Marcus Canty

Marcus Canty (born January 22, 1991) is an American R&B and soul singer. He finished in fourth place in the first season of The X Factor USA.
Marcus Canty was born in Washington, DC and raised in Landover, Maryland by his single mother, Darlene M. Canty. He attended Columbia Park Elementary School in Landover, Maryland; Hyattsville Middle School, in Hyattsville, Maryland; DeMatha Catholic High School also in Hyattsville, Maryland; and graduated from Montrose Christian School in Rockville, Maryland. He started acting at the age of 3 in church plays and graduated to the big stage in an award winning OneStage production’s play titled, A Family That Prays Together. He didn't tap into his singing talent until the age of 11. His first public performance was at the world-famous Apollo Theater in New York where he won second place against adult and youth contenders. He continued singing in church, school choirs, county and state choirs, while also singing in talent shows and other competitions and events throughout the United States and Canada. While singing was something that came natural to Canty, basketball was his first real love. He began playing the sport at the age of eight and continued to play throughout high school until he was given an ultimatum of basketball or singing. Realizing that he would not be 6’9”tall, singing became his obvious choice, and he is now pursuing his dreams.
During his audition on the X-Factor, he sang "I Wish" by Stevie Wonder. His musical influences include Marvin Gaye, Luther Vandross, Stevie Wonder, Usher, Donny Hathaway, Boyz II Men, Mary J. Blige, Monica, Bobby Brown, and Whitney Houston. At judges' houses, he performed "All My Life" by K-Ci & JoJo. On the November 23 results show, he landed in the bottom 3 with Lakoda Rayne and LeRoy Bell, and had to sing off against Bell. He was saved by having more votes than Bell due to the judges being deadlocked. The following week, on December 1, he landed in the bottom 3 again along with Drew and Astro, and had to sing off against Drew. Simon Cowell voted to eliminate him, but Nicole Scherzinger, Paula Abdul and his mentor L.A. Reid voted to save him. Then, on December 8, he landed in the bottom 2 yet again, along with Rachel Crow. The judges went into deadlock for a second time, and he was saved by having more votes than Crow. In the semi-finals, Canty was eliminated by receiving the least number of votes, taking fourth place overall.
On January 18, 2012, Epic Records announced that Canty, along with two other contestants, who were also mentored by LA Reid, had all signed recording contracts.[1] On March 7, 2012, Canty released his first single “Won’t Make A Fool Out of You.” This single will be featured in the upcoming film Think Like a Man, an adaptation of Steve Harvey's book Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man. As of March 22, 2012, "Won't Make A Fool Out of You" charted at #98 on Billboard's R/B chart. It will be sent to urban AC radio stations on May 15, 2012[2] as the third single from the soundtrack. On July 31, Marcus released his second single, "In & Out," which featured Wale.