Musical artist
Franchell "Frenchie" Davis
(born May 7, 1979) is an American Broadway performer and a
soul
,
dance
/
electronica
, and
pop
singer. She came to public attention in 2003 as a contestant on the singing competition show
American Idol
. Davis began performing in
Rent
on
Broadway
soon afterward, and was a member of the cast for four years. In 2011, Davis reached the top 8 on the first season of singing competition
The Voice
.
Early life and career
[
edit
]
Davis was born in Washington, DC, and raised in Los Angeles, CA.
[1]
She graduated from
Howard University
in 2014 with a
Bachelor of Fine Arts
.
[2]
In the year 2000, she began her performing career in productions of
Little Shop of Horrors
and
Jesus Christ Superstar
with the Freilichtspiele Theatre Company in
Schwabisch Hall
, Germany.
American Idol
[
edit
]
Davis was a contestant on the
second season
of
American Idol
in 2003, but was disqualified early in the season due to topless photos taken earlier in her career.
According to Davis, she was up-front about her pictures:
- "When I first discovered that I had made it to Hollywood and found out I would be competing to get into the top 30 and then later in the top 12, they had given us all this paperwork to fill out, background checks and that whole thing. So when we were doing that I had a discussion with some members of the production staff and I exposed to them a piece of my past; that when I was 19 years old, I took some pictures and that's not the person I am [anymore]. I wanted to be up-front about it. We talked about it and then nothing happened".
[3]
The
Idol
staff took no action then, but two months later, they decided that Davis's participation would be inappropriate. "They had decided that because
American Idol
was a family show, that they could not have me on the show because of the pictures I had taken ?though they had never seen the pictures," she told EuroWeb. She also added that no one was able to find the pictures in question as the website that featured them had been taken down.
Double-standards controversy
[
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]
In 2007, revealing pictures of
season six
American Idol
contender
Antonella Barba
surfaced on the internet, but Barba was kept on the show (though she was voted off shortly afterward). Many drew parallels to Davis's earlier situation. In an interview conducted for
The New York Post
on Monday, March 5, 2007, Davis said,
- "I couldn't help but notice the difference between the manner in which she was dealt with and how I was dealt with.... I think it's fantastic if
Idol
has evolved, and I think it's fantastic she won't have to go through what I went through four years ago ... but if the rules have changed, I believe there should be something to make up for the fact that I was humiliated needlessly."
[4]
The discrepancy was discussed on talk show
The View
on March 6, 2007. Co-host
Elisabeth Hasselbeck
argued the difference was that Davis was paid for her pictures whereas Barba was not. Co-host
Rosie O'Donnell
disagreed, saying, "I think it's racist. I do... I think it's because she's black".
[5]
American Idol
was also accused of racism by Project Islamic H.O.P.E. activist Najee Ali: "obvious that it's a racial bias... when you have a situation where a black contestant is punished and a similar situation happens to a white contestant and there is no punishment and they're allowed to continue on the show."
[6]
Post-
Idol
career
[
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]
After
American Idol
, Davis appeared in the Broadway musical
Rent
in 2003. She sang the solo in the opening song of Act Two,
Seasons of Love
, and in ensemble roles such as Mrs. Jefferson (Joanne's mom), a woman with bags, a coat vendor, Mrs. Marquez (Mimi's mom) and others. She also occasionally played the part of Joanne. On June 1, 2005, Davis returned to her previous role in the Broadway production of
Rent
. Davis had previously announced that she would leave
Rent
in May 2007, but announced her final performance following a mid-April 2007 show. During the weeks leading up to the April 29 performance of
Rent'
s 10-year reunion, Davis appeared in an iTunes Podcast (
Rent: The PodCast
). She also joined the original cast for a special encore performance.
In 2004, Davis was cast in the role of Effie in a West Coast-touring production of
Dreamgirls
, which appeared in Sacramento, San Jose, and Seattle, and later went to the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera.
[7]
From August 3?19, 2007, Davis starred alongside Miche Braden and JMichael in the role of
Mahalia Jackson
in the Hartford Stage production of
Mahalia: A Gospel Musical
, written by Tom Stolz and directed by Jeremy B. Cohen.
