Vonzell Solomon | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Vonzell Monique Solomon |
Born | Baxley, Georgia | March 18, 1984
Origin | Fort Myers, Florida, United States |
Genres | Pop, R&B |
Occupation(s) | Singer, actress |
Instrument(s) | Vocals |
Years active | 2004–present |
Labels | Vonzell, or Baby V Entertainment, formerly known as Melodic Records (CEO) |
Vonzell Monique Solomon (born March 18, 1984), nicknamed Baby V, is an American singer and aspiring actress who finished in third place in the fourth season of the televised singing competition American Idol . She also appeared in the independent movie Still Green .
Born in Baxley, Georgia, Solomon's family relocated to Fort Myers, Florida when she was an infant. Her parents are Alice and Larry Goethie; Solomon uses her mother's maiden name professionally. She has one older sister, Zanobra, and two brothers, Kendall and Gabriel.
Solomon attended high school at the Cypress Lake Center for the Arts. She holds a black belt in Sembact martial arts; her father is a martial arts instructor affectionately known as "Master G". Prior to auditioning for American Idol, she worked for the United States Postal Service as a Rural Letter Carrier and sung with local bands in Southwest Florida. In April 2004, she released a demo CD, My Struggle exclusively to her website. It was made unavailable while she was competing on Idol.
In 2002, Solomon auditioned for the second season of P-Diddy's Making the Band , but was not selected for the group. Diddy has stated that he does not recall her, and during an appearance on Live with Regis and Kelly asserted that she was not well suited for a hip-hop group, anyway.
Solomon auditioned for the fourth season of Idol in Orlando, Florida, her second audition for the show, as she had originally auditioned during the second season, but was cut by the producers.
For her Hollywood solo, she performed "How Will I Know" by Whitney Houston.
Of her first performance in the Top 12 (Dionne Warwick's "Anyone Who Had a Heart," February 28, 2005), judge Simon Cowell said Solomon needed to do something memorable to make it far in the competition. The following week, Cowell called her performance of the Emotions' "Best of My Love" her first memorable performance of the competition.
Her performance of Diana Ross's "When You Tell Me That You Love Me" had Randy Jackson say that it was a perfect vocal.
On May 11, 2005, the top 4 remaining Idol contestants each performed two numbers for the themes Nashville Songs and Gamble & Huff Songs. Solomon performed "How Do I Live" and Thelma Houston's "Don't Leave Me This Way." Despite being in the bottom two that week, she made it into the top 3 when Anthony Fedorov was eliminated.
On May 17, 2005, Clive Davis selected Dionne Warwick's "I'll Never Love This Way Again" for Solomon to perform, the judges selected Donna Summer's "On the Radio" and her own choice was Aretha Franklin's "Chain of Fools." She was eliminated on the following night's results show—leaving Carrie Underwood and Bo Bice to battle it out in the finale. She did, however, return for the season finale and performed "With You I'm Born Again" with Billy Preston.
Week # - Theme | Song Choice | Original Artist | Result | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Audition | "Chain of Fools" | Aretha Franklin | Advanced | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hollywood | Unaired | Unaired | Advanced | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Top 75 | "How Will I Know" | Whitney Houston | Advanced | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Top 24 | "Heat Wave" | Martha and the Vandellas | Safe | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Top 20 | "If I Ain't Got You" | Alicia Keys | Safe | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Top 16 | "Respect" | Otis Redding | Safe | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Top 12 - Songs of the 60's | "Anyone Who Had a Heart" | Dionne Warwick | Safe | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Top 11 - Billboard'' #1's | "Best of My Love" | The Emotions | Safe | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Top 10 - Songs of the 90's | "I Have Nothing" | Whitney Houston | Safe | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Top 9 - Broadway Musicals | "People" | Barbra Streisand | Bottom 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Top 8 - Contestants' Birth Year | "Let's Hear It for the Boy" | Deniece Williams | Safe | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Top 7 - 70's Dance Music | "I'm Every Woman" | Chaka Khan | Safe | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Top 6 - Songs of the 21st Century | "I Turn to You" | All-4-One | Bottom 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Top 5 - Leiber and Stoller Songs and Billboard Top 40 | "Treat Me Nice" "When You Tell Me That You Love Me" | Elvis Presley Diana Ross | Safe | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Top 4 - Nashville Songs & Gamble and Huff Songs | "How Do I Live" "Don't Leave Me This Way" | LeAnn Rimes Thelma Houston | Bottom 2 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Top 3 - Clive Davis', Judges & Contestants' choice | "I'll Never Love This Way Again" "Chain of Fools" "On the Radio" | Dionne Warwick Aretha Franklin Donna Summer | Eliminated | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Season Finale | "With You I'm Born Again" | Billy Preston (feat. Syreeta) |
Solomon is the CEO of her independent record label, Melodic Records. Before starting the company, she was the highest-finishing American Idol contestant not to receive a recording contract afterward. She also makes a cameo in the 2007 independent film Still Green , and has served as a paid spokesperson for the United States Postal Service, as she was a rural carrier before her Idol appearances.
