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Leah Renee. She’s a newcomer but she’s got glorious showbiz future ahead of her. Leah will enchant the world with her genuine lyrics, beautiful strong voice and multiple talents. Leah Renee is the hottest new singer of 2009. Meet Leah for the first time. Leah Renee - Hottest GlamourVanity Exclusive.
Leah Renee
Leah Renee
GlamourVanity.com is proud to present a rising star who’s hitting big having everything to become a chart smasher. Leah Renee, a Toronto raised and NYC based singer, songwriters, actress and model, has a powerful and beautiful voice, pretty girl-next-door looks and a plenty of talent.
Leah is young, ambitious, creative and talented. She describes herself as positive and focused and a little bit silly sometimes.
Leah Renee’s debut single ‘iBF’ is more than just a new text message trendsetter, it’s a beautiful, sincere and unforgettable tune.
Leah Renee – Hottest GlamourVanity.com excusive of the year.
Getting famous
Leah Renee was born October 1, 1985 in Toronto, Canada. She describes herself as “a normal person who’s working very hard to make her dreams come true.”
Leah’s been in show business since the age of 5, she began doing cartoon voices and TV/acting work at 10 and starred in the Donnie Wahlberg CW series Runaway. At 13 she began taking voice lessons with renowned vocal coach Elaine Overholt who helped Leah hone her vocal skills and define her sound.
“I’ve been in the entertainment business since I was five years old. I started out acting, but when I was fourteen or fifteen I heard Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears and I remember thinking, ‘That’s a job? That’s cool!’ That’s when I decided to pursue a career as a pop singer as well,” Leah Renee said in one of the interviews adding that Tracey Chapman, Guns n Roses, Mariah Carey, Brandy, TLC, Sheryl Crow, Celine Dion, and Alanis Morrisette are some of her greatest music influences.
Renee often says she’s very close to her family and admits moving to New York in 2008 was a difficult decision but it was worth it. She says she loved living with her family and could have stayed there forever adding her parents are her best friends. “My mother and father are amazing,” Leah Renee gushed. “They gave up so much so that I could do what I loved, even though they knew I had chosen a difficult path. I knew what I wanted at five years old and my dad took a job working the night shift in a warehouse so that he could take me to auditions during the day while my mom worked. Then, after several years of his losing a lot of sleep, my mom quit her job to take me around until I was 16 and able to drive myself.”
“My family’s a little different,” she continues. “My dad and younger brother are both into motorcycle culture – they both have Harley Davidsons – and they can get lost for days on a bike trip. My dad has tattoos and hair longer than mine and he’s always stealing my shampoo. My mom, who now works as a customs broker, and I do everything together and I really miss her. I talk to my parents a few times a day.”
So it’s pretty obvious settling in a different country was not an easy adjustment but thanks to Leah’s producers, Curtis and Vox, and the fact that she loves exploring new things and places, New York has become a fun place for her to live and work in. “It was very difficult because not only was I moving to a new town, I was moving to a new country. I was living at home with my parents at the time, which was cool because we have a really great relationship. So it was scary moving out on my own, but New York is great. I love it,” Leah Renee said.
However, living on her own wasn’t always that easy. Leah recalls some disappointing moments along the road. “I’ve worked with some producers who were quite prevalent in the industry,” she explains. “They made promises that never came through – I was even told I was being signed to a major record label, which never happened.”
Even when living in her home Toronto Leah felt certain drawbacks of being famous. “Because I was acting on TV, the girls in high school would give me digs before they really knew me. And the guys couldn’t handle not being number one,” Leah said. “I really had to believe in myself to deal with the down times. But I’ve always felt that it’s important to be real. That’s why I write about my experiences – I want people to know who I really am.”
Leah adds that all the trials she has been through help her pen new songs.
In NY Leah Renee met Aaron Curtis and Charlie Vox, better known as heads of a consortium of writers and producers known as The Conglomerate that worked with such big names as Jennifer Lopez, Rihanna, Kelly Clarkson and more. Curtis and Vox became Leah’s collaborators on her debut LP, Storybook, as well as the project’s main producers, and Leah’s good friends as well. “I’ve learned everything I know about songwriting from them. I had never written any music before, but they taught me song structure and how to craft lyrics. I had always kept a journal and we used a lot of information from my journals to create songs that were uniquely me for the album,” Leah said in her interview in February 2009.
