Josiah Leming

In early 2008 the teenage singer/songwriter Josiah Leming first drew widespread notice on American television by appearing in multiple episodes of American Idol’s seventh season. Considerable screen time during his brief run with the program stirred viewer interest through both his singular backstory—he had reportedly left home to cross the country by car and was effectively homeless—and his emotionally direct vocals.

The first portion of his childhood unfolded in Morristown, Tennessee, where he was raised with eight siblings before deciding to travel America in a Mercury Topaz. Moving from place to place, he honed his songwriting craft and built an audience on MySpace. Several deeply felt ballads grew out of those travels, including “To Run,” which he performed at his initial American Idol audition. He advanced past that round yet was ultimately cut before the Top 24, a choice that drew sharp criticism from his swelling fan base.

Further opportunities soon followed. In the weeks after his exit he made additional television appearances, among them segments on MTV News and The Ellen DeGeneres Show, where he accompanied himself on piano for another performance of “To Run.” Momentum continued as the season unfolded; in May 2008 he signed with Warner Bros., entered the studio, and raced to finish his debut album, spurred by his mother’s battle with terminal cancer. Creative difficulties or contractual friction between Warner Bros. and 19 Entertainment—or both—nonetheless postponed the album’s release for two years. The interim EP Angels Undercover appeared in the meantime, and the full-length Come on Kid finally reached stores in September 2010. Not long afterward Leming and Warner Bros. parted company, leading him to issue his next album, Another Life, independently in late 2011.

By 2013 he had begun exploring a stronger Americana and roots direction with his new group, Josiah & the Bonnevilles. After signing with Vagrant Records, the band released its debut EP, Cold Blood, in 2016.