In mid-2006, it was announced that Solomon was planning a recording which went into development hell, and not much has been heard about it since. Her representatives claimed that none of the "media's speculations" were true and that they just hit a few bumps along the road. A single from this mostly completed album was scheduled for release in late 2007. My Struggle, recorded under the name "Baby V," was released to iTunes on January 9, 2007.
On May 17, 2007 a fire erupted in Solomon's Fort Myers home. Authorities suspect the cause to be an electrical malfunction in the attic. She was not injured, but damage to the home was estimated at more than $200,000, and a family pet, a small dog, died in the fire. After discovering the fire, she called 911 from a neighbor’s home. The 911 call was received at 11:25 p.m., and firefighters from the South Trail Fire Department had the fire under control at 11:45 p.m.
In June 2008 Vonzell starred as one of the headliners for a live music show in Branson, MO, named "America's Favorite Finalists". The show featured 6 top 12 American Idol Finalists performing their own music, cover songs and group numbers. The show ran at the Grand Palace and was produced by Steve Drummond, America's Favorite Finalists.
Solomon was also seen performing on the Simply Ballroom tour, and appeared at Idol Camp from July 27 - August 2, 2008. Idol Camp is located on Pali Mountain in California's San Bernardino Mountains.
Solomon recently finished a brief stint at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center in Lubbock, Texas, as Glinda/Aunt Em, in Todrick Hall's retelling of the Wizard of Oz. Oz, the Musical sold out both nights. She starred alongside Season Two alumnus Rickey Smith as the Tinman, and Season 4 alumni Scott Savol, as the Lion, and Mikalah Gordon, as Dorothy.
On June 27, 2012, Solomon made a cameo appearance in the viral YouTube video "Beauty and the BEAT!" alongside Katie Stevens, DeStorm, GloZell Green, Miles Jai, and Antoine Dodson.[ citation needed ]
She appeared as the female vocalist in the touring cast of Burn the Floor, which began performances October 12, 2010. [1]
In 2015, Solomon appeared Todrick with fellow American Idol alum, Todrick Hall.
In 2018, she has appeared as part of the Postmodern Jukebox touring company.
In 2020, Solomon appeared on Gayme Show as the in-house band vocalist, also singing the show's theme song.
In 2021, Solomon appeared on a song for the sixth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars on the episode "Show Up Queen."[ citation needed ]
Security officials detained Solomon on June 10, 2008 at Southwest Florida International Airport when an unloaded gun, which she is licensed to carry, was found in her luggage at a security check-point; Solomon was not arrested and has since completed a pre-trial diversion program . [2] The charge was not pressed. [3]
Solomon released her first EP, My Struggle, in 2004 on Melodic Records. It was re-released to iTunes on January 9, 2007.
Solomon's rendition of "Best of My Love" appears on the American Idol Season 4: The Showstoppers compilation. She also appears on the Dear Santa holiday compilation the United States Postal Service produced for Christmas 2005 with a rendition of "O Come All Ye Faithful" with Alicia Keys, Nick Lachey and other artists, and recorded a song for a 2006 Christmas album, Breaking for the Holidays called "It's Gonna Be a Cold Cold Christmas."[ citation needed ] She was featured in Todrick Hall's "Baby, It's Warm Inside" during Christmas 2010.[ citation needed ]
On January 24, 2012, Vonzell released her 2010-11 EP True Story to iTunes, which mixes pop, R&B and soul genres. [4]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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2005 | Live with Regis | Herself | Aired June 9, 2005 |
VH1's Big In '05 | Herself | Featured artist | |
2006 | The Tyra Banks Show | Herself | Guest appearance |
2007 | Still Green | Chelsea | Supporting character |
2013 | Cinderoncé | The Evil Stepmother | Todrick Hall music video |
2015 | Todrick | Herself | Featured artist |
2016 | Straight Outta Oz | Ensemble/Various | Visual album by Todrick Hall |
2020 | Gayme Show | Herself | In-house singer |
Carmen Rasmusen Herbert is a Canadian-American country music artist who ranked sixth on the second season of American Idol in 2003. Rasmusen also plays piano and guitar.
Tiffany Montgomery, known professionally as Ryan Starr, is a singer who finished seventh on the first season of American Idol. She went on to release a successful single on iTunes and participated in a handful of other television programs, modeling campaigns, and worldwide music tours.
Anatoliy Vladimirovich "Anthony" Fedorov is an American singer and actor who is former lead singer for the Chicago band 7th Heaven. He rose to fame as the fourth place finalist on the fourth season of American Idol.
