Child member, LaTavia Roberson.
- She and Beyoncé Knowles have become friends again.
Discography
- For complete discography information including recordings with Destiny's Child and Anjel, see LeToya Luckett discography.
Albums
| Album cover | Album information |
|---|---|
 |
LeToya |
Singles
| Year | Song | Album | U.S. Hot 100 | U.S. R&B | BET | Mediabase |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | "Torn" 1 | LeToya | 31 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| "She Don't" 2 | - | - | - | - | ||
Notes:
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Awards
For Luckett's awards won as a member of Destiny's Child, see Destiny's Child awards and accolades.
2001: *Grammy Awards: Best R&B Song ("Say My Name")
See also
List of hip hop musicians and bands from Houston, Texas
External links
Websites
Interviews
- Urban Bridgez (April 2006)
- Allhiphop.com (May 2006)
- Yahoo! Music (May 2006)
- 1981 births
- Living people
- African-American singers
- American female singers
- American rhythm and blues singers
- American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters
- American singer-songwriters
- Destiny's Child
- Grammy Award winners
- People from Houston
- Members of girl groups
- People from Texas
- Rhythmic Top 40 acts
- Texas musicians