Currently, Leah gets ready to release her debut album Storybook by summer and promote her debut single ‘iBF’ that stands for “imaginary boyfriend” and is sure to become the subject of millions of text messages the minute the song breaks on pop stations. Leah Renee is a pretty down-to-earth girl and admits that dreams of her own superstardom are not necessarily what drive her. Most important to her is having people hear her music and being able to continue her singing and songwriting. “The first time I hear my record on the radio, I think I’ll lose my mind. Being number one would be a dream come true,” Lear confessed.
She also says she loves acting. Currently, she voices the character of Chris-Alice on Discovery Kids’ popular animated production Growing Up Creepie, and is also well-known as the voice of “Beaver” in the long-running series Franklin The Turtle. Leah Renee has also started opposite JoJo and Valerie Bertinelli on the Lifetime’s True Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet. “I love acting. It has always been a part of my life and it always will be. But right now I am focusing on the music,” Leah said in her interview with Examiner.com in February 2009.
Once Leah Renee defined what she thinks success is. Success is “hard work and a little luck. I recently heard a great definition of luck; it’s when hard work and opportunity meet.” Recently Leah got pretty lucky to get on the big screen with The Jonas Brothers. Leah’s single, ‘iBF’ was heard by moviegoers in 220 theatres across the U.S before the Jonas Brothers’ The 3D Concert Experience movie.
GlamourVanity.com Exclusive Interview With Leah Renee
Miss Provocateur – Hi, Leah. How are you doing?
Leah Renee – Hi! I’m great thanks!
MP – I’d like to say you look gorgeous and you have a very beautiful voice, it’s amazing.
Leah – Aw..thank you so much!
MP – How did it happen your debut single, ‘iBF’ was chosen for the Jonas Brothers’ movie premiere?
Leah – That was due to the magic of my wonderful marketing team!
MP – You’re living in NYC now, how’s your life changed since you moved from your home Toronto to NY? Can you recall any negative experience?
Leah – My life has changed a lot. I’ve gone from living with my family, pets and friends to living alone in a big city. It was definitely a big adjustment..one I’m STILL trying to get used to. But it’s all worth it. I get a chance to live life doing what I LOVE. I can’t really think of any negative experiences though. I mean…I’ve gotten lost a LOT..and had a few more run ins with cockroaches then I’d like to..but NY is an amazing city..and I’m lucky to be here.
MP – Describe your perfect day
Leah – Spring time..wake up early…(i love mornings)..Have tea with my mom and talk. Head out to a nice yoga or pilates class. Stretch..clear my mind. Have lunch with some friends..laugh and eat yummy food. Head to the studio. Write a song from scratch and sing it all day. Go home…talk to my family on the phone..my mom, dad, brother. Bake some cupcakes..lick the bowl cause nobodies watching. Play Mario Kart on my Wii and kick Bowser, Toad and Luigi’s butt. Light some candles..run a bath..toss a bath bomb in..put on some of my favorite music and hop in. Then make a cup of mint chamomile tea…and drift off to dream land.
MP – What’s your favorite song at the moment?
Leah – It’s a tie between India Arie’s ‘Therapy’ and Frou Frou’s ‘The Dumbing Down Of Love’
MP – You’ve said you want to pursue your career on television. Describe the project you’d love to take part in.
Leah – I’d really like to be in a sit com. I like making people laugh! I would also like to do movies soon. I’d love to be in a romantic comedy..or maybe even an action film!
MP – If you were offered a duet with some big name singer, who’d you choose to work with and why.
Leah – That’s a TOUGH one. There are just sooo many people I wish I could get the chance to work with…Sheryl Crow, Bryan Adams, John Mayer, Jewel, Justin Timberlake, Slash, Imogen Heap, Phil Collins….
MP – Have you got any plans for going on tour to promote your debut album Storybook? Have you already had any (big) gigs?
Leah – We don’t have plans……YET. But I feel like we’ll be making some really soon.
MP – Tell me about your interests apart from music and acting.
Leah -I’m very interested in animal rights, environmental issues, reading, cooking yummy vegetarian food and video games.
MP – How did you discover your music talents?
Leah – It was around 3rd grade. I got a standing ovation after singing ‘Think Of Me’ from The Phantom Of The Opera. I was so surprised. And a little confused. I was like………why is everyone standing up and clapping?? And why is my dad crying? What happened??!
MP – Describe yourself in four words.
Leah – Positive. Focused. Silly. Creative.
MP – Have you set any release date for your album, Storybook, yet?
Leah – We haven’t set a date just yet…but it will definitely be out by this summer!