In 2008, Davis, along with fellow second-season
American Idol
participants
Ruben Studdard
and
Trenyce Cobbins
, starred in the 30th-anniversary national tour of the musical revue
Ain't Misbehavin'
. The tour ran until May 2009, and was nominated for a
Grammy
award in the Best Musical Show Album category.
[8]
[9]
In the fall of 2010, Frenchie was cast in the role of the Fairy Godmother in
Rodgers & Hammerstein
's
Cinderella
(Enchanted Edition)
at the Berkeley Playhouse, the resident theatre company at the Julia Morgan Center for the Arts in
Berkeley, California
.
The Voice
[
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]
In 2011, Davis competed in the first season of reality competition series
The Voice
. In the first episode, she performed "
I Kissed a Girl
" by
Katy Perry
, advancing to the next round as a member of mentor/judge
Christina Aguilera
's team of 8.
On the May 10 episode, Frenchie competed in a sing off against Tarralyn Ramsey, both singing "
Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)
" by
Beyonce
. Frenchie won and made it to the next round.
On the June 7 episode, Frenchie performed "
When Love Takes Over
" by
David Guetta
and
Kelly Rowland
. She was told, "You may very well have the strongest voice in this whole competition."
In the next week, it was announced that Frenchie did not win the fan vote from the previous week's performance, which would have allowed her to move on in the competition. However, Aguilera used her own vote to move Frenchie onto
The Voice'
s Elite 8.
On the June 21 episode, featuring the Showdown of the Elite 8, Davis performed "
Like a Prayer
" by
Madonna
.
Frenchie Davis was eliminated during the semi-finals,
[10]
finishing fifth overall. She did, however, join the other members of the final eight contestants of the show:
Javier Colon
,
Dia Frampton
,
Vicci Martinez
,
Beverly McClellan
,
Casey Weston
,
Xenia
, and
Nakia
on a U.S. tour summer 2011.
Post-
Voice
career
[
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]
In December 2012, Frenchie starred in the musical
God Doesn't Mean You Get To Live Forever
at the Baruch Performing Arts Center in New York with legendary pastor Dr.
James A. Forbes
Jr. and
Gregory Charles Royal
. In 2014 she made her film debut in the comedy film
Dumbbells
.
[11]
In 2017, Davis starred as Henri in
The View UpStairs
- an off-Broadway musical about the
UpStairs Lounge arson attack
that killed 50 patrons of a gay bar in New Orleans. She was also a winner of the
Jose Esteban Munoz
Award from CLAGS: the Center for LGBTQ Studies (formerly known as
Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies
) at
The Graduate Center, CUNY
. The award is given to an LGBTQ Activist who promotes Queer Studies outside of academia.
[12]
Recording career
[
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]
Frenchie is a featured artist in the
Tony Moran
single "You Are" that was released December 1, 2009, and peaked at number 5 on the
Billboard
hot clubplay chart. "You Are" was the debut single from Moran's album
Mix Magic Music
.
[13]
On September 4, 2012, Davis released her debut solo single, "Love's Got A Hold On Me". The song peaked at #12 on the
Billboard
Dance Chart. The song was billed as the first single from an upcoming solo album,
Just Frenchie
, but the album was not released.
Personal life
[
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]
Davis possesses a vocal range of Lyric
Mezzo-soprano
.
In 2012, Davis came out as
bisexual
.
[14]
[15]
She continues to be a strong and outspoken advocate for the
bisexual community
, LGBTQ youth and for LGBTQ
people of color
.
In 2013, she was the featured performer at the
National LGBTQ Task Force
's 25th National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change in
Atlanta
where she explained that she had come out for all of the young LGBT people.
"It's so wonderful to see all the young people here. You all are the reason that I chose to be out. Because it is important that you see people in the public eye who are not ashamed of who they are. It is ok to be true to you."
[16]
In 2014, Davis created a stir when she spoke out bluntly in response to the verdict in the
shooting of Jordan Davis
by Michael Dunn where the jury deadlocked on the charge of first-degree murder, saying
"As an
LGBT
woman of color, I am having an extremely difficult time grasping WHY
Matthew Shephard
's life is so much more valuable than
Trayvon
's or Jordan's????!?!?! Help me understand, y'all! Help me understand"
.
