Leon Thomas III
Leon G. Thomas III (born August 1, 1993) is an American actor, record producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and singer, who is currently signed to Columbia and Rostrum Records. He is best known for portraying Andre Harris on the Nickelodeon series Victorious (2011) and the singing voice of Tyrone from seasons 2-3 of The Backyardigans. After the show's cancellation, he sought success as a member of the production duo The Rascals.
Leon Thomas | |
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 Thomas performing in November 2013 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Leon G. Thomas III[1] |
| Born | August 1, 1993[2] Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
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| Occupation(s) |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 2003–present |
| Labels | |
| Associated acts | |
Early life
Leon G. Thomas III was born on August 1, 1993 in Brooklyn, to Jayon Anthony and Leon Thomas II.[1][4]
Career
2003–06: Broadway and career beginning
He made his Broadway debut at age 10[1] in 2003 as Young Simba in the Broadway production of The Lion King. In 2004, he appeared as Jackie Thibodeaux in the original Broadway cast of Tony Kushner's Caroline, or Change. and toured with the company during its five-month run in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Thomas also performed in the Broadway production of The Color Purple.
2007–09: August Rush and television appearances
In 2007, Thomas appeared in the film August Rush as Arthur, performing the song "La Bamba", and was the singing voice for Tyrone in The Backyardigans. Thomas has also guest starred on Jack's Big Music Show and Just Jordan. He also appeared as Harper in the iCarly episode "iCarly Saves TV" and was featured on The Naked Brothers Band Christmas Special.
2010–12: Victorious and musical career
He played a main character on Victorious, portraying Andre Harris, which premiered on Nickelodeon on March 27, 2010. Thomas also appeared as Andre Harris in the crossover episode between Victorious and iCarly, "iParty with Victorious". He also appeared as himself in an episode of True Jackson, VP. On August 2, 2011, the album "Victorious: Music from the Hit TV Show" was launched, with Thomas featured in the songs "Song 2 You" (written by him) and "Tell Me That You Love Me". On June 5, 2012, "Victorious 2.0: More Music from the Hit TV Show" was released, with Thomas featured in the songs "Countdown" and "Don't You (Forget About Me)". The Victorious television series ended production in July 2012 and the show's final episode aired on February 2, 2013.
2012–present: Mixtapes and production work
In 2012, Thomas started to record his first mixtape called Metro Hearts;[5] it was released on August 1, 2012.[6] Songs on the mixtape Metro Hearts include "Forever", "Bad", "Moving On", "Vibe", "Like Clay", and "Never Look Back". The mixtape also included a cover of "Take Care" by Drake. The cover is by Leon Thomas featuring Ariana Grande.[7]
Leon Thomas co-wrote the song "Ain't No Other Me" for the British group Stooshe, which features as a deluxe edition track on their debut album, London with the Lights On. Thomas co-wrote four songs on Ariana Grande's 2013 album "Yours Truly". He also co-produced five songs on Yours Truly, in addition to the song "Last Christmas" from Grande's Christmas Kisses EP, as a member of production duo The Rascals.[8] Additionally, his work in production as a part of "The Rascals" was included on the Grammy award-winning album Love, Marriage & Divorce. His contribution is as a writer on the song entitled "I'd Rather Be Broke" performed by Toni Braxton.
On September 24, 2013, Leon Thomas released a new single, "Hello How Are You", featuring Wiz Khalifa. A second single, "Chill," is to be released soon.[9]
On January 1, 2014, Thomas released a new mixtape, V1bes, under the name Leon Thomas, via Datpiff.[10] He also announced that a music video for his single, Hello How Are You, was in the works.
In 2016, he served as a co-producer for Post Malone's album Stoney.
