Ledisi
Ledisi is an award-winning advocate, singer/songwriter, music producer, author, playwright, film producer, and CEO of Listen Back Entertainment/BMG. Over her distinguished two-decade career, she has headlined 4 sold-out national tours, performing alongside many artists, and garnered 14-time GRAMMY Award nominations, winning her first GRAMMY Award in 2021 for her hit song “Anything for You.” Ledisi has also garnered 3 Soul Train Music Awards, 19 NAACP Image Award nominations, an NAACP Theatre Award, 2 LA Alliance Ovation Award nominations, and an NAACP nomination for her performance as Mahalia Jackson in Remember Me.
Heavily influenced by Dr. Nina Simone, Ledisi completed and released the GRAMMY Award-nominated “Ledisi Sings Nina” in 2020. In December 2020, she co-produced her very first PBS special around the album. During the pandemic, she launched her own label, releasing the LP “The Wildcard,” which included her Grammy Award-winning song and first Billboard Number 1 radio hit. On the heels of this success, she released “Ledisi Live at The Troubadour” in April 2021, accompanied by a pay-per-view virtual concert.
No stranger to film and television, Ledisi landed her first feature singing in the George Clooney-directed Leatherheads. She was also featured in 2015’s Oscar Award-nominated Selma, as well as Gabourney Sidibe’s The Tale of Four. She secured her first major television role playing the legendary Patti LaBelle on the hit series American Soul, followed by a standout performance on FX’s hit series POSE, as well as BET Plus’ Twice Bitten. She also recently portrayed the legendary Gladys Knight in the 2023 film Spinning Gold.
Ledisi made her Broadway debut in “Caroline, or Change” in 2000, and helped workshop the Tony Award-winning musical “The Color Purple.” She returned to theater in 2019 in the critically acclaimed off-Broadway musical “Witness Uganda,” for which she received a LA Alliance Nomination. Her one-woman show, “The Legend of Little Girl Blue,” premiered at the Wallis Theatre in 2019. Ledisi was recently featured in New York City Center’s 2022 production of “The Life,” directed by Billy Porter.
A passionate advocate for the arts, Ledisi is the President of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Recording Academy. In 2021, she became an Honorary Member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Ledisi published her first book, Better Than Alright: Finding Peace, Love and Power, in collaboration with Essence Magazine. Her latest book, Don’t Ever Lose Your Walk: How to Embrace Your Journey, is released through her book publishing company, Chinweya Publishing.