Josiah Leming
Encyclopedia
Josiah Leming is an American
singer-songwriter
, best known for appearing in Season 7
of American Idol
, where he was cut during the Hollywood round of the auditions, just before the semifinals. His cut followed a subpar performance, but was considered somewhat controversial nonetheless. Leming's debut album, Come On Kid, from Warner Bros. came out September 13, 2010.
. He was raised by his mother and stepfather alongside four brothers and four sisters, six of whom are adopted. Leming first learned the piano
when he was eight years old after his mother purchased a Casio keyboard for Christmas
. He also played his grandmother's piano during visits to her house, and participated in school musicals and choirs. Described as "self-taught", he also credits an "elderly piano instructor" for his early musical education.
By 13, Leming was writing his own music. A friend introduced him to musicians DC Talk
, Coldplay
and Travis
, Neil Young
, Bob Dylan
, Ryan Adams
, and The Smiths
at 15. They had some influence on Leming’s musical style. When he was 16, Leming began to perform locally. He dropped out of high school and left Morristown at 17, in an attempt to both make it as a musician and find a way to support his large and struggling family. Leming played in clubs and coffeehouses throughout the Southeast
while working at restaurants
and temp agencies
to pay for food and gas. He traveled to Atlanta, Georgia
in late 2007 when he heard American Idol would hold auditions there.
He currently lives in Morristown, Tennessee.
After leaving American Idol, Leming signed a record deal with Warner Bros. in 2008 and began work on his debut album Come on Kid. To promote the album, Warner Bros. released Angels Undercover EP in 2008 and Punk Ass Rain EP in 2009. Meanwhile, Leming recorded Come on Kid in London
and Los Angeles
, with the help of producers Jesse Owen Astin, Martin Terefe, Warren Huart
and David Kosten. Two songs from Angels Undercover EP are featured on the album--"To Run" and "Arctic Outcry Wind".
Come on Kid was released on September 13, 2010, after some delays. "It was emotional, and it took a long time," Leming tells Billboard.com. "In order to make an album that everybody was happy with, and also that I felt good about, it took the good part of two years to kind of wrangle that in." While these delays were rumored to have been caused by contract disputes with 19 Entertainment
, both Leming and 19 now say that the "disputes" were simply a misunderstanding.
Come on Kid failed commercially, which prompted Warner Bros. to drop Leming from the label in late 2010.
Leming recorded music independently in Burbank, California
for three years before returning to Tennessee in early Fall 2011. He released a new single "What You've Taken" on February 6, 2011 in conjunction with the launch of his official website. The single was available on his website for free download until March 6, 2011.
Leming plays in different venues across the country to promote his music. In addition, he does a live 30-minute broadcast on Stickam
usually every Sunday at 6:30 PDT
, performing his songs and updating viewers on the progress of his musical career. He also regularly updates his Facebook
and Twitter
page.
During a live Stickam broadcast on July 24, 2011, Leming announced he will self-release his sophomore album September 2011.; however, he later pushed the release date to October or November 2011.
Leming released three singles from his sophomore album in anticipation of its release. On September 24, 2011, he released a studio recorded version of his well-known song, "One Last Song". "Too Young" was released on October 24, 2011, followed by "Another Life" on November 10, 2011.
His self-released sophomore album, titled "Another Life" was released on November 29, 2011.
of American Idol
; the producers were interested in his life as a traveling musician living out of his car. In an interview with MTV News
, Leming said he was disappointed with how they portrayed his life as a "sob story". "I wanted to stand on my voice, and my own two feet," he explained, "but they wanted to know about the story and they wanted to use it. I definitely wasn't going for the sympathy vote."
He became a popular contestant after singing his rendition of "Grace Kelly
" by English
singer Mika
. However, Leming did not make it to the top 24 for his performance of "Stand by Me
" by Ben E. King
; Randy Jackson
and Paula Abdul
refused to side with Simon Cowell
in his wish to see Leming advance to the semifinals.
Leming later admitted the performance was poor. "I didn't know that song, so I was trying to make it my own, and I focused more on the words than the melody. And that's why it was kind of all messed up." He wanted to sing "Take Me Out
" by Franz Ferdinand
, but was not allowed to--Leming did not know why.
Cowell is on record saying that he feels it was a mistake not to put Leming through to the next round, having stated: "We should have put him through. I was all for it. I wanted him in the competition." Leming's controversial ouster is widely believed to be one factor behind the return of wild cards to the selection process in Season 8
.
Leming's popularity grew after returning to Tennessee. He gained more followers on MySpace. In addition, many label representatives called him, and producers of The Ellen Degeneres Show
invited Leming to make a guest appearance, which he accepted.. Leming signed a record deal with Warner Bros.