In 2017, he appeared in the Kathryn Bigelow-directed film Detroit.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Robin and Roger | Boy | "The Plan" (Season 1, Episode 3), 9-episode-series |
| 2007 | August Rush | Arthur | [11] |
| 2010 | Rising Stars | JR | |
| 2014 | Bad Asses | Tucson | |
| 2015 | Runaway Island | Evan Holloway | |
| 2017 | Detroit | Jerry |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Just for Kicks | Ty | 2 episodes |
| The Backyardigans | Tyrone | Singing voice (seasons 2–3) | |
| 2007 | Just Jordan | Ronnie | Episode: "Revenge of the Riff" |
| Jack's Big Music Show | Leon | Episode: "Laurie's Big Song" | |
| 2008, 2011 | iCarly | Harper | Episode: "iCarly Saves TV" |
| Andre Harris | Crossover movie: "iParty With Victorious" | ||
| 2008 | The Naked Brothers Band | Leon Williams | Episode: "Christmas Special" |
| 2010 | 2010 Kids' Choice Awards | Himself | With the cast of Victorious |
| 2010–13 | Victorious | Andre Harris | Main role, 57 episodes |
| 2011 | True Jackson, VP | Himself | Episode: "True Fame" |
| 2011 Kids' Choice Awards | With the cast of Victorious | ||
| 2012 | Figure It Out | Panelist (Episodes 20, 23, 31, 38) | |
| 2014 | Satisfaction | Mateo | Recurring role, 6 episodes |
| Robot and Monster | Monster's Singing Voice | ||
| 2015 | Fear the Walking Dead | Russell | Episode: Pilot |
| 2017 | Insecure | Eddie | Recurring role |
Discography
Mixtapes
| Title | Mixtape details | Peak chart positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | ||||||
| Metro Hearts |
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— | ||||
| V1bes |
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— | ||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||||
EPs
| Title | EP details | Peak chart positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | ||||||
| Genesis |
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— | ||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||||
Singles
| Title | Year | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Hello How Are You" (feat. Wiz Khalifa) | 2013 | TBA | |||||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | |||||||||||
Promotional singles
| Title | Year | Peak | Album | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | ||||||||||||||
| "Countdown"[12] (with Victoria Justice) |
2012 | — | Victorious 2.0 | |||||||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
Album appearances
| Year | Song | Artist(s) | Album | Appearance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | "La Bamba" | Leon Thomas | August Rush | Primary artist |
| 2008 | "I Like That Girl" | iCarly | ||
| 2010 | "Make It Shine" | Victorious Cast & Victoria Justice | Victorious | Backing vocals |
| 2011 | "All I Want Is Everything" | |||
| "I Want You Back" (Jackson 5 cover) | ||||
| "Song 2 You" | Lead vocals | |||
| "Tell Me That You Love Me" | Backing vocals | |||
| "Leave It All to Shine" | iCarly and Victorious Cast, Miranda Cosgrove, & Victoria Justice | |||
| "Favorite Food" | Victorious Cast & Victoria Justice | |||
| "It's Not Christmas Without You" | Merry Nickmas | |||
| 2012 | "Shut Up 'N Dance" (The Slap.com version) | Non-album song | ||
| "Don't You (Forget About Me)" (Simple Minds cover) | Victorious 2.0 | |||
| "5 Fingaz to the Face | Lead vocals | |||
| "365 Days" | Leon Thomas | Victorious 3.0 | ||
| "Sleigh Ride" | Nickelodeon Cast | Merry Nickmas | ||
| 2016 | "Yours Truly, Austin Post" | Post Malone | Stoney | Bass, Composer, Guitar[13] |
| 2018 | "Stand for Love" | Peabo Bryson | Stand for Love | Backing vocals |
Music videos
| Year | Video | Album | Director |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | "I Want You Back" (with Victorious Cast) | Victorious | Unknown |
| "Countdown" (with Victoria Justice) | Victorious 2.0 | Dan Schneider | |
| 2012 | "Here's 2 Us" (with Victoria Justice) | Victorious 3.0 | Dan Schneider |
Broadway appearances
Concert Tours
- Big Time Summer Tour (joined on August 21, 2012)
Awards and nominations
| Year | Association | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Grammy | Best R&B Album (Producer/Writer) | Love, Marriage & Divorce | Won[14] |
| 2008 | Young Artist Awards | Best Performance In A Feature Film - Supporting Young Actor (Fantasy or Drama) | August Rush | Won[15] |
| 2012 | NAACP Image Award | Outstanding Performance In A Youth/Children's Program (Series or Special) | Victorious | Nominated[16] |
References
- Navarro, Mireya (September 23, 2007). "When Childhood Is a Tough Role". The New York Times. Retrieved August 29, 2011.
- "Twitter: Leon Thomas III (verified account)". Retrieved August 29, 2011.
- "Official website".
- Vinson, Kristi (April 20, 2011). "Nickelodeon Star Paints With Teens". Kennesaw Patch. Retrieved August 29, 2011.
- "Leon Thomas - Official Site". Leonthomas3.com. Archived from the original on 2013-05-25. Retrieved 2013-10-31.
- "Leon Thomas - Official Site". Leonthomas3.com. Archived from the original on 2012-08-09. Retrieved 2013-10-31.
- "Leon Thomas - Metro Hearts on". Official.fm. Archived from the original on 2013-11-02. Retrieved 2013-10-31.
- "NYU News : Christmas album comes with Grande promise". nyunews.com.
- "Instagram". Instagram. Archived from the original on 2016-01-20.
- "Leon Thomas - V1bes". DatPiff.
- Ebert, Roger (October 20, 2009). Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2010. Andrews McMeel Publishing. pp. 20–. ISBN 978-0-7407-8536-8. Retrieved August 17, 2011.
- ""Countdown" by Leon Thomas III and Victoria Justice". iTunes. Retrieved December 30, 2010.
- Stoney - Post Malone | Credits | AllMusic Leon Thomas III at AllMusic
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-12-03. Retrieved 2010-12-02.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "29th Annual Young Artist Awards - Nominations / Special Awards". Young Artist Awards. Archived from the original on 2008-07-06.
- "NAACP Image Awards 2012: Full list of nominees". ABC7 Los Angeles. Archived from the original on 2012-02-22. Retrieved 2012-01-20.
External links
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