Mononyms - single name artist monikers - are often associated with some very popular and powerful musicians. Prince (real name: Prince Nelson), Sting (real name: Gordon Sumner) and Madonna (real name: Madonna Ciccone) are just a few from this illustrious list. LeToya is no exception. She's proven her skill and her talent time and again, gaining her success both as a group member and a solo singer and songwriter.

LeToya: The H-Town Chick

"That drama, I don't want it anymore."

Mononyms - single name artist monikers - are often associated with some very popular and powerful musicians. Prince (real name: Prince Nelson), Sting (real name: Gordon Sumner) and Madonna (real name: Madonna Ciccone) are just a few from this illustrious list. LeToya is no exception. She's proven her skill and her talent time and again, gaining her success both as a group member and a solo singer and songwriter.

LeToya's Luck

Born LeToya Nicole Luckett in Houston, Texas on March 11, 1981, she had something of a head start when it came to singing. Her father, himself a trained singer, signed young Luckett up for formal training with a focus on opera. Besides regularly performing at home via their local Baptist church, she also made a few early attempts at entering the music industry with the help of her father.

Fortune came knocking in 1993 when pre-teen Luckett met Beyoncé Knowles in school. The two quickly struck up a friendship, and Luckett ended up joining her new friend's girl group Girl's Tyme with LaTavia Roberson and Kelly Rowland. The fledgling group practiced and performed around their Houston home base, supported largely by Knowles' parents. Despite opening for several popular R&B acts of the time, Girl's Tyme failed in its first record deal attempt with Elektra Records in the mid-1990's.

Several name changes later, the group reemerged as Destiny's Child in 1996, and by 1997 had inked its first deal with Columbia Records. After two successful albums, Luckett and Roberson began to question the handling of their manager Mathew, Knowles' father. This ended in the pair's departure from the group, and Luckett was officially out on her own.

LeToya's Destiny Post-Destiny

The two new ex-members of Destiny's Child initially formed a new group, Anjel, with Tiffany Beaudoin and Naty Quinones. Anjel, however, fell through, and Luckett began work on a solo album with Noontime, a production company in Atlanta, Georgia. Her debut single You Got What I Need came out in 2004 to promote her forthcoming album.

After collaborating with other artists like Houston for What Love Can Do on the original soundtrack of 2005 film Coach Carter and on the album Already Platinum with Slim Thug, Luckett finally released her self-titled debut in 2006. It was a very successful one, to say the least, as the album entered the American Billboard 200 at #1 and earned gold certification from the RIAA within a month, and platinum by December of that year.

2006 was a good year for Luckett. On top of the huge commercial success of her album, she was named for numerous awards by several magazines and websites. It was a heavy year for touring as well; besides signing on for the 2006 Pantene Total You Tour, she also committed to be an opening act Mary J. Blige's The Breakthrough Experience tour.

Much speculation and a leaked track later, her second album Lady Love was released in August 2009, with the first single Not Anymore coming out six months prior. Fans were able to cast votes to choose the album's second single, a spot that was won by She Ain't Got Sh** On Me.

In between recording and singing engagements, Luckett also took on theatrical roles. She took a spot in the cast for the play Rumors, which toured the United States in 2008. She also stars in two movies, Preacher's Kid and Five Killers, both due for release in 2010.

Did You Know That...

• ...she was supposed to be in the Destiny's Child music video for Say My Name? It was this exclusion that led to their first lawsuit against Mathew Knowles.
• ...LeToya is the only other member from Destiny's Child aside from Beyoncé who'd debuted a platinum album at #1 on the Billboard charts?
• ...she has branched out into business? Lady L Boutique is an upscale women's boutique with two locations in Houston, Texas.

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