March 1 2007 Nikko Smith  (AI Season 4 )

Every generation has been blessed with a definitive voice. The crooner’s era was led by Sinatra. Rock ‘n’ Roll crowned Elvis the King. The 70’s fostered the emergence of Marvin Gaye and Stevie wonder as soul music legends. Luther Vandross was deemed the voice of his generation in the ‘80’s and R. Kelly in the ’90’s. The millennium brings to the fore the vital and seminal contribution to lineage the voice of Nikko Smith.

 Smith is singer/songwriter whose halting vocals represent an amazing mix of skill, desire and gift. Smith was poised from the beginning to take his place among music’s legendary soul groundbreakers.

 Smith began as most performing children do, performing for family and friends, and regaling them with spot-on performances of songs by Michael Jackson, The Boys and ABC. Smith then stretched out through participation is the youth choir of the First Baptist Church in Chesterfield, MO.

 Throughout his early childhood Nikko fueled his desire by studying the whole of his craft. He pursued all avenues available whereby he could learn more about his art. Music, theatre and dance became a part of Nikko’s life at an early age. These culminated with forming the group Team 11 at the age of 13. It was during this time that Nikko began to shape his artistic persona. With the end of Team 11 Nikko became free to pursue his solo career. 

A student of the original purveyors of Soul, Nikko credits his aural tutelage to artists such as Marvin, Stevie, Sam Cooke, The Temps, Jodeci and R. among so many others. Smith, who made it to the 8^th round of American Idol, is poised to take his place among the Soul legends and his eclectic musical taste has given him the command and range to segue all the genres with an ease generally attributed to  the music industry’s most revered veterans. Nikko Smith possesses one of those rare voices whose time has come.

Feb 6th 2007  George Huff

Feb 7th 2007  Gedeon McKinney

Turned away from the school choir because he was only 5 years of age, Gedeon McKinney turned to the church to nurture his musical gift.

He gave his first performance on the outside steps of the church at that same young age of 5, and received a standing ovation. When he began to use his gift to praise God during his church's testimonial services at the age of 9, his talent, once again, brought the crowd to their feet, clapping and praising right along with him.

Gedeon McKinney was born on October 1, 1988 in Memphis, TN, the son of a noted blues singer, Anthony Tony McKinney. He finally began performing in the school choir at age 9. At the age of 14 he joined the acclaimed Yo! Memphis Show Choir, where he quickly became a soloist. At 16 he became the lead vocalist of Serenity, the Yo! Memphis Soul Group. In the 11th grade, Gedeon entered Yo! Academy of Visual and Performing Arts. While attending the academy, Gedeon served as a teaching assistant, head set designer, vocal coach, and drama coach. He received several awards and graduated as the Valedictorian for the class of 2006.

One of his most esteemed honors came when he decided to audition for the 2006 American Idol television show. He was selected by the judges out of thousands of people to be in the top 24 of all the contestants. During the nationally televised competition, with God bless you as his mantra, he made it to the top 13 contestants and many viewers, including the famously fastidious judge, Simon Cowell, were surprised to see him eliminated so soon.

Gedeon McKinney is a gifted actor and writer, as well as musician, and he continues to excel in the entertainment industry. Though Gedeon is a solo artist, never forgetting his roots, he continues to sing in the choir and for the church that saw his talent and nurtured his gift from the beginning and all along the way.

"Always lend a hand, and never forget where you come from." ~ Gedeon McKinney

Gedeon McKinney's Myspace

Feb 8th 2007 Vonzell Solomon

Vonzell Monique Goethie (born 18 March, 1984), also known as Baby V,
was born in Baxley, Georgia. Her family relocated to Fort Myers, Florida
when she was just an infant. Solomon attended high school at the Cypress
Lake Center for the Arts. She holds a black belt it sembact martial arts;
her father is a martial arts instructor. Her parents are Alice and Larry
Goethie; Vonzell uses her mother's maiden name professionally. She has
an older sister, Zanobra, and two brothers, Kendall and Gabriel.

In 2005 Solomon auditioned for the fourth season of American Idol in
Orlando, Florida. She placed third behind runner-up Bo Bice and winner
Carrie Underwood. This was the second time Solomon had auditioned for
the show, as she had originally auditioned during the second season but
was cut by the producers.

On May 18, 2005 Solomon was voted off during choice selections week after her three performances: "I'll Never Love This Way Again" by
Dionne Warwick, "Chain of Fools" by Aretha Franklin, and "On the Radio"
by Donna Summer.

Prior to auditioning for American Idol, Solomon worked for the United
States Postal Service as a mail carrier and sung with loval bands in
southwest Florida. Solomon is now a paid spokesperson for the United
States Postal Service.

Solomon's national television appearances since American Idol include: Tyra Banks Show, T.V. Guide Channel, VH1 Big in '05 Awards, Live with Regis and Kelly, ABC's Good Morning America, and ESPN's Monday Night Football.

For more information about Vonzell "Baby V" Solomon check out her official website at www.officialbabyv.com