La'Porsha Renae Mays (born July 28, 1993), known professionally as La'Porsha Renae, is an American singer-songwriter from

McComb, Mississippi McComb is a city in Pike County, Mississippi, United States. The city is approximately south of Jackson. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 12,790. It is the principal city of the McComb, Mississippi Micropolitan Statist ...

. In 2015, she auditioned for the fifteenth season of ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

'', which at that time was the final season. On April 7, 2016, she finished as runner-up on the show, behind winner

Trent Harmon Trenton William Harmon (born October 8, 1990) is an American country music singer who gained national attention for winning the fifteenth season of ''American Idol'' on April 7, 2016. Early life and education Harmon was born in Amory, Mississi ...

. In March 2017, Renae released her debut album ''Already All Ready''.

Biography

Early life

La' Porsha Renae Mays was born on July 28, 1993, in

. At age 16, Renae auditioned for the tenth season of ''American Idol''. After graduating from college at age 22, Renae was a victim of domestic abuse. After a year, she separated from her husband and moved back to McComb with her one-month-old daughter Nayalee Keya.

''American Idol''

Accompanied by her daughter, she returned to audition for ''American Idol'' in

Little Rock, Arkansas (The Little Rock, The "Little Rock") , government_type = council-manager government, Council-manager , leader_title = List of mayors of Little Rock, Arkansas, Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_ ...

and earned her golden ticket by performing in front of the judges with

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...

's " Creep". Renae was announced as the final runner-up on April 7, 2016.

Performances

Post ''Idol''

Career beginnings

Hours after the end of the ''American Idol'', Renae announced that she had been signed to Big Machine and

Motown Records Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmant ...

. ''American Idol'' mentor and Big Machine Label Group CEO,

Scott Borchetta Scott Borchetta (born July 3, 1962) is an American record executive and founder of the Big Machine Label Group. He started the label in 2005 with 13 employees, as its president/CEO and encompasses four imprints: Big Machine Records, BMLG Record ...

told ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' the reason for the signing is "Because of the overwhelming fan demand and success of the farewell season of American Idol,."

Ethiopia Habtemariam Ethiopia Habtemariam (, , ) is the former Chair/CEO of Motown Records. She is Ethiopian-American. She was born on 24 September 1979 in Berkeley, California. In 1994, at the age of 14, Habtemariam began interning at LaFace Records, a label created ...

, president of MoTown Records will oversee Renae's album. In a post-Idol interview about her plans Renae indicated she would be leaving Mississippi, and when asked about the Religious Liberty Accommodations Act, an anti-LGBT law in her home state she said "I am one of the people who don't really agree with that lifestyle. I wasn't brought up that way." Renae's single "

Battles A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

" debuted at number 22 on the US R&B singles chart with a first week sales total of 7,000.Renae's first live performance post Idol was on ''

Live with Kelly and Michael ''Live with Kelly and Ryan'' (or simply ''Live'') is an American syndicated morning talk show hosted by Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest. Executive produced by Michael Gelman, the ''Live with...'' show formula has aired under various hosts since ...

'' promoting "Battles" which reached its peak at #22 on US R&B Digital Charts. In August 2016, a remix for "Battles" was released, called the Gold Medal Mix. It became the official song for the United States Women's Gymnastic Team for the 2016 Summer Olympics. In November, Renae released the lead single to her upcoming debut album, entitled "Good Woman."

Career

2017: ''Already All Ready''

Her debut studio album, ''Already All Ready'' was released on March 31, 2017. "Good Woman" is the debut single from the album.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

References

External links

La'Porsha Renae
on ''

'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Renae, Laporsha 1993 births 21st-century American singers 21st-century African-American women singers American Idol participants Living people Singer-songwriters from Mississippi People from McComb, Mississippi American contemporary R&B singers 21st-century American women singers African-American songwriters