[17]
In popular culture
[
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]
Davis was impersonated by guest host
Queen Latifah
on the March 8, 2003, episode of sketch comedy show
Saturday Night Live
; Davis was lampooned for her nude photo scandal, brash attitude and
melismatic
singing style.
[18]
Awards and Recognitions
[
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]
In June 2017, Davis received the
Jose Esteban Munoz
award from
CLAGS: The Center for LGBTQ Studies
- an award that is given to individuals who promote Queer Studies in their work or activism. She shared the award alongside
Nathan Lee Graham
and
Wilson Cruz
.
[19]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Frenchie Davis: Biography"
. IMDb
. Retrieved
2015-01-06
.
- ^
"Official Frenchie Davis: Bio"
. Frenchie Davis Inc./Frenchie Davis Music Group. 2015. Archived from
the original
on 2015-01-06
. Retrieved
2015-01-06
.
- ^
"
'AMERICAN IDOL' DOUBLE EXPOSURE DOUBLE STANDARD: Ousted 2003 hopeful Frenchie Davis speaks exclusively to EUR"
. EuroWeb. 2007-03-05. Archived from
the original
on 2007-03-07
. Retrieved
2007-03-10
.
- ^
"Frenchie Davis Questions 'Idol' Double Standard"
.
KDKA-TV
. 2007-03-07. Archived from
the original
on 2007-03-09
. Retrieved
2007-03-10
.
- ^
Way, Jo Anne (2006-03-06).
"Rosie O'Donnell Dives Into Frenchie - Antonella Barba Topless Fray"
. The National Ledger. Archived from
the original
on 2007-03-09
. Retrieved
2007-03-10
.
- ^
Rocchio, Christopher (2006-03-06).
"Ex-'Idol 2' semifinalist Frenchie Davis crying foul over Antonella Barba"
. Reality TV World
. Retrieved
2007-03-10
.
- ^
"Dreamgirls: california music theatre"
. California Music Theater. 2003?2004. Archived from
the original
on 2007-09-28
. Retrieved
2007-08-22
.
- ^
Doby, Jerry (October 29, 2012).
"Interview with Grammy Award Nominee and NBC's 'The Voice' Top 4 Finalist Frenchie Davis"
. Yahoo! Voices. Archived from
the original
on November 6, 2012
. Retrieved
October 29,
2012
.
- ^
"RUBEN STUDDARD, FRENCHIE DAVIS TO TOUR IN AIN'T MISBEHAVIN'
"
. Retrieved
2008-01-03
.
- ^
Nede, Jethro (2011-06-22).
"
'The Voice' Results Show: Tears, Betrayal, and a Poem"
.
The Hollywood Reporter
.
- ^
"
'The Voice's' Frenchie Davis to Make Feature Film Debut in 'Dumbbells'
"
. Hollywoodreporter.com
. Retrieved
2014-06-29
.
- ^
"LGBTQ Pride Month: A Conversation with Broadway Artists-Activists"
.
- ^
"You Are (feat. Frenchie Davis) by Tony Moran"
. iTunes.com. 2009-12-20
. Retrieved
2009-12-20
.
- ^
"Trish Bendix: AfterEllen.com's Best Lesbian Week Ever: June 16?22"
. Huffingtonpost.com. 2012-06-22
. Retrieved
2012-10-14
.
- ^
"Frenchie Davis Comes Out: 'The Voice' Singer Reveals She's Been Dating A Woman"
. Huffingtonpost.com. 2012-06-21
. Retrieved
2012-10-14
.
- ^
"Frenchie Davis, Love's Got a Hold On Me, Creating Change 2013, Atlanta, GA"
.
National LGBTQ Task Force
. 2013-01-27.
Archived
from the original on 2021-12-13
. Retrieved
2015-01-06
.
- ^
"Michael Dunn Verdict and the Civil Rights Schism Between Blacks and Gays"
.
National Newspaper Publishers Association
: BlackPressUsa. 2014-02-27
. Retrieved
2012-10-14
.
- ^
Live! With Regis and Kelly
,
SNL Transcripts
- ^
"LGBTQ Pride Month: A Conversation with Broadway Artists-Activists"
.
External links
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