Toya Alexis (born July 16, 1980) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

vocalist and actress from Ajax, Ontario.

Career

Alexis won a "Rising Star" contest and sang at the Apollo Theater. In 2001 she appeared, as LaToya Lesmond, as a contestant on season one of ''

Popstars ''Popstars'' is an international reality television franchise aimed to find new singing talent. Serving as a precursor to the ''Idol'' franchise, '' Popstars'' first began in New Zealand in 1999 when producer Jonathan Dowling formed the girl gr ...

'' on the Global Television Network. She was a finalist, and was featured on the debut album of the winners who were named

Sugar Jones Sugar Jones was a Canadian all-female pop group created on the first season of the Canadian version of '' Popstars'' in 2001. It consisted of five members chosen from thousands of contestants who auditioned all over Canada in hopes of gaining a sp ...

. She was a contestant on the first season of '' Canadian Idol'' in 2003, reaching sixth place in a controversial decision as she was a judge favourite. "I actually knew I loved to sing before I could talk," Toya Alexis told students at Ridgewood Public School (Mississauga, ON) after her Canadian Idol experience. In 2004, Alexis was one of several Hip-Hop artists to co-write "Drop the Chrome," an anti-violence song aimed at youth. Other co-writers were Marcus Kane, Thrust, Maestro, Michie Mee, and Skitz. Proceeds from the sale of the 3-track CD were split between two youth-focused charities Tropicana Community Services and Youth Assisting Youth.

Debut album

Alexis was subsequently offered a recording contract, and released her first single, the

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

hit "Am I Loving?", in 2004. She also appeared as a guest vocalist on recordings by several other Canadian artists. Her full-length debut album, ''S.O.B. Story'', was released in August on Canadian Idol judge

Farley Flex Farley Flex (born Farley Fridal, August 9, 1962) is a Media Consultant, music promoter, artist manager, and motivational speaker. He is best known for being a judge on the reality television series '' Canadian Idol''. Early life He was born in L ...

's label, Plasma, who also served as her manager.

Theatre

In 2005, she was a featured cast member as "Mabel" in the

Canstage Canadian Stage is a non-profit contemporary performance arts company based in Toronto, Ontario, ''Canada''. About Canadian Stage Canadian Stage is one of Canada's largest not-for-profit contemporary theatre companies, based in Toronto, Ontari ...

show ''Crowns'', at the Bluma Appel Theatre in Toronto. Her other stage credits have included ''Doo Wop to Motown'' (Theatre on the Grand), ''Once on This Island'' (Stirling Festival Theatre), ''Rainbow World'' (Bathurst Street Theatre), ''The Good Times Are Killing Me'' (Royal Alex Theatre) and ''Dreamgirls'', (a co-production between Theatre Aquarius and the Manitoba Theatre Centre).

Idol performances

*Top 32 (Group 3) - "I Believe In You and Me" (

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed " The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston i ...

) *Wildcard - "Try It on My Own" (Whitney Houston) *Top 11 - "If You Asked Me To" (

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

) *Top 8 - "If You Really Love Me" ( Stevie Wonder) *Top 6 - "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" (Stevie Wonder)

Singles history

2002: "I Got U" (with

) (#70, Canadian Singles Chart) 2004: "Am I Loving?" (#36, Canadian Singles Chart) 2005: "Toy Boy" (#17, Canadian Singles Chart) 2006: "Where Did Our Love Go?" (#29, Canadian Singles Chart)

Discography

Albums

Singles

*"Am I Loving?" *"Toy Boy" *"Where Did Our Love Go?"

Videos

''Featured on'' *'' Canadian Idol Greatest Moments'' (2003) (track 11 singing "Try It on My Own") *''Sugar Jones'' (2001) (featured on "I Got U")

References

External links

* https://m.imdb.com/name/nm0504213
Toya Alexis Official Site - down as of March 9, 2011
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexis, Toya 1980 births Canadian people of Caribbean descent 21st-century Black Canadian women singers Black Canadian actresses Canadian contemporary R&B singers Canadian soul singers Canadian pop singers Canadian Idol participants People from Ajax, Ontario Living people Musicians from the Regional Municipality of Durham