Ashley Leitão

Ashley Leitão (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈɛʃli lejˈtɐ̃w], born December 6, 1986) Is a Canadian recording artist. She was the ninth-place finisher on the third season of the reality show Canadian Idol in 2005.[1][2] Her heritage is Portuguese.[3] As of 2005, she resided in Burnaby, British Columbia.[4]

Ashley Leitão
Born (1986-12-06) December 6, 1986
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
OriginBurnaby, British Columbia, Canada
GenresPop
Occupation(s)Singer
Years active2005–present

After Idol, she and two other contestants formed the group Braided, releasing an album in 2006, on which Leitão duetted with figure skating champion Elvis Stojko.

Early life

Born in Winnipeg, Leitão is the daughter of a Portuguese baker. Her parents ran a bakery in Winnipeg. Leitão moved with her family to Portugal at age five, and her family ran a bakery there for ten months. They returned to Canada and lived in Burnaby, operating a bakery in North Vancouver. Leitão, musical from a young age, began formal singing lessons at age nine. She graduated from Burnaby's Alpha Secondary School in 2004.[5]

Canadian Idol

Performing on the third season of Canadian Idol in 2005, in the first group of the Top 32, Leitão performed the song "Colors of the Wind", which convinced viewers to vote her into the next stage of the competition. She got the second-highest number of votes that night, after Daryl Brunt.[5]

Songs that Ashley performed during the season included:

On the July 27 episode, it was revealed that Leitão was a member of the "Bottom 3", along with Melissa O'Neil and Josh Palmer. Judge Jake Gold made the observation that all three of them were from Western Canada, and insinuated that regional voting might have been at play. Leitão had the lowest number of votes, and after giving a tearful goodbye to Canada, she performed a farewell rendition of "Sir Duke".[6]

Post-Idol

Leitão formed the group Braided with fellow former Season 3 contestants Casey LeBlanc and Amber Fleury.[7] Their first single, entitled "A Little Bit Closer", was released to radio on June 15, 2006.[8] She recorded a duet with Elvis Stojko, a former world champion Canadian figure skater.[9][10][11] Braided released the album Casey, Ashley and Amber in August 2006.[12][13][14]

References
  1. CTV. Ashley Leitão. Archived from the original on October 3, 2012.
  2. Calgary Sun. Ashley Bows Out Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. July 28, 2005
  3. (July 27, 2005). "Ashley Leitao, 18, of Burnaby, B.C., receives fewest votes on Cdn Idol", The Canadian Press.
  4. Devitt, Ron. Burnaby's Ashley Leitão undaunted by Idol loss. July 30, 2005. Archived from the original on October 3, 2012.
  5. Zacharias, Yvonne (June 17, 2005). "Baker's daughter an Idol finalist: Burnaby teen Ashley Leitao proud of her Portuguese heritage", The Vancouver Sun, p. D8.
  6. Wong, Brian (July 28, 2005). "Ashley Leitao Turfed From Canadian Idol". Chart. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011.
  7. DND/Canadian Forces. News Release: Task Force Afghanistan Show Tour: Smiles from Home Archived October 2, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. November 1, 2006
  8. CTV. Amber, Ashley and Casey release single to radio.
  9. Canadian Press. Figure skater Elvis Sojko takes his place among Canada's best athletes Archived October 24, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. November 2, 2006.
  10. (July 26, 2006). "Elvis Stojko teams with Burnaby Idol singer", The Province, p. B5.
  11. Starkman, Randy (August 30, 2006). "Stojko hangs 'em up: Skater embarks on career as a singer with no regrets", Toronto Star, p. C3.
  12. Malchuk, Carlye (July 31, 2006). "Idol finalists, including NBer, releasing CD Tuesday: Casey LeBlanc part of Braided trio", Telegraph-Journal, p. D10.
  13. (July 28, 2006). "Spot light: Elvis Stojko sings on upcoming Idol album", Edmonton Journal, p. F10.
  14. Mersereau, Bob (August 9, 2006). "LeBlanc gets the Braided look", Telegraph-Journal, p. D7.
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