Ivy Levan

Ivy Levan's mix of Southern soul and old-fashioned glamor made her a breakout star in the 2010s. Levan's early role models were singers with big, brassy voices including Tina Turner, Etta James and Beyonce. Knowing she'd never make it big in Bentonville, Arkansas, she left town at the age of 16, moving with her mother to Los Angeles. While success came early, so did the setbacks: She was signed to Virgin and spent two years on her first album, only to have it shelved due to label shakeups. Though she signed to the Ford agency and did some work as a model, she also waited tables between better-paying gigs. After briefly giving up on the music business, she met star producer Lucas Banker of Blood Money Inc (of Selenz Gomez and Junkie XL fame), who also became her housemate. By the time she next recorded, she'd embraced her Southern roots and evolved a sound she called "swamp hop." This proved a hit on her debt four-song EP Introducing the Dame. Two upbeat retro-swing numbers, "Hot Damn" and the hangover-themed "I Don't Wanna Wake Up" sported campy black-and-white videos; the former tune got a million Youtube views. Both songs were coproduced by 30 Seconds to Mars member Tomo Miličević, who'd remain a regular collaborator. Officially proclaimed an "It-Girl" by MTV, Levan made her TV acting debut on the revived "90210" (CW 2008-2013), did a commercial for Beats by Dre headphones, and sang "Drive My Car" as a duet with Sting during David Letterman's Beatles tribute. Sting also appeared on her full-length debut, 2015's No Good, co-writing and duetting on "Killing You." The lead single "Biscuit," co-written by Banker, had a stronger hop-element and another glamorous video, this one in full color. A further single "27 Club" was a more downbeat collaboration with star producer Diplo, with whom she linked up on Twitter. A non-LP track, "Who Can You Trust" became the theme of the Melissa McCarthy/Jason Statham action comedy "Spy" (2015). Identifying as bisexual, Levan did a number of club gigs to benefit the LBGT community. Though she was relaqtvely quiet during 2016, her sexy turn as the Usherette was one of the most-praised aspects of Fox's 2016 remake of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" at year's end. Singing the opening "Science Fiction Double Feature," Levan replaced the original movie's close-up singing lips with a character that's fully fleshed-out, in both senses of the term.