Season 4: The Showstoppers contains one cover song from each of the top 12 finalists during season 4 of the television show American Idol, along with a song that features all 12 of them together.
The fourth season of American Idol premiered on January 18, 2005, and continued until May 25, 2005. It was hosted by Ryan Seacrest. Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell also returned to judge. Carrie Underwood won the season with approximately 500 million votes cast in the season and 37 million for the finale. Underwood has since gone on to become an eight-time Grammy-winning country megastar. It was also the first season of the series to be aired in high definition.
The third season of American Idol premiered on Monday, January 19, 2004, and continued until May 26, 2004. The third season was won by Fantasia Barrino, who defeated Diana DeGarmo by an approximate margin of 2% ; the vote total was the highest recorded vote total in the show's history until the May 23, 2007, finale of the sixth season. This season also featured future EGOT winner Jennifer Hudson, who finished seventh in the competition. This was the last season to be aired in standard definition, with the only exception being the grand finale.
The second season of American Idol premiered on January 21, 2003, and continued until May 21, 2003. The title of show was shortened from American Idol: The Search for a Superstar of Season 1 to just American Idol. Brian Dunkleman quit after the first season, and Ryan Seacrest therefore became the lone host in Season 2 as well as all subsequent seasons. Kristin Holt was a special correspondent.
The first season of American Idol premiered on June 11, 2002 and continued until September 4, 2002. It was won by Kelly Clarkson. The first season was co-hosted by Ryan Seacrest and Brian Dunkleman, the latter of whom left the show after the season ended.
Gina Glocksen is an American singer, who was the ninth-place finisher on the sixth season of American Idol. She was eliminated on April 4, 2007. She previously appeared in season 5. Glocksen is the first among the few contestants to have been eliminated in Hollywood round in an earlier season and then place in a later one.
The sixth season of American Idol premiered on the Fox Broadcasting Company as a two-night, four-hour premiere special on January 16 and January 17, and ran until May 23, 2007. Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson returned to judge once again, and Ryan Seacrest returned as host. A new record of 74 million votes were cast in the finale round, and a new record of 609 million votes were cast in the entire season. Jordin Sparks won the competition with Blake Lewis as the first runner-up and Melinda Doolittle finishing third. Jordin Sparks is also the youngest winner of the competition, winning at age 17, as well as the first winner from outside the Southern United States. Sparks remained the last female winner until the twelfth season.
Melinda Marie Doolittle is an American singer who finished as the third place finalist on the sixth season of American Idol. Prior to her appearance on American Idol, Doolittle worked as a professional back-up singer for, among others, Michael McDonald, Kirk Franklin, Aaron Neville, BeBe and CeCe Winans, Alabama, Jonny Lang, Vanessa Bell Armstrong, Carman, and Anointed.
The seventh season of American Idol, the annual reality show and singing competition, began on January 15, 2008, and concluded on May 21, 2008. Ryan Seacrest continued to host the show with Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson returning as judges. David Cook was announced the winner of the competition on May 21, 2008, defeating runner-up David Archuleta by a margin of roughly 12 million votes out of over 97 million, which was at that time the highest recorded vote total in the show's history. The split was 56 to 44%.
Syesha Raquel Mercado is an American singer-songwriter, actress, and model. Mercado was the third-place finalist on the seventh season of American Idol. Prior to Idol, Mercado was on The One: Making a Music Star and she won Florida Super Singer. Her musical influences are Whitney Houston, Etta James, Alicia Keys, Zap Mama, Lauryn Hill, and Aretha Franklin.
Brooke Elizabeth White is an American folk-pop singer-songwriter and actress from Mesa, Arizona who was the fifth place finalist on the seventh season of American Idol. In 2005, White released her first studio album, called Songs from the Attic.
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Vered "Didi" Benami is an American singer who was the tenth-place finalist on the ninth season of American Idol. Since her appearance on American Idol, she has spent the past few years honing her craft, taking classes and writing her first full-length album, Reverie.
Todrick Hall is an American singer, songwriter, choreographer, and YouTuber. He gained national attention on the ninth season of the televised singing competition American Idol. Following this, he amassed a huge following on YouTube with viral videos including original songs, parodies, and skits. He aspires to be a role model for LGBTQ and people of color. A documentary series about his video-making process titled Todrick aired on MTV in 2015.
Lindsey Michelle Cardinale is an American country singer and university student who was the twelfth-place finalist on the fourth season of American Idol in 2005.
This page lists only acting roles and other projects undertaken in film, television and theater in the post-Idol career of American Idol contestants. It does not include guest musical performances or interviews on TV shows, or any pre-Idol work. It is also not intended to be a comprehensive list of all acting roles, appearances, awards nominated or won by any particular alum. Where there are multiple entries, only the more significant may be listed. Please see the appropriate links and references for individual alum for such more complete lists.