Candice Glover

Candice Rickelle Glover was born on November 22, 1989 in Beaufort, South Carolina, to John and Carole Glover. She is the oldest of seven children.[3][4] She graduated from Beaufort High School in 2008.[5] Before Idol, Candice was insecure and struggled with her weight. In an interview, she said she had to have counseling at school because of her insecurity issues.

Glover singing The Star-Spangled Banner at Citi Field in 2013

Immediately following the finale broadcast on May 16, 2013, Glover's debut album, Music Speaks, along with her debut single "I Am Beautiful" was available for pre-order; this was a first for the Idol series.[8] On May 17, 2013, Glover performed the single on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.[9] On May 20, 2013, Glover performed on Live! with Kelly and Michael.[10] Glover confirmed on May 21, to be working on a more R&B influenced second single to be released.[11] In its first week "I Am Beautiful" reached number 33 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and number 93 on the Billboard Hot 100.[12]

Glover took part in the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2013, beginning on July 19 and ending on August 31, 2013. Her debut album Music Speaks was released on February 18, 2014, after being pushed back from the original July 16 and October 8, 2013 dates.[13]

Glover's second single from her debut album is called "Cried," and was released on November 25, 2013. "Cried" debuted at number 28 on the Billboard Adult R&B chart in January 2014,[14] and has peaked at number 18.

Glover has begun work on her second studio album, due out in 2016.[15] She is writing all of the material on the album herself. She announced on her Facebook page that the album will be more "her" and that there will be a duet with fellow Idol contestant Amber Holcomb.[16]

Glover was also featured on Chadd Black's single, "Love No Fear", which was released on February 14, 2015.[15] She will be releasing a mixtape with Black sometime in 2016.[17] In January 2016, she announced that she had parted ways with 19 Recordings/Interscope. Her new album will be released independently, and she hopes to work with Jazmine Sullivan, Chris Brown, and/or Drake on it.[18]

She returned to Idol for the series finale on April 7, 2016. She performed with all the returning alumni to open the show, singing "One Voice." Later, she performed "Joy to the World" with Melinda Doolittle.

Glover sang on Broadway in the show “Home For the Holidays, Live on Broadway” which was presented November 17 to December 30, 2017, at the August Wilson Theatre. Other vocal performers included Josh Kaufman, Bianca Ryan, Peter Hollens and Evynne Hollens.[19]

Glover says she wants to be a counselor to help girls through what she went through as a teenager. Nicki Minaj broke down in tears after Glover's performance of "Next to Me", saying that Glover has gotten so much more confident during her time on the show. Glover said she would never wear a dress on Idol, but she eventually wore one during her performance of "Somewhere," "You've Changed" by Billie Holiday and the finale. After this, girls began tweeting her saying she was their inspiration and that she made them feel more confident. Her musical influences include Christina Aguilera, Jazmine Sullivan and Brandy.[20] In 2011, Sullivan retweeted Glover's YouTube cover of "Chasing Pavements" by Adele and called it "amazing". Glover once again performed this song on the finale of American Idol.

• List of Idols winners

• Official website
• Candice Glover discography at Discogs
• Candice Glover on American Idol
• Candice Glover at IMDb