Her, self-released EP (2007)
Angels Undercover, EP (2008)
Punk Ass Rain, EP (2009)
Come On Kid, studio album (2010)
Another Life, second studio album (Fall 2011)
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
, best known for appearing in Season 7
American Idol (season 7)
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...
of American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
, where he was cut during the Hollywood round of the auditions, just before the semifinals. His cut followed a subpar performance, but was considered somewhat controversial nonetheless. Leming's debut album, Come On Kid, from Warner Bros. came out September 13, 2010.
Biography
Josiah Leming was born in Morristown, TennesseeMorristown, Tennessee
Morristown is a city in, and the county seat of, Hamblen County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 29,137 at the 2010 United States Census. It is the principal city of the Morristown, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Grainger, Hamblen and Jefferson counties...
. He was raised by his mother and stepfather alongside four brothers and four sisters, six of whom are adopted. Leming first learned the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
when he was eight years old after his mother purchased a Casio keyboard for Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
. He also played his grandmother's piano during visits to her house, and participated in school musicals and choirs. Described as "self-taught", he also credits an "elderly piano instructor" for his early musical education.
By 13, Leming was writing his own music. A friend introduced him to musicians DC Talk
DC Talk
DC Talk is the first studio album released from vocal trio DC Talk. It is the most hip hop-oriented of all of their albums as each later album gradually progressed into a more rock-centered sound. Michael Tait stated that their original goal for the album was to sell 10,000 units. It sold 7,142...
, Coldplay
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...
and Travis
Travis (band)
Travis are a post-Britpop band from Glasgow, Scotland, comprising Fran Healy , Dougie Payne , Andy Dunlop and Neil Primrose...
, Neil Young
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
, Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, Ryan Adams
Ryan Adams
David Ryan Adams is an American alt-country/rock singer-songwriter, from Jacksonville, North Carolina. Initially part of the group Whiskeytown, Adams left the band and released his first solo album Heartbreaker in 2000...
, and The Smiths
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr , the band also included Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce...
at 15. They had some influence on Leming’s musical style. When he was 16, Leming began to perform locally. He dropped out of high school and left Morristown at 17, in an attempt to both make it as a musician and find a way to support his large and struggling family. Leming played in clubs and coffeehouses throughout the Southeast
Southeastern United States
The Southeastern United States, colloquially referred to as the Southeast, is the eastern portion of the Southern United States. It is one of the most populous regions in the United States of America....
while working at restaurants
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
and temp agencies
Temporary work
Temporary work or temporary employment refers to a situation where the employee is expected to leave the employer within a certain period of time. Temporary employees are sometimes called "contractual", "seasonal", "interim", "casual staff", "freelance", or "part-time"; or the word may be shortened...
to pay for food and gas. He traveled to Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
in late 2007 when he heard American Idol would hold auditions there.
He currently lives in Morristown, Tennessee.
Musical career
In 2007 Leming self-released The Paperplain EP and Her EP on his MySpace page for digital download--neither EP is available now.After leaving American Idol, Leming signed a record deal with Warner Bros. in 2008 and began work on his debut album Come on Kid. To promote the album, Warner Bros. released Angels Undercover EP in 2008 and Punk Ass Rain EP in 2009. Meanwhile, Leming recorded Come on Kid in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, with the help of producers Jesse Owen Astin, Martin Terefe, Warren Huart
Warren Huart
Warren Huart is an English record producer/musician/composer and recording engineer based in Los Angeles, California. He currently lives in Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California with his wife and son.- Biography :...
and David Kosten. Two songs from Angels Undercover EP are featured on the album--"To Run" and "Arctic Outcry Wind".
Come on Kid was released on September 13, 2010, after some delays. "It was emotional, and it took a long time," Leming tells Billboard.com. "In order to make an album that everybody was happy with, and also that I felt good about, it took the good part of two years to kind of wrangle that in." While these delays were rumored to have been caused by contract disputes with 19 Entertainment
19 Entertainment
19 Entertainment, based in Los Angeles, United States, is a creator and producer of entertainment properties based around the areas of Music and Television / Film, including American Idol in the United States, Pop Idol in the United Kingdom as well as versions of the Idol series in more than...
, both Leming and 19 now say that the "disputes" were simply a misunderstanding.
Come on Kid failed commercially, which prompted Warner Bros. to drop Leming from the label in late 2010.
Leming recorded music independently in Burbank, California
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....
for three years before returning to Tennessee in early Fall 2011. He released a new single "What You've Taken" on February 6, 2011 in conjunction with the launch of his official website. The single was available on his website for free download until March 6, 2011.
Leming plays in different venues across the country to promote his music. In addition, he does a live 30-minute broadcast on Stickam
Stickam
Stickam is a website devoted to live-streaming video, featuring both professional and user-generated content. The site launched in 2005. Stickam features user-submitted pictures, audio, video, and most prominently, live streaming video chat...
usually every Sunday at 6:30 PDT
Pacific Time Zone
The Pacific Time Zone observes standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time . The clock time in this zone is based on the mean solar time of the 120th meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory. During daylight saving time, its time offset is UTC-7.In the United States...
, performing his songs and updating viewers on the progress of his musical career. He also regularly updates his Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
and Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
page.
