Leah LaBelle tragically died in a car crash earlier this year. Now, on what would have been her 32nd birthday, her closest friends, collaborators, and family celebrate her life with a posthumous EP, Love To the Moon.
The singer’s soulful spirit is alive on the five-song collection, which opens with “Sun,” produced and written by her mentor Pharrell. Other contributors include Midi Jones (“Made Man”), Sam Hook (“Made Man,” “Something About the Cold”), and Tom Strahle, who produced the vulnerable “Something About the Cold.”
The stripped-down “Orange Skies” features a voice note Leah recorded on her phone in memory of a friend’s child who passed away. “When I’m gone, sing my song / Promise to remember me forever more,” she sings on the chilling and poetic closer.
All of the collaborators donated their work to Love to the Moon and her friend JoJo has dedicated her social media accounts to Leah all week. “I really want you to get to know her like I did. Her music, her heart, her art,” said JoJo. “One of my favorite voices and energies I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. There will never be another LL.”
LaBelle and her husband, former NBA player Rasual Butler, died in a single car collision in Studio City, Calif. on Jan. 31. Leah gained recognition at the age of 17 by becoming a top 12 finalist on Season 3 of “American Idol.” In 2011, she signed a joint record deal with Pharrell’s iamOTHER, Jermaine Dupri’s So So Def, and Epic Records.