| Leslie Hall | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Born | November 15, 1981 Ames, Iowa, United States |
| Genres | Hip hop Electro Comedy |
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Labels | Hefty Hideway |
| Website | www.leslieandthelys.com |
Leslie Merritt Hall (born November 15, 1981 in Ames, Iowa) is an American satirical rap artist and front-woman for the band Leslie and the LY's and the operator of a "gem sweater museum".
Leslie first began displaying herself in "strangely glamorous and unflattering ways" while attending Ames High School in Iowa. During her senior year, she entered the homecoming parade, as part of a prom queen campaign, donning a sparkling pink Goodwill gown, a neck brace, and a tiara (won by her mother who was crowned Miss Auburn, Nebraska in 1970). Her publicity stunt made the front page of the local newspaper the following day. Her campaign was a success, and when springtime came, she was crowned queen. After graduating from high school, Hall moved to Boston, Massachusetts and completed her education at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in May 2006. Currently she resides in Ames and lives with her parents.
Hall began collecting gem sweaters in 2000 and has since amassed over 400 different sweaters according to her August 2006 interview with Martin Sargent. Hall modeled these sweaters on the website gemsweater.com, garnering significant Internet traffic such that she was asked to appear on one of the final episodes of Unscrewed with Martin Sargent. In her 2004 TechTV interview, she stated that "about 65% of the comments" from the gemsweater.com message boards were related to a particular outfit of hers that included gold pants. She decided to form a band, Leslie and the LY's, with former classmates, capitalizing on the popularity of her gem-laden sweaters and gold pants. In 2005 her band released their first album, Gold Pants.[1]
In 2006 Hall followed up with a second self-released solo record, Door Man's Daughter, and toured the globe in support of it. She was also featured on a VH1 special called 40 Greatest Internet Superstars. Later in 2006 she appeared with fellow Internet personalities Jay Maynard, also known as "Tron Guy", and Randy Constan, a Peter Pan impersonator, to take a stand in the "battle over Internet freedom" in favor of network neutrality.[2]
In 2007 she teamed up with Dungeon Majesty to create the video "Willow Don't Cry". In April 2007 she appeared on MTV's Total Request Live. On September 27, 2007, Leslie appeared on the Nickelodeon children's show Yo Gabba Gabba!, to perform in the "Dancey Dance" segment of an episode titled "Scary". Leslie appeared again on October 21, 2008 in the season two episode titled "Differences".
In 2008 she appeared with Tay Zonday in a commercial for Firefox, singing a song titled "Users Against Boredom", a parody of We Are The World.[3] Leslie toured in support of her 2008 album, ceWEBrity. She released a music video (and single) called "Zombie Killer" featuring Elvira, Mistress of the Dark on guest vocals, with cameos by Mark Borchardt and Mike Schank of American Movie fame.[4]
Leslie's newest songs as of 2009 were "Craft Talk"[5] and "Tight Pants (Body Rolls)".[6] The music video for "Body Rolls" premiered January 17, 2009 at her show in Ames but has since been released along side "Gravel In My Shoe".[7] Her 2010 album, "Back 2 Back Palz", features these two singles, as well as 11 country music inspired songs. It is currently available from Leslie's official website.
In October 2010 she began making guest appearances with the Yo Gabba Gabba! live touring act. She appears in the feature film Hamlet A.D.D..
Hall has an older brother who goes by the pseudonym "Arecee" who helps produce some of Leslie's records and does his own hip hop music.
Albums:[8]
Other:
