LaKisha Ann Jones (born January 13, 1980) is an American singer. She placed fourth on the sixth season of American Idol.
Jones was born at Hurley Medical Center in Flint, Michigan, to a teacher at the Flint Foundation Academy. She was raised by her grandmother, Ruth Jefferson Morris.
An only child, Jones is a Baptist who began singing at the Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church at age five.[2] She was formally trained in classical music,[citation needed] although her favorite genre is gospel music.[citation needed] Jones always dreamed of becoming a singer.
She was home schooled in Flint, then attended Flint Central High School (now Flint Central Commencement Academy), where, in one of her earliest performances, she appeared in a play called Lead Poisoning. While in high school, Jones performed with one of the groups in the choral department: the Madrigal Singers. Jones graduated in 1998 and attended the University of Michigan-Flint, majoring in music. During college, she performed in the play Godspell. Jones stated in her Idol interview that Flint, Michigan was her home. She was a single mother with a five year old daughter who encouraged her to try out for Idol.
Jones moved to Houston, Texas, where she lived for six years. One of her earliest jobs in Houston was that of a secretary at Abundant Life Cathedral, a church with 7,000 parishioners. Prior to working at the church, Jones sang in the 70-member choir. The choir has produced well-known gospel singer Yolanda Adams, among others. In 2006, Jones moved to Fort Meade, Maryland, in order to be closer to her cousins and other relatives. At that time, Jones obtained a job as a bank teller at Provident Bank in Millersville, Maryland, which she gave up when she moved to Hollywood to compete in American Idol.
Jones was the 1997 winner of Flint's amateur talent show, The Supershow, which is now-defunct. While living in Houston, she took second place in the 2005 Gimme the Mic competition.
On October 5, 2008 in Beverly Hills, California, she married Larry Davis, a financial advisor. She has a daughter, Brionne (born February 20, 2003) from a past relationship; the couple welcomed their first child, daughter Ava LaRynn, in September 2009
American Idol performances
Audition
Jones auditioned singing "Think" by Aretha Franklin. The judges were impressed with her powerful vocal and performance, and Simon noted that he "loved this girl". Jones was shown emotionally embracing her daughter after being sent into the next round. In her farewell montage on the episode of her elimination it was shown that she also sang "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" during her audition. She also performed Stevie Wonder's "Until You Come Back To Me" during one of the Hollywood audition rounds.
