LaShell Griffin

The winner of Oprah Winfrey’s first Pop Superstar Problem — Winfrey’s response towards the youth-driven feel of shows like Superstar Search and American Idol — was 36-year-old LaShell Griffin, a stay-at-home mom of five from Detroit, MI. Griffin’s vocal design, which mixes gospel and R&B affects, and her down-to-earth charisma on shows of music like “One Instant” and “THE BEST Love of most” helped Griffin earn the competition’s grand award: a agreement with EMI Information. She began performing in her church’s choir when she was 13, and shortly became among the choir’s leading soloists. As a grown-up, her kids and her relationship to her hubby Lee (also a vocalist) had been her primary priorities, but Griffin continuing to sing using the choir and performed at wedding ceremonies just as much as her timetable allowed. When she was in the home dealing with a broken feet in November 2003, Griffin initial found out about Oprah’s Pop Superstar Problem; she and Lee submitted a tape of her edition of “Amazing Sophistication,” and some weeks afterwards, they discovered she was on the present. The contest seduced 15,000 hopefuls, but Griffin managed to get through the semifinals and finals to be Oprah’s Pop Celebrity early in 2004. That summer season, Griffin released her debut recording, Free, a variety of modern gospel and R&B.