La'Porsha Renae Mays, known professionally as La'Porsha Renae, (born August 1, 1993)[1] is an American singer-songwriter from McComb, Mississippi. In 2015 she auditioned for the fifteenth season of American Idol, which at that time was the final season. On April 7, 2016, she finished as runner-up on the show, behind winner Trent Harmon.[2] In March 2017, Renae released her debut album Already All Ready.
Biography
Early life
La'Porsha Renae Mays was born on August 1, 1993,[1] in McComb, Mississippi. At age 16, Renae auditioned for the tenth season of American Idol. After graduating from college at age 22, Renae was a victim of domestic abuse. After a year, she separated from her husband and moved back to McComb with her one-month-old daughter Nayalee Keya.
American Idol
Accompanied by her daughter, she returned to audition for the fifteenth season of American Idol in Little Rock, Arkansas and earned her golden ticket by performing in front of the judges with Radiohead's "Creep". Renae was announced as the runner-up on April 7, 2016.
Hours after the end of the American Idol, Renae announced that she had been signed to Big Machine and Motown Records.[3]American Idol mentor and Big Machine Label Group CEO, Scott Borchetta told Billboard the reason for the signing is "Because of the overwhelming fan demand and success of the farewell season of American Idol,." Ethiopia Habtemariam, president of MoTown Records will oversee Renae's album. In a post-Idol interview about her plans Renae indicated she would be leaving Mississippi, and she came under fire when she was asked about the Religious Liberty Accommodations Act, an anti-LGBT law in her home state, "I am one of the people who don't really agree with that lifestyle. I wasn't brought up that way."[4][5] Renae's single "Battles" debuted at number 22 on the US R&B singles chart with a first week sales total of 7,000.Renae's first live performance post Idol was on Live with Kelly and Michael promoting "Battles" which reached its peak at number 22 on US R&B Digital Charts.
In August 2016, a remix for "Battles" was released, called the Gold Medal Mix. It became the official song for the United States Women's Gymnastic Team for the 2016 Summer Olympics.[6] In November, Renae released the lead single to her upcoming debut album, entitled "Good Woman."
Career
2017: Already All Ready
Her debut studio album, Already All Ready was released on March 31, 2017.[7] "Good Woman" is the debut single from the album.
2019–present: The Odessy of Love
In 2019, Renae released a single, "Solo", which failed to chart or garner any media attention, prompting her to go on an extended hiatus. After a hacker briefly took over her Twitter, she changed her social media handles to "ASEEternal", and returned with a new stage name, "A.S.E." In May 2020, she revealed plans to self-publish a seven-volume memoir series titled "Battles", the first book Meet Me on the Battlefield was published in June 2020.[8] In May 2022, she released a four-part album series: The Odessy [sic] of Love, independently through Man of Yah productions, with an accompanying music video for the lead single, "Black Swan" on YouTube.[9] The albums failed to gain any respectable media attention or appear on any chart. The albums were then suddenly removed from streaming platforms for unknown reasons.