During a live Stickam broadcast on July 24, 2011, Leming announced he will self-release his sophomore album September 2011.; however, he later pushed the release date to October or November 2011.
Leming released three singles from his sophomore album in anticipation of its release. On September 24, 2011, he released a studio recorded version of his well-known song, "One Last Song". "Too Young" was released on October 24, 2011, followed by "Another Life" on November 10, 2011.
His self-released sophomore album, titled "Another Life" was released on November 29, 2011.
On American Idol
Leming was a contestant on Season 7American Idol (season 7)
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...
of American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
; the producers were interested in his life as a traveling musician living out of his car. In an interview with MTV News
MTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...
, Leming said he was disappointed with how they portrayed his life as a "sob story". "I wanted to stand on my voice, and my own two feet," he explained, "but they wanted to know about the story and they wanted to use it. I definitely wasn't going for the sympathy vote."
He became a popular contestant after singing his rendition of "Grace Kelly
Grace Kelly (song)
"Grace Kelly" is a song by the English singer Mika, released for download on January 9, 2007. It also appears on Mika's 2007 album Life in Cartoon Motion. Produced and mixed by Greg Wells, the song entered the UK Singles Chart at number three and the UK Official Download Chart at number one...
" by English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
singer Mika
Mika (singer)
Mika is a British singer-songwriter.After recording his first extended play, Dodgy Holiday EP, Mika released his first full-length studio album, Life in Cartoon Motion, on Island Records in 2007. Life in Cartoon Motion sold more than 5.6 million copies worldwide and helped Mika win a Brit...
. However, Leming did not make it to the top 24 for his performance of "Stand by Me
Stand by Me (song)
"Stand by Me" is the title of a song originally performed by Ben E. King and written by King, Jerry Leiber, and Mike Stoller, based on the spiritual "Lord Stand by Me,", plus two lines rooted in Psalms 46:2-3...
" by Ben E. King
Ben E. King
Benjamin Earl King , better known as Ben E. King, is an American soul singer. He is perhaps best known as the singer and co-composer of "Stand by Me", a U.S...
; Randy Jackson
Randy Jackson
Randall Darius "Randy" Jackson is an American bassist, singer, record producer, music manager, A&R executive, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is best known as a judge on American Idol and executive producer for MTV's America's Best Dance Crew...
and Paula Abdul
Paula Abdul
Paula Julie Abdul is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, choreographer, actress and television personality.In the 1980s, Abdul rose from cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers to highly sought-after choreographer at the height of the music video era before scoring a string of pop music-R&B hits...
refused to side with Simon Cowell
Simon Cowell
Simon Phillip Cowell is an English A&R executive, television producer, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is known in the United Kingdom and United States for his role as a talent judge on TV shows such as Pop Idol, The X Factor, Britain's Got Talent and American Idol...
in his wish to see Leming advance to the semifinals.
Leming later admitted the performance was poor. "I didn't know that song, so I was trying to make it my own, and I focused more on the words than the melody. And that's why it was kind of all messed up." He wanted to sing "Take Me Out
Take Me Out (song)
"Take Me Out" is a song by the Scottish band Franz Ferdinand. It was released as the second single from their debut album Franz Ferdinand in the United Kingdom on the 12 January 2004 and in the United State on 9 February, both through Domino Records...
" by Franz Ferdinand
Franz Ferdinand (band)
Franz Ferdinand are a Scottish post-punk revival band formed in Glasgow in 2002. The band is composed of Alex Kapranos , Bob Hardy , Nick McCarthy , and Paul Thomson .The band first experienced chart success when their second single, "Take Me Out", reached #3 in...
, but was not allowed to--Leming did not know why.
Cowell is on record saying that he feels it was a mistake not to put Leming through to the next round, having stated: "We should have put him through. I was all for it. I wanted him in the competition." Leming's controversial ouster is widely believed to be one factor behind the return of wild cards to the selection process in Season 8
American Idol (season 8)
The eighth season of American Idol premiered on January 13, 2009, and concluded on May 20, 2009. Judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson continued to judge the show's contestants, along with Ryan Seacrest as host. The season introduced Kara DioGuardi as the fourth judge on the Idol...
.
Leming's popularity grew after returning to Tennessee. He gained more followers on MySpace. In addition, many label representatives called him, and producers of The Ellen Degeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show, often shortened to Ellen, is an American television talk show hosted by comedian/actress Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it is produced by Telepictures and airs in syndication, including stations owned by NBC Universal. For its first five seasons, the show...
invited Leming to make a guest appearance, which he accepted.. Leming signed a record deal with Warner Bros.
Discography
The Paperplain, self-released EP, (2007)Her, self-released EP (2007)
Angels Undercover, EP (2008)
- 26 on Top HeatseekersTop HeatseekersTop Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical...
Punk Ass Rain, EP (2009)
Come On Kid, studio album (2010)
Another Life, second studio album (Fall 2011)