Adanna Duru

Adanna Duru (born October 10, 1996) is an American singer from Diamond Bar, California who placed in tenth on the fourteenth season of American Idol. She also participated on Adam Levine's team on season three of The Voice.

Early life

Adanna Duru was born on October 10, 1996 in Whittier, California and raised in Diamond Bar, California.^[1] Her parents were both born in Nigeria and moved to the US for college. Duru has an older brother named Zim and a younger brother named Koby. Adanna and her brothers were raised by their single mother, IJ Duru.^[2] At the age of 10, Adanna wrote her first song, "Come Back to Me". She is the 2011 Southern California Icon winner.^[3] Duru graduated from Walnut High School in 2014, where she was class president. She also played two varsity sports: track and field and volleyball.^[4][5] She currently attends college at University of California in Riverside.^[6]

The Voice

In 2012, Duru was a contestant on season three of The Voice. She auditioned with "The Edge of Glory" where she defaulted to Adam Levine's team. She was eliminated in the Battle Rounds, where she was paired with Michelle Brooks-Thompson to sing "Crazy in Love". Her appearance on The Voice is notable for being one of the only contestants who twice had only snippets of their performance shown, rather than the full rendition.

Post-The Voice

After The Voice, Duru competed in the Miss California Teen USA pageant in 2013.^[3] She released her first music video on YouTube that she directed and choreographed to a song that she wrote called "Throwback!" in 2013. She also began work on her debut album but it was not finished. Two singles, "Amplify" and "CEO" were released in the Fall of 2014, both on iTunes. On her 18th birthday, Adanna released the single, "CEO" along with a music video in which she co-directed that is now on YouTube.^[7][8]

American Idol

Duru auditioned in San Francisco, singing "You and I" by Lady Gaga. She sang "It's A Man's Man's Man's World" in Showcase Week, where she got a standing ovation by Jennifer Lopez and was advanced into the Top 24. She originally was not voted into the Top 12 but was chosen as a wildcard to continue. She was eliminated on March 25, 2015 where she placed joint 10th/11th with Maddie Walker. She appeared on the season finale on May 13, 2015 to join Janelle Monáe and Jidenna to perform "Yoga".^[9]

• ^Note 1 Due to the judges using their one save on Qaasim Middleton, the top 11 remained intact for another week.

Post-Idol

On May 19, 2015, Duru announced via Facebook that she would release a pop/r&b-influenced mixtape over the summer, along with a 3-part "behind the scenes" mini-series on YouTube detailing her travels between Los Angeles and New York to record her music.^[10] In June 2015, Duru was honored with the Youth Achievement Award at the Style Africa Runway Gala in Hollywood, CA, where she also performed.^[11] On September 8, 2015, Duru was a featured artist for BET's Music Matters concert at SOB's in New York, where she covered Drake's "Hotline Bling" and performed "Fast Car" and "Transparent Soul" from her debut mixtape.^[12][13] In the summer of 2015, she announced on her Twitter that her mixtape will be called Exhibit A, and has been delayed until later in the year. In November, it was announced that Exhibit A has been delayed until early 2016.^[14]

Personal life

Duru gives vocal lessons to middle school and elementary school-age children.^[2] She is also an ambassador of the organization Stylites, a group dedicated to helping victims of sex trafficking in underdeveloped countries. Her parents and ancestors were all born in the African country Nigeria which makes Duru first generation born in the United States.^[15] Duru co-founded a local chapter of Stylites for her high school, which has continued since her graduation.^[16] Her biggest musical influences: Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake, Janet Jackson and Beyonce.^[17]

References