Saint Michael 'O' Shaba
Fayetteville, North Carolina, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2015 | INDIE
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This week American Idol 2012 premiered, and viewers are buzzing about some of the big talent that is on this season. The young man who got the season started is David Leathers, Jr., and fans cannot stop talking about him. While he initially drew comparisons to Astro from The X Factor, it is clear that these two talented young men have very different musical styles. During his audition, which aired Wednesday night (airing on channel 10 in Scottsdale), Leathers mentioned that he had once competed against Idol winner Scotty McCreery in a local talent competition. Fans want to learn more about the show he referenced, and a little digging turned up some interesting details.
Scotty McCreery faced off against David Leathers, Jr. on "Rip The Hallways" in 2009
Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
In 2009, Knox “J. Malice” Ewers, the head of Phruntline Music Committee, started a competition in North Carolina called “Rip the Hallway.” It was structured as essentially a local American Idol, and the goal was to showcase local teen talent that might otherwise likely be overlooked. The show went through auditions, and 36 teens from North Carolina went compete in the televised reality show with a prize of $10,000. The show apparently was titled High School Icon and aired on Time Warner, but there don't seem to be any videos or episodes online. The official results and winner don't seem to be anywhere online either, which is interesting considering it seems something would have popped up when Scotty competed on Idol.
David Leathers, Jr. told Idol host Ryan Seacrest during the premiere show that he and Scotty McCreery ended up being the final 2 on “Rip The Hallways,” and David indicated that he beat Scotty. However, an article from FayObserver.com indicates that Scotty won the competion. It seems that in the end, it may be that neither of those things is quite true. Twitter user @coachkperry asked Scotty Wednesday night if Kevin beat him in that competition, after Scotty had tweeted "I knew I knew that kid from somewhere hahah." Scotty replied, "@coachkperry nahh, haha. That was like a semi finals round where only 2 made it outta the group n we were the two.. dudes good tho! #NC." Sounds like Leathers may have embellished the story a bit to make it sound better, but McCreery doesn't seem to have any hard feelings. The interesting question is who actually did win the competition? Was it even completed? That, for now, apparently will remain a mystery.
American Idol spoilers indicate that Leathers does quite well during Hollywood Week, so perhaps more information and videos from “Rip The Hallways” will begin to surface. One video that is available is a trailer for the show, which does feature glimpses of both McCreery and Leathers. Mentioning that he made it to the final two with Scotty certainly sets the bar high for this young performer, but it seems he can easily stand up to the pressure. He does a fantastic job with Michael Jackson songs, and his YouTube channel shares videos of him doing some Justin Bieber and even Celine Dion. While Idol spoilers on the Top 24 haven't leaked yet, fans of David Leathers, Jr. would be shocked if he doesn't make it to the American Idol 2012 live shows.
Are you a fan of David Leathers, Jr.? Which contestants do you think will be the toughest to beat this season? American Idol 2012 airs Wednesday and Thursday nights on FOX, channel 10 in the Scottsdale area, beginning at 7 p.m. - Examiner.com
Wednesday night David Leathers Jr. kicked off American Idol 2012, and if he is any indication of what is in store for viewers, it should be a great season. People haven't stopped buzzing about Leathers since his audition this season on Idol (airing on channel 10 in Scottsdale), and it seems quite likely he will be doing well this season. Fans are anxious to learn more about this 17-year-old from North Carolina, and on Friday FayObserver.com did a great piece with some fun tidbits.
David Leathers, Jr. is already making Fayetteville, NC proud
Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images
Leathers currently attends Seventy-First High School in Fayetteville, along with fellow American Idol 11 competitor Ariel Sprague. David is currently a senior at the school, and his principal is thrilled about two of her students progressing to the Hollywood round. Both David Leathers, Jr. and Ariel Sprague have performed in local competitions, and both were featured in the 2009 contest “Rip the Hallways.” This is the competition that Leathers referred to in his chat with Ryan Seacrest, where he made the final two for his region with American Idol winner Scotty McCreery.
During his package Wednesday night, Leathers gave the impression he bested McCreery in the competition, but FayObserver.com indicates that Scotty did take home the top prize, with David finishing second. The school's choral activity director Monique Butler-Woodard says that she's had previous students audition for Idol, but this is the first time anybody has made it to Hollywood. Butler-Woodard went on to say that what viewers say of Leathers during the audition perfectly captures his spirit. She said, “He's always smiling, has great presence and loves to sing. If he's not singing, there's something wrong.”
