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The iconic record executive Clive Davis has been a ubiquitous force in the music industry for decades, whether discovering the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Whitney Houston, Billy Joel and Alicia Keys, his legendary pre-Grammy galas, or launching Arista Records, to his current perch as chief creative officer of Sony Music Entertainment. So it stands to reason that when the city of New York needed someone to help produce an iconic show held on Central Park’s Great Lawn to help signal the return of city life, they called on Davis to mastermind what’s morphed into a genre-spanning affair.
Dubbed We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert, headliners range from the aforementioned Springsteen to Andrea Bocelli, Barry Manilow, Jennifer Hudson, Maluma and Paul Simon, to name just a few. On the eve of the concert, Davis spoke to Billboard about assembling a who’s who of top talent, the artists who got away (Olivia Rodrigo!) and how Hudson embodies the spirit of Aretha Franklin. “I’m in show business, so I’m not going to tell you what she’s going to sing, but I think she’s going to knock your socks off.”
The big show is right around the corner. Have there been any last-minute developments or surprises?
There have been no surprises and really no changes. The thing that has knocked me out has been the number of artists, as they have been rehearsing on the Great Lawn in Central Park, who have either called, texted me or emailed me saying what a wonderful occasion this is and the power of the venue. Apart from the purpose of the concert, we all know the history of who has played in Central Park and the iconic concerts there. The stage that has been constructed for the event is also awesome, and all of these artists are so knocked out by it all. It’s been so gratifying to hear from them as they prepare for tomorrow.
I’m wondering about the shows or performances you’ve seen in your life. What has been the most memorable ever for you, whether in terms of an iconic moment in music history or the venue?
I will have to say that personally, in my life, the most life-affecting performance came from the first artist I ever signed, and that was Janis Joplin. I did get an epiphany then. I had no idea that when I became head of Columbia Records that I would even personally sign an artist. We were in the midst of a cultural, social and music revolution. I’m sitting there being so viscerally, physically, emotionally affected by this performer who I had never heard of. I was just determined that I would sign her and it turned out I had to buy out her contract. Certainly making that decision after seeing that electrifying performance was the most influential and personally important result of a concert appearance in my life.
That’s incredible. When it comes to the We Love NYC concert, the lineup is so eclectic, from Bruce to Bocelli to A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie. How do you even settle on who to choose? I’m sure there were managers and agents calling you saying, “Clive, please! My client! They need to be part of this show!” So how do you balance that task as a producer and a creative mind who is putting together a singular show with such an eclectic roster?
It’s no different of a criteria than when you sign an artist when you’re in A&R at whatever level of hierarchy you are. For me, I make those judgment calls every year when I have my Grammy party. Everybody is in the room; every label, every top officer is there. It’s non-denominational in that it’s artists I have chosen from every label to represent music and the best of the year, or like when I brought Johnny Mathis on to sing a medley of his greatest hits because I wanted Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus to hear them.
Obviously for We Love NYC, the first artists I called were those who I was personally involved with. I’m so proud of them now that it’s 40, 50 years later, whether Bruce Springsteen, Earth, Wind & Fire, Santana or Paul Simon. For them to still be able to fill stadiums everywhere is gratifying. I did want to go and represent every genre of music represented here too. All 75 members of the New York Philharmonic will open the concert, and then when you think of Latin music, Maluma is such an electrifying name, presence and performer. We did run into some artists who had previous contracted gigs and were unable; they would have loved to do it but were booked that day or in a far-enough place away that they couldn’t get to it. When it comes to hip-hop, I first called LL Cool J to talk about it; he’s a colleague and a friend and we’ve known each other for years. The criteria there was to have iconic New York rappers and reflect what New York has meant to the hip-hop revolution and its emergence and explosion, while trying to bring it up to date as well. We went back and forth and I left it to him, and the suggestions were Melle Mel, Busta Rhymes and Rev Run, and ultimately A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie. That segment, where all of them will be sharing the Great Lawn stage, will be so exciting and that’s how it developed.
When it comes to the coronavirus, the danger of the delta variant wasn’t as clear and present when the event was announced as it is today. Neil Young recently dropped out of Farm Aid and Gram Parsons also canceled his tour. How do you deal with something so rapidly changing and what are your thoughts on the immediate future of concerts?
My thoughts are, we should all be vigilant. I’m not from the school of not doing anything. I’m from the school of promoting and advocating and speaking out for vaccination. We are implementing all the safety guidelines from the mayor’s office and we’re in touch with them daily. They made a condition that everybody be vaccinated. Also, the capacity of the Great Lawn as we all know is well over a half-million people; here the maximum will be 60,000 people. Look, I leave it to the medical authorities. I believe in science, I believe in their warnings. I believe in their guidelines, and we have been following them. Hopefully with everybody getting vaccinated and booster shots, we will recover from this lethal period.
Even closing in on 90 years old, you’re one of the most active and vibrant personalities in the industry. What has the past year and change been like for you in quarantine?
Well, personally, I’ve been active as a co-producer of the Whitney Houston biopic. So it’s been my responsibility to bring as much information on Whitney as possible so that her truthful story can be told as it deserves to be told, [especially since it] has not yet even remotely been told. We don’t want to whitewash or soften the affliction and addiction that tragically befell her, but to put in perspective why she was the greatest contemporary singer of our lives. So I’ve been meeting with the actress and director, and that’s been one of my prime projects. In normal circumstances, Sony wonderfully every day distributes what amounts to six inches worth of press that comes out about music, entertainment and film in every aspect, so I don’t normally read books, frankly. [There’s no time] between reading all of those articles, as well as listening to music as it hits the hearts with riveting or critical attention that will make me listen to the brand-new artists. It’s about keeping abreast and current to guard against going over the hill after so many years. People in music and executives sometimes get frozen in the years, but [you have to know] that music will change and always does change and not be resistant to new sounds. I must say that during that period, I continued to do all of that and read publications like New York Times, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone or what have you. But in quarantine, in addition, I did read books, whether Barack Obama’s A Promised Land, Michele Obama’s Becoming or the Mike Nichols biography. So it did give me time to catch up on my nonfiction reading.
You mentioned Whitney Houston. This year was the 30th anniversary of her iconic rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the Super Bowl. Were you there?
I was not physically there when she sang it, but I was certainly overwhelmed [watching it on TV]. At that time or since I had never, ever, ever heard the national anthem sung with such urgency, inspiration or emotional impact. She deserves that recognition as having given the greatest performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner” ever.
Is it correct you released it as a single immediately after, because of the demand?
Yes. Yes. And the reaction was terrific.
What’s the status of the Whitney movie?
Well, they’re ready to go into production next month. It will be produced in Boston, and they’re getting ready to shoot it.
Switching gears to another icon: It’s been reported that Aretha Franklin said she wanted Jennifer Hudson specifically to play her in Respect, which just came out. I’m wondering what the two performers had in common and what made Jennifer so perfect to play that role? Who else knows both singers better than you?
Well, I was the advocate of Jennifer Hudson. I was the one who brought her to Aretha’s attention. There were a lot of people who had her ear when it came to other candidates, but she knew that the combination of being able to bring the magnitude and depth of soulfulness into her performance, she was the one that would be the best representative candidate of Aretha’s voice and the one who can deliver musically.
How was that decision ultimately made?
Aretha was not giving the go-ahead, but one night it was the eve of my pre-Grammy gala, and I had kept a secret that Jennifer would perform a tribute to Aretha. Aretha didn’t come that year as it was in Los Angeles and she didn’t fly, so I called her and said, “I would love to be able to announce Jennifer as being cast as you in the movie when I bring her to the stage, considering the whole industry, press and media are there. Would you give me permission?” And she gave me permission. And that’s the day I knew Jennifer would play Aretha.
I think that also speaks to your instinct as a producer and promoter, as you know the eyes of the industry are on her at that moment. It would have already been a special performance, but sharing that news right before it was a brilliant move on your part.
Well, I hope you’ll watch the [We Love NYC] concert because you’re going to be… I’m in show business, so I’m not going to tell you what she’s going to sing but I think she’s going to knock your socks off.
I’m wondering if you’re seeing new talents out there who, in your perspective, might have staying power. What are your thoughts on someone like Olivia Rodrigo?
You know, I like her a lot. I like “Drivers License,” and I did offer Olivia the opportunity to perform at the We Love NYC concert, and she and her manager and agent all responded positively. She did have a previous commitment that would not allow for her to perform, but I was very impressed and I would have had her on the show if she were available. So yes, I endorse her and I think she’s a special talent.
Legendary producer George Martin’s secluded, idyllic Air Studios on the lush Caribbean island of Montserrat birthed such classic albums as Dire Straits’ Brothers in Arms, The Police’s Ghost in the Machine and Synchronicity, Eric Clapton’s Behind the Sun, Paul McCartney’s Tug of War and Jimmy Buffett’s Volcano. Then, a hurricane and volcano eruption literally wiped it off the map.
The story of the magical recording studio, which operated from 1979 to 1989, is told through archival and fresh interviews and footage in Under the Volcano, a new documentary from Universal Pictures Content Group, available now on Apple TV, Amazon and YouTube, as well as on demand via all major cable carriers for either $5.99 or $6.99.
In addition to such artists as Buffett, The Police’s Sting and Andy Summers, Dire Straits’ Mark Knopfler, Duran Duran’s Nick Rhodes and Earth, Wind & Fire’s Verdine White, plus Martin and his son Giles, the documentary includes interviews with studio staffers, including Desmond the bartender and George the chef, whose stories provide a continuous thread to not only the studio, but the island.
For some artists like The Police, Montserrat provided a chance to escape as their careers exploded. Though, as Summers notes in the film, all three members started divorce proceedings while recording Ghost in the Machine and the band went through periods of not speaking to each other until Martin intervened. For others, like Lou Reed and Rhodes, the location was too remote and pastoral to provide the energy they needed.
No album recorded at Montserrat captured the vibe so much as Buffett’s 1979 set, Volcano, which takes its name and title track from Buffett’s experiences there. The cover artwork is a painting, perhaps prophetic, of the green island with the Soufrière Hill volcano spewing smoke in the background.
Buffett, who was the second artist to record in the studio, tells Billboard that Martin, whom he and his producer Norbert Putnam met in London while recording a live album, “was one of the most charming characters. He didn’t have to hard-sell me at all about Montserrat.”
But just as intrigued as he was by the new studio and Martin, the real appeal was proximity and transportation. “By that time I was pretty well-established on St. Bart’s,” he says. “I had never been able to sail to work on my boat and I thought that alone was worth going to Montserrat for.”
He and his band set up there for three weeks and the album’s title track came very quickly. “We were all living in houses around there and [songwriter/band member] Keith Sykes came up to the house,” Buffett says. “We were working on other songs we had started back in the States and Keith was looking out the window and sang the line, ‘I don’t know/ I don’t know/ I don’t know where I’m a gonna go/ When the volcano blow.’ I said, ‘What did you just say?’ That night we wrote it and cut it the next day.” The song is a staple in Buffett’s live show to this day, as is the other hit from the set, “Fins.”
Buffett remembers the entire episode as charmed — even if the power would occasionally go out in the middle of a take or the studio keepers’ stiff British upper lips and rules occasionally clashed with Buffett and band’s more low-key approach. Buffett wanted to bring in some local players to appear on the record, which he know would be frowned upon, so he waited until the day the studio manager went fishing to sneak them in.
In stories that sound almost apocryphal, Buffett remembers asking the locals about a steel pan player to play on Volcano. The good news, a local told Buffett, was that there was a musician from Trinidad on the island. “‘The bad news is he’s hiding out in the jungle because he’s on the run,’” Buffett recalls being told. “He said, ‘I think he was in a coup d’etat in Trinidad, so he’s hiding out here.’ We made a deal. Jackie Dangler was his name. He appeared out of the jungle and played on the record and went back in.”
In another story that didn’t make the documentary, Buffett went back to Montserrat a few years later to possibly interest Martin in using a helicopter service Buffett was helping some friends in St. Maarten get off the ground. Buffett flew in and landed at the studio, interrupting a studio session with Clapton, Phil Collins and famed studio musicians Duck Dunn and Steve Cropper, and went to lunch with Martin. “We got into the helicopter to leave and I saw police cars coming up the hill to the studio,” Buffett recalls. “A few months later, I ran into Duck Dunn and he told me [the police] thought the island was being invaded by drug dealers or there was a coup and the army came out. The people who gave us permission to land didn’t tell the tower, so they thought they were being invaded…but people did start using the helicopter after that.”