MP – And finally, all our readers are dying to know if you have a boyfriend. So do you have a boyfriend?
Leah – Hahah….i have an “iBF”!!
MP – Thank you Leah and good luck to you with your album and your career! Can’t wait to buy Storybook, cause I really love ‘iBF’!
Leah – Awesome! Thanks so much!
Albums
Leah Renee’s debut LP Storybook is due by summer 2009. According to Leah’s management, at the moment she’s putting the album together, and the 11-song Storybook is her main focus now. “We called the album Storybook because each song has something to do with one of my own experiences. It really is a storybook of my life up to this point. It took about two years to complete,” Leah said.
Leah co-wrote all the songs on the infectious, high-impact CD, which she says is about love, and is hoping that it will bring her the attention she seeks and show the public-at-large who she is and what she feels, through her music.
“I’m lucky to have such huge input on my first album,” acknowledges Leah. “A lot of people don’t get that chance. The songs are about my personal experiences but everyone will be able to relate to them. For example, the song ‘Disappointing’ is about my having met someone that I thought was my Prince Charming but later found out that he wasn’t.”
The first single from Leah’s killer debut LP, ‘iBF,’ hit radio stations in the end of February 2009.
“Imaginary Boyfriend,” or ‘IBF’ as I like to call it, was the only song on the album that was submitted to us from an outside writers. We were almost finished with the album when it came in, but I just fell in love with it. I rewrote a couple of lines to make it fit my own life, but it is just such a fun song,” Leah said during one of the interviews.
“This song just jumped right out as far as being the first single,” she added. “All of us have had an imaginary boyfriend at one point in our lives. We’ve focused on celebrities or have had a crush on someone else who’s unattainable. But it doesn’t stop us from daydreaming.”
‘iBF (Imaginary Boyfriend)’ co-written by Leah and produced by The SupaSonics and Jay Deasel, is the high impact track creating a new “rhythm-crossover” fusion in pop music.
Storybook track list will be revealed later this spring, Leah’s management told GlamourVanity.com exclusively.
Things You Must Know About Leah Renee
1. Among her favorite pastime activities Leah names visiting New York’s museums and taking the subway uptown and downtown, seeking out new territory to look into. “I’m very curious and I like learning about a lot of things. I like to read and I like to cook – I love the culture, food and music of India. I would love to go there someday. I also enjoy ice skating and going to the gym and working out and doing Yoga and Pilates. When I’m home in Toronto, I love going out to dinner and to the movies with my friends – we like trying new restaurants and new food.”
2. Leah Renee is vegetarian and a great animal rights advocate.
3. Leah states she would like to write songs for other singers, such as Jordan Sparks and Rihanna.
4. Leah says her favorite sound is the sound of rainfall. “I find it very soothing,” she says.
5. Leah admits that chocolate makes her happy, while aggressive drivers make her angry.
6. If Leah Renee could have dinner with anyone in history she’d dine with Mariah Carey. “She is someone I really look up to as an artist. I’ve got a lot of questions I’d like to ask her,” Leah told Examiner.com.
7. Lear Renee says she’s not that kind of girl to go to parties and get “wild and crazy.” More than likely, you can see her on her cell phone – mainly because it has a recorder in it and she sings songs she is composing into it 24/7. “I sing into my phone even when I’m walking or in the shower,” Leah laughs. “I write every day, whether it’s an entire song or just a line. It’s important to keep the juices flowing. In my apartment, I’ll light a candle and make some tea and then I’ll pick up lines, words and melodies from my journal to bring to my co-writers, Aaron and Charli.”
Upcoming Projects
Though her debut album is due to release later in 2009, Leah says she’s already working on her second CD.
Video
- Leah Renee performing ‘iBF’ live
- Leah Renee ‘iBF’ official video
July 16th, 2009 at 1:10 am
I love u ur great
August 29th, 2009 at 5:22 pm
Such beautiful skin-whats your secret????
September 22nd, 2009 at 9:29 pm
I love u so much. When my sisters and i heard and saw iBF(imaginary boyfriend) viedo on Ondemand, we fell in love with it and now we sing this song everyday and after school we get on the computer and sing along with the lyrics just to learn your song.
October 19th, 2009 at 10:42 am
Yes, you r nice. I really astonished for your childhood looking and contruction. Yes, this is called God Gifted.
June 7th, 2010 at 10:47 am
hey lia yo very great singer ,yor songs is wery god ,end impresing .