Knox Ewers, who created the “Rip the Hallways” competition, says he knew both David Leathers, Jr. and Scotty McCreery were special as soon as he met them. He shares he was blown away by David when he first saw them, and “It was the greatest joy to see David's face just light up when he got put through to the next round.” David also had some help from Hellas Restaurant & Sports Bar in Hope Mills, where he rehearsed and practiced singing in front of family and friends to familiarize himself with sound equipment and being in front of a crowd. Apparently some of these performances are the same ones posted on David's YouTube channel.
While part of David's persona so far is that of a “ladies man,” the owner of Hellas says he's “a real good kid, real humble... He's definitely got the personality and the voice [to go far].” Leathers doesn't just focus on his singing, either, as the principal at his high school, Vanessa Alford, says he's also a great student. Alford also says both David and Ariel are “just genuine kids, great kids, who don't flaunt their talent.” Fayetteville is already thrilled for them, and from the sounds of it, many American Idol 2012 viewers will be getting behind them soon as well.
Tune in Wednesday and Thursday nights to see David Leathers, Jr. and the other contestants battle for spots on the live shows this season. American Idol 11 airs on Fox, channel 10 in Scottsdale, at 7 p.m. - Examiner.com
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I symbolize the spectrum of liberation, restoration, roots, culture, nationality, truths of Shaba Bagolo, Security of Ledimo, confidence in family values, the child, the warrior, divine luv and divine hate, everlasting synergy and balance with serenity. I am the change... Welcome to the transition...
Exactly 50 years after His Excellency, Emperor Haile Selassie painfully left the imperial throne from the lineage of ancient King Solomon the Arch Angel arrived. Saint Michael was born 5/2/1986 [May 2] to a New Year’s Eve twin mother who returned to her native island of Jamaica frequently to be with her twin sister during pregnancy. Shortly before giving birth she returned to the mile high mountains of Colorado Springs and that was the beginning point of Saint Michael’s destiny, ironically defining his first name “Knox” which means from the hills. Two weeks later he went airborne and landed on the island of Japan where he took his first steps sprinting at 15 months and spent the first three years of his life adapting Japanese as his first language spoken accredited to his God-Mother who was a local Japanese friend of Saint Michael’s mother. His father was a Reggae Music Chanter, Sound System Owner, Selector / Mixtape DJ, Party Promoter, Radio Personality in Colorado and Electric Engineer for the US Air Force.
Saint Michael’s professional music career began at the age of 12 when his father showed him the art of mixing music properly. The first shot he took at mixing two Instrumentals from Busta Rhymes Saint Michael nailed it right on the money. Soon after his father got him contracted with Middle Schools, High Schools and USAF Youth Services departments to provide the music services for the youth events which took him travelling on the road to many different cities, but Saint Michael decided to retire as a DJ at the age of 15 to focus more on rapping and making beats which he also nailed on his first shots 3 years earlier. At age 17 Saint Michael felt the harsh realities of the music industry when a superstar artist used his concept and climbed to the number one position on the charts without receiving any credit or compensation. However at 17 he also produced and co-wrote a song featuring the Cash Money Records Artist “Juvenile” who is Saint Michael’s first major artist on his list of musical accolades.
2013 marks the year of the African Renaissance and 77 years post Selassie’s departure. Today, Saint Michael’s mental paradigm has universally expanded contributed to his light speed ascension from a music creator to complete entertainment business service solution beaming up into multi-trillion dollar trade/finance networks and most recently implementation of global liberation plans for the 6th Region of Africa and its allies as an executive signatory and elevated chanting voice for the 6th region members and mama Africa whom he always chanted for as a reggae song writer of 15 years. Saint Michael’s message for the African diaspora is vast and lengthy, but begins with the spirit of our nations rebounding through mental rebirth and physical rebuilding utilizing our own resources. Highly efficient in the areas of Fashion, Arts, Music, Entertainment, Multi-Media, Advertising, Marketing, Finance, Commercial Real Estate, Nation Development and Creative Innovation, Saint Michael is contributing all of his resources to the progress of the African Diaspora and its allies.
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