The Rolling Stones’ Steel Wheels was the last album recorded at Montserrat in 1989. Later that year, Hurricane Hugo hit, leaving 11,000 of the 12,000 people on the island without their homes, according to the documentary. “We weren’t able to get back to Montserrat for six weeks,” Martin said in an archival interview. “The piano keys were covered in moss.” By 1989, he adds, technology was changing as more artists began using digital technology, making the studio obsolete. Then, in 1995, the volcano erupted, leaving the island looking like a nuclear winter. “You bring something out of nothing and it always goes back to nothing again,” Martin says in the film. But as the documentary attests, the music and stories remain.
“While making the film, we identified thematic veins that we wanted to tap into throughout the narrative. These included themes such as isolation and its impact on creative freedom, the nature of celebrity, nostalgia, and the impermanence of existence,” said director/co-writer Gracie Otto in the film’s notes. “I also intended for the island of Montserrat to be a leading character in and of itself. Its isolation, its starkness, its black sands and its now post-apocalyptic landscape — all of these provide a background to the creation and ultimate destruction of AIR. And of course, the volcano on the island is an ever-present backdrop to the action. It stands as a reminder of the power of nature, and the impermanence of our existence.”
A lawsuit filed against H.E.R., as well as DJ Camper, Justin Love and Sony Music Entertainment, over the 2016 song “Focus” has reached a settlement, Billboard has learned.
The complaint, which was filed in the U.S. District Court in Southern New York in June 2020, alleged that the song “Focus” intentionally infringed upon Andre Sims’ original composition “Endless Minds” without receiving his consent or giving him compensation. Sims, a songwriter and piano player who’s worked with artists like Stevie Wonder, created the song in 2004, posted it on Instagram and YouTube in 2015, and registered it with the U.S. Copyright Office in January 2020.
During an Instagram Live video, Camper (real name Darhyl Camper Jr.) said Sims’ song “Endless Minds” did inspire the melody of “Focus,” which he co-wrote with H.E.R. (real name Gabriella Wilson) and Love (real name Justin Anthony Barroso) and co-produced with H.E.R. Sims initially filed a $3 million lawsuit that accused the trio and the song’s distributor Sony of copyright infringement and requested injunctive and monetary relief.
The original complaint alleged, “To write and record ‘Focus,’ and ultimately to produce, perform, distribute and otherwise exploit ‘Focus,’ Defendants [H.E.R., Camper, Love and Sony] copied ‘Endless Minds,’ to which they had prior access, resulting in the song ‘Focus,’ which is so similar to ‘Endless Minds’ that the ordinary observer could easily determine that the songs sound the same in their essential compositional and other elements.”
Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
“I’m happy we could reach a resolution, and would like to thank everyone for their support and prayers,” Sims said in an official statement. He’s represented by James L. Walker Jr. and Renorda Pryor. Walker, of the Atlanta-based law firm J. Walker and Associates LLP, previously sued Sony BMG Music Entertainment for interfering with their musical clients’ contractual relationships in 2005.
“At this point, we have nothing more to say then we are pleased to see the case resolved and settled. Now, all parties can move on with their lives,” Walker said. “Special thanks to all of the attorneys involved who worked tirelessly to close this matter out.”
Reps for H.E.R. had not returned Billboard’s request for comment at press time.
While “Focus” barely cracked the Billboard Hot 100, hitting No. 100 in 2018, it secured the singer/songwriter her first-ever No. 1 on a Billboard songs chart when it topped the Adult R&B Airplay tally the same year. “Focus” dethroned Ella Mai’s “Boo’d Up” to reach the top spot but eventually lost to Mai’s hit at both the 2018 Soul Train Music Awards, where “Focus” was up for the Ashford & Simpson’s songwriters award, and 2019 Grammy Awards, where H.E.R.’s song was nominated for best R&B song. H.E.R. performed “Focus” at the 2018 BET Awards, on the Today show in 2019 and, most recently, at her Hollywood Bowl show with the LA Philharmonic last week.
Tom T. Hall, known for penning hits including Jeannie C. Riley’s massive 1968 pop and country smash “Harper Valley P.T.A.,” as well as his own crossover hit “I Love,” died Aug. 20, 2021, at age 85.
Nicknamed “The Storyteller,” Hall, who was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2019, was renowned for his songs’ rich narratives, vivid descriptions and homespun observations.
