Happy Birthday, Melinda Doolittle!

As the humble second runner-up on Season 6 of American Idol, Melinda Doolittle won over fans as the back-up singer who broke out of her shell on the Idol stage. Since her time on the show, Melinda has been busy releasing new music and getting involved with charity work.

In February of 2009, Melinda released her debut album, Coming Back To You. On this 13 track CD, Melinda shows off her powerful vocals and her love of R&B standards. The album debuted at number 58 on the Billboard 200 chart during its first week of release, selling just over 10,900 copies.

Melinda is heavily involved with the Malaria No More charity. In June of 2007, Melinda joined First Lady Laura Bush in Zambia to distribute life-saving bed nets and to raise awareness with the Malaria No More organization. Malaria No More will be one of the charities featured on this Aprils Idol Gives Back show. Melinda also works with The Boys & Girls Club of America and The League, a community-driven organization that empowers children to help out their neighborhood. Many of Melindas concerts raise money for good causes. Tomorrow, Melinda will perform in Brentwood, TN to raise money for the victims of the recent earthquake and tsunami in Samoa. On October 24, Melinda will perform at the Hearts & Hands Gala, hosted by Ryan Seacrest, to benefit two Atlanta area Ronald McDonald Houses.

Happy Birthday, Melinda!

View Melindas transformation from back-up singer to Idol star in … read more
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