Leon Thomas

Leon George Thomas III is an American singer, songwriter, musician, producer and actor whose career has moved from Broadway and children’s television to Grammy-winning R&B and major-label recording. Born in Brooklyn on August 1, 1993, he began performing as a child, appearing in Broadway productions of The Lion King, Caroline, or Change and The Color Purple during the 2000s. He also voiced Tyrone in the Nick Jr. series The Backyardigans from 2005 to 2008 and appeared in the 2007 film August Rush.

Thomas reached a broader television audience as Andre Harris on Nickelodeon’s Victorious, which ran from 2010 to 2013. As his acting profile grew, he increasingly concentrated on music, releasing three mixtapes and an EP through Rostrum Records while building a parallel career behind the boards. With Khris Riddick-Tynes, he formed the production duo The Rascals. In the 2010s, the pair worked as writers and producers with artists including Ariana Grande, Babyface, Drake, Rick Ross, SZA and Toni Braxton. Grande, Thomas’s Victorious co-star, was among the artists he collaborated with extensively during that period.

In 2022, Thomas signed with Ty Dolla Sign’s EZMNY Records and Motown. His work as a songwriter was recognized at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards, where he won Best R&B Song for co-writing SZA’s “Snooze.”

Thomas’s second album, Mutt, arrived in 2024 and became his first appearance on the Billboard 200. Its title track gave him his first solo entry on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number six. At the 68th Annual Grammy Awards, Mutt brought him six nominations, including Album of the Year and Best New Artist. He won Best R&B Album for Mutt and Best Traditional R&B Performance for “Vibes Don’t Lie.”