“Somebody said, ‘Tom T. Hall and Kristofferson, they’re the only two guys who can describe Dolly Parton without using their hands,’” Hall quipped in a 2019 interview with Billboard’s Tom Roland prior to his Songwriters Hall of Fame induction.
“Few could tell a story like Tom T. Hall,” Country Music Association CEO Sarah Trahern said in a statement following his death. “As a singer, songwriter and instrumentalist, he was one of those triple threat artists who continued to make an impact on the next generation. I’ll always remember growing up listening to Tom T.’s music with my father, who was a huge bluegrass and Country fan.”
Hall was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 1971, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1978, the Kentucky Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002, and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008. He received the poet’s award from the Academy of Country Music in 2010.
“Tom T. Hall’s masterworks vary in plot, tone, and tempo, but they are bound by his ceaseless and unyielding empathy for the triumphs and losses of others,” Country Music Hall of Fame CEO Kyle Young posted following news of Hall’s death. “My bet is we won’t see the likes of him again, but if we do I’ll be first in line for tickets to the show.”
Hall, who often gifted friends with homemade moonshine from his own still, was born May 25, 1936, in Olive Hill, Ky. By the time he was a teenager, Hall had joined his first bluegrass band, the Kentucky Travelers. He also worked as a DJ before he joined the Army in 1957.
When he returned to Virginia following his military service, he impressed Nashville publisher Jimmy Key, and Key placed Hall’s “D.J. for a Day” with Jimmy C. Newman, who earned a Hot Country Songs top 10 hit with it in 1963-64.
Hall moved to Nashville on New Year’s Day 1964 from Virginia, with a publishing deal in hand. He earned his first No. 1 as a songwriter in 1965 when “Hello Vietnam,” recorded by Johnny Wright, topped Hot Country Songs. Cuts by dozens of artists followed, including by Johnny Cash, Bobby Bare, Loretta Lynn,Waylon Jennings and, more recently, Alan Jackson’s Hot Country Songs No. 1 “Little Bitty” in 1996.
Though a rarity now, Hall tended to write alone instead of enlisting other songwriters. “I said very arrogantly one time that writing a song is like writing a letter to your mother: You don’t need three or four guys to help you do it,” Hall told Billboard in 2019. “I know that sounds arrogant, but I was just never any good at it.”
Mercury Records Nashville signed Hall to his own recording contract, though Hall doubted being an artist was his strength. He was wrong. Fans and radio gravitated toward his conversational delivery.
“I was listening to the radio one day, and somebody said, ‘That sounds like a Tom T. Hall song,’” he told Billboard. “I said, ‘I must be doing something a little different than everybody else because now there’s such a thing as a Tom T. Hall song, and I’m going to buy into that.’ We look for a little distinction in the world to tell one person from another.”
As an artist, Hall amassed 50 songs on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, including seven No. 1 hits: “A Week in Country Jail,” “The Year That Clayton Delaney Died,” “(Old Dogs-Children And) Watermelon Wine,” “I Love,” “Country Is,” “I Care” and “Faster Horses (The Cowboy and the Poet).”
Hall’s highest-charting hit on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 as an artist was “I Love,” which reached No. 12 in March 1974.
Hall landed seven top 10 albums on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart, including reaching No. 1 on that chart with The Rhymer and Other Five and Dimers in June 1973.
He received seven CMA Awards nominations over the course of his career, including five in 1973 alone, though he never took home an award. He was nominated that year for entertainer, male vocalist and album, single and song of the year.
He garnered six Grammy nods, including song of the year (1968) for writing “Harper Valley, P.T.A.,” but he won his only Grammy in an unlikely category: best album notes for writing the liner notes for his 1972 album Tom T. Hall’s Greatest Hits.
Long after he had retired as a songwriter, a few of Hall’s songs found favor with beer brands, much to his and his pocketbook’s delight. Michelob Ultra used his 1975 hit “I Like Beer” in a 2018 commercial, while Coors Light, more improbably, licensed the sentimental “I Love” for an advertising campaign.
“It enhanced my bank account a half-million dollars,” Hall said of the Coors campaign. “I heard the commercials all the time, but I had no idea what they were singing about. That’s why they paid so much money for it: They wanted the ability to rewrite it.”
