Born in Toronto, Ontario, and raised in Seattle, Washington, LaBelle began pursuing music ambition as a career in her teens.

Keri Hilson hired LaBelle as a backing vocalist after hearing her rendition of "Energy", which led to her working for other artists on their tours.

Her sampler Pharrell Williams and Jermaine Dupri Present Leah LaBelle (2012) was distributed only to record companies.

[2] Anastasia recorded pop music and was in a group with Troshan, who was a founding member of Bulgaria's first rock band, Srebyrnite grivni.

[3] After defecting from Bulgaria during a 1979 tour,[1][3] LaBelle's parents emigrated to Canada and later the United States, becoming naturalized citizens in both countries.

[5] From age 11, she joined the Total Experience Gospel Choir after being inspired by Lauryn Hill's performance in the 1993 film Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit.

[1] At age 17, LaBelle auditioned for the third season of the television show American Idol,[3] and performed Whitney Houston's "I Believe in You and Me".

[3] After becoming one of the 32 semi-finalists, LaBelle was eliminated in the top 30 round, but judge Paula Abdul chose her as her "wildcard selection" to advance as one of the 12 finalists.

[5] LaBelle covered the Stylistics' "Betcha by Golly, Wow" for the 2004 compilation album American Idol Season 3: Greatest Soul Classics.

[9] AllMusic's Heather Phares praised LaBelle as "surprisingly strong and mature", writing that "the studio brings out colors in her voice that she didn't display on-stage".

[18] While attending Berklee College, LaBelle rejected two recording contracts, including one with Andreao Heard, based on her attorney's advice.

[5][20] Following an industry contact's advice, she created a YouTube channel on December 1, 2007,[5][21] and gained recognition for her covers of R&B and soul music.

[8] Her connection with Hilson led to further work as a background singer, and she performed for Robin Thicke, Jordin Sparks, the Jonas Brothers, Britney Spears, and Eric Benét on their respective tours.

[23] The same year, she was included on American Idol Rewind,[24] and in 2009, she was featured on rapper Kumasi's single "Angel" from his debut studio album The One.

[33] LaBelle said the sampler resembled the sound for her debut studio album, which she described as "feel-good texture music" with a "throwback-but-new feel".

[37][38] The non-album single, "Lolita", was released in May 2013,[39] and a digital set of remixes and instrumentals of the song was made available a month earlier.

[49][50] In 2014, she was featured with JoJo on the hidden track "Freq" on Williams' second studio album G I R L.[51][52] LaBelle reunited with Heard in 2017 during the 59th Annual Grammy Awards.

[19] On January 31, 2018, LaBelle and her boyfriend, retired NBA player Rasual Butler,[53] died in a single vehicle car crash in the Studio City neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, after he lost control of his Range Rover on Ventura Boulevard, hit a curb, and crashed into a strip mall parking lot.

[55][56] While multiple reports at the time of the incident referred to Butler as LaBelle's husband,[57] her obituaries and her official website clarified that they were not married.

[58] On February 3, 2018, Butler's daughter from a past relationship, Raven, held a joint memorial service at Potter's House, a Christian church in Los Angeles.