Leon Thomas

Broadway and television roles have placed Leon Thomas in front of a variety of audiences, but he has also earned acclaim as a collaborator on high-profile albums and is a contemporary R&B-leaning recording artist in his own right. Born in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, Thomas landed his first major role at the age of ten, as Young Simba in the Broadway production of The Lion King. Three years later, he began a lengthy association with Nickelodeon. The network featured him in series such as The Backyardigans, iCarly and, most prominently, Victorious. Thomas co-wrote and performed on Victorious soundtrack releases, and in 2012 released his first mixtape, Metro Hearts, through Rostrum. A greater musical breakthrough was made in 2013 as a key collaborator on Yours Truly, the platinum debut album by fellow co-star Ariana Grande; as part of a songwriting and production team dubbed the Rascals, Thomas contributed to four songs beside R&B heavyweights Babyface and Antonio Dixon. This led to a credit on Toni Braxton and Babyface’s Love, Marriage & Divorce, a Grammy-winning album that arrived just a month after Rostrum had issued Thomas’ second mixtape, V1bes. All the while, Thomas continued acting work, and eventually hit studios with the likes of Zendaya, Post Malone, and Austin Mahone. He self-released a kicked-back, somehwat Musiq Soulchild-like single, “Favorite,” in early 2018. ~ Andy Kellman