In addition to his gifts as a songwriter, he also provided solace just by his presence as a towering figure in Nashville. “In 1978 when we sang at Mama Maybelle Carter’s funeral, a saddened Johnny Cash walked up to the podium and asked Tom T. Hall to stand with him,” the Oak Ridge Boys posted on Twitter. “Johnny said ‘I draw strength from you Tom!’ Thank you Tom T. Hall for the song’s and the strength you provided to so many.”
Hall’s beloved wife of 50 years, Dixie — a songwriter herself, whom he met at the BMI Country Awards in 1964 — died in 2015. He is survived by his son, Dean.
–Assistance in preparing this story provided by Jessica Nicholson and Paul Grein
UPDATE: Syesha Mercado’s partner, Tyler Deener, announced in a video posted Friday (Aug. 20) that they had been reunited with their infant daughter, Ast, after handing her over to authorities earlier this month. “AST IS HOME!!!!” the four-minute video is captioned. “#BringRaHome POWER TO THE PEOPLE!!!!!!” The couple is still fighting for the return of their toddler son, Amen’Ra, who was put in foster care in February.
Original story: Former American Idol third-place finisher Syesha Mercado is fighting to regain custody of her two young children, both of whom have been removed from her care by Florida authorities over the past six months.
The 34 year-old posted an hour-long video Aug. 11 of what she said was footage of a fleet of sheriff’s officers surrounding her car and removing her 10-day-old infant daughter as the singer cried, “This is so wrong! This is my baby! My baby is healthy and happy! … I’m not a danger to my baby!”
The post, captioned, “THEY TOOK OUR BABY AGAIN!” came more than six months after her toddler son was placed into foster care in February. The action was taken after the singer and her partner, Tyron Deener, took 1-year-old Amen’Ra to a hospital in St. Petersburg, Fla., for treatment for dehydration as he struggled to gain weight while transitioning from breast milk to solid foods, according to a group supporting Mercado, We Have the Right to be Right.
The Manatee Sheriff’s Office told Billboard that law enforcement “executed a pick-up order signed by a family court judge” on Aug. 10.
The Herald-Tribune reported that authorities took the baby girl to the hospital after deputies gave the couple a court order to turn her over for a checkup even after they informed the officers that they had been to the doctor the day before. At press time, it was unclear if the infant was still in custody, but sheriff’s deputies told NBC News that they took the baby girl because the couple failed to inform authorities that Mercado had given birth in the middle of the custody battle over Amen’Ra.
According to NBC, Amen’Ra was assessed in February by Dr. Sally Smith, a physician who was the subject of a USA Today investigation over accusations that she was too quick to diagnose child abuse. A review of hundreds of Smith’s cases reportedly found more than a dozen instances where charges were dropped or parents were acquitted after a traumatizing experience.
As they plead with authorities in the video, Deener says, “Can you have some empathy? Y’all done took our son, now you’re taking our daughter,” telling authorities that the couple asked that all questions go through their attorney, which he claims did not happen. Deener assures officers in the video that the baby had gone in for a checkup the day before and was deemed healthy.
Amen’Ra was placed into the Manatee Child Protective Services by order of a judge. The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office also told Billboard that it had received information from Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital abuse line that the boy was “suffering from severe malnutrition/failure to thrive,” which, according to NBC, Mercado disputed.
Amen’Ra was later reportedly discharged to a white foster family — Mercado and Deener are Black — with Mercado saying she was not informed and no family members were contacted for possible placement. Mercado gave birth to her daughter in the midst of the legal fight over custody of Amen’Ra.
At press time, Mercado and Deener had raised $388,170 (of a $200,000 goal) on a GoFundMe in which she says her son has been “kidnapped by the System” after she claimed authorities said the couple refused a B12 shot for Amen’Ra. “We never refused a B12 shot, and at no point was he on the verge of death,” she wrote on the GFM page. Billboard has reached out to Mercado for comment; a spokesperson for the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office’s Child Protection Unit had not yet returned requests for comment.
In addition to finishing third on the seventh season of Idol, Mercado has toured in Dreamgirls and performed in the Broadway company of The Book of Mormon, and was honored with a Syesha Mercado day in Sarasota in May 2008.
See the video of the police action below. (Warning: Clip contains intense situations.)
