Joshua Ledet (born April 9, 1992) is an American singer from Westlake, Louisiana. In 2012 he placed third in the eleventh season of American Idol. He is known for his "soaring, church-bred brand of old school soul music."

Early life

Ledet grew up in the small woody suburb city of Westlake in Louisiana's Calcasieu Parish, a part of the Lake Charles metropolitan area near Calcasieu River. His home life was slow and easy paced with lots of family get-togethers and friends sleeping over, the focus was "food and fun." In 2003, when he was eleven he watched another southern soul singer, Fantasia Barrino, sing "I Believe" in the final show and win the third season of American Idol and knew he would like to sing for a living. Ledet graduated from Westlake High School where he was a part of the school's theater program for all four years of school. If he could not be a singer he would likely be an actor. The first concert he ever attended was by Beyoncé. He grew up singing in his family church and writes songs and lyrics for and attends the House of Prayer Holiness Church. He has a large extended family and said his proudest moment outside singing is being an uncle to all his nieces and nephews.

When asked to tell something about himself that would surprise most people he stated it was that he only eats spicy food. He noted on the reality show that he missed Louisiana Creole cuisine so Louisiana Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne established a "Feed the Dream" project with the state's Seafood and Marketing Board to ship Ledet food each week including tamales, crawfish, boudin (a Cajun sausage), (chicken, duck and andouille) gumbo and jambalaya, donated by Louisiana restaurants and food manufacturers. He said a dish he probably could not live without is rice and gravy, from Creole cuisine, usually a brown gravy based on pan drippings, which are deglazed and simmered with extra seasonings and served over steamed or boiled rice.

According to the American Idol highlights, Ledet was studying criminal justice at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas.

Musical influences

On his American Idol contestant page he notes his mother influences his musical style and he has had no formal singing training. His favorite male artist is Michael Jackson "because his style in music is unique and genius," Ledet would model his career like Jackson's because he was able to help so many people. His favorite female artist is Whitney Houston because of her voice. He would love to meet and sing with Fantasia Burrino as she is his favorite singer, and his dream song to sing is "I Will Always Love You". His musical influences include Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Fantasia Barrino, James Brown, Luther Vandross, Stevie Wonder, and Elton John. His favorite type of music to sing is soul but listening to music he prefers country music. When asked what was the most embarrassing song he listens to he said Aqua's "Barbie Girl."

American Idol

Ledet originally auditioned a year earlier (for the tenth season), but did not make it past the audition stage. It has been revealed he was dealing with personal and family issues including situations caused by Hurricane Rita and its aftermath. His American Idol journey has been seen as somewhat effortless by music critics who note his soul singing is exceptional but may not be contemporary enough, however he is one of the best singers within the last few years of AI. His performances have repeatedly earned him standing ovations and high praise from the judges. He says he combats stage fright by tuning everything out. George Huff (season three in 2004) is the only other Louisiana singer to make the top ten shows.

Ledet auditioned for the eleventh season of AI in Houston, Texas. He almost did not travel to compete due to his fear of flying. He has been dubbed "Mantasia", the male version of former Idol contestant Fantasia, by fans, the media and even Fantasia herself. For the semi-finals he performed Jennifer Hudson's "You Pulled Me Through". He was one of the top five male vote getters and advanced to the top 13. In the top 13, he performed Stevie Wonder's "I Wish" and was one of the bottom three male voter getters, but was declared safe.

Ledet earned his first standing ovation in Hollywood Round, Part 3 when he sang his version of Jar of Hearts by Patty Griffin. In the Top 8 round, Ledet earned his first standing ovation of the evening for his rendition of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes's "If You Don't Know Me by Now". His duet of George Michael and Aretha Franklin's "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" with fellow contestant Jessica Sanchez got a second standing ovation from the judges, prompting Jackson to declare "Two of the greatest singers to ever hit this competition ... This is one of the greatest performances I have seen on this show". Kris Allen, AI season eight winner, named the pair as his two favorites this season. During the top five show the judges gave Ledet the most praise of all the contestants for his versions of "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" by The Temptations (for theme songs from the 1960s), and the Bee Gees' "To Love Somebody" (for theme British Pop). Ledet received a record 18 standing ovations from the judges, including his duet with Season 3 winner Fantasia Barrino at Season 11 finale, the most of any AI contestant. He was eliminated on May 17, 2012, placing third overall with the lowest total of 90 million votes cast.

Performances/results

Episode	Theme	Song choice	Original artist
Audition	Auditioner's Choice	Not aired
Hollywood Round, Part 1	First Solo	Not aired
Hollywood Round, Part 2	Group Performance	"Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)"	Blu Cantrell
Hollywood Round, Part 3	Second Solo	"Jar of Hearts"	Christina Perri
Las Vegas Round	Songs from the 1950s Group Performance	"At the Hop" / "Blue Suede Shoes"	Danny & the Juniors / Carl Perkins
Final Judgment	Final Solo	"Up to the Mountain (MLK Song)"	Patty Griffin
Top 25 (13 Men)	Personal Choice	"You Pulled Me Through"	Jennifer Hudson
Top 13	Stevie Wonder	"I Wish"	Stevie Wonder
Top 11	Year They Were Born	"When a Man Loves a Woman"	Percy Sledge
Top 10	Billy Joel	"She's Got a Way"	Billy Joel
Top 9	Their Personal Idols	Trio "The Lady in My Life" / "Rock with You" / "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" with DeAndre Brackensick & Heejun Han	Michael Jackson
		Solo "Without You"	Badfinger
Top 8	Songs from the 1980s	Solo "If You Don't Know Me by Now"	Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes
		Duet "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" with Jessica Sanchez	Aretha Franklin & George Michael
Top 7	Songs from the 2010s	Solo "Runaway Baby"	Bruno Mars
		Trio "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" with Hollie Cavanagh & Jessica Sanchez	Kelly Clarkson
Top 7	Songs from Now & Then	"I Believe"	Fantasia Barrino
		"A Change Is Gonna Come"	Sam Cooke
Top 6	Queen	"Crazy Little Thing Called Love"	Queen
	Contestant's Choice	"Ready for Love"	India.Arie
Top 5	Songs from the 1960s	Duet "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" with Phillip Phillips	The Righteous Brothers
		Solo "Ain't Too Proud to Beg"	The Temptations
	British Pop	"To Love Somebody"	Bee Gees
Top 4	California Dreamin'	Solo "You Raise Me Up"	Secret Garden
		Duet "This Love" with Phillip Phillips	Maroon 5
		Quartet "Waiting for a Girl Like You" with Hollie Cavanagh, Phillip Phillips & Jessica Sanchez	Foreigner
	Songs They Wish They'd Written	"It's a Man's Man's Man's World"	James Brown
Top 3	Judges' Choice	"I'd Rather Go Blind"	Etta James
	Contestant's Choice	"Imagine"	John Lennon
	Jimmy Iovine's Choice	"No More Drama"	Mary J. Blige

• ^ Due to the judges using their one save on Jessica Sanchez, the Top 7 remained intact for another week.

Post Idol

He took part in the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2012, which began July 6, 2012 and ran till September 21, 2012.

Discography

Extended plays

Title	Details	Peak chart positions	Sales
		US
American Idol Season 11 Highlights (Joshua Ledet EP)	Released: July 3, 2012 Label: 19 Recordings Formats: CD	59	US: 30,000

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