From 28 Spotify listeners to a 2026 NAACP Image Award nomination, Lee Vasi is finally making music on her own terms and it shows.
There are artists who chase the spotlight, and then there are artists who find it by stepping away from it entirely. Lee Vasi belongs to the second kind. The Atlanta-based Christian R&B singer started performing as a child, playing Young Nala in The Lion King on Broadway at just 10 years old and writing her first songs backstage.
Years later, she appeared on American Idol, moved to Atlanta, and then went quiet. When she came back in 2023, she had 28 monthly listeners on Spotify and nothing to prove. That turned out to be exactly the right conditions. Her debut album Love Me to Life earned a 2026 NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding New Artist, and her new single Worthy is already striking a nerve.
You were performing as Young Nala in The Lion King on Broadway at just 10 years old and writing songs at the same age. When did you know music was your thing?
I never really started singing consciously. Music was always just a part of me. My mom said when I was a little toddler, I was humming to myself and mimicking melodies. Songwriting was more of a choice I made when I was around 10. I started wanting to tell my own stories, but music has just always been a part of me.
You appeared on American Idol in 2018 and then stepped away. A lot of people would have kept pushing. What made you decide to pause?
After American Idol, I moved to Atlanta and started songwriting. That’s really how I made the transition from theater to the music industry. And then COVID hit. Like everybody else, I started thinking differently about my life and had to evaluate the things that really mattered to me.
In the middle of that, I started struggling with my mental health, and I needed to recalibrate and reset. That’s really when I started to build a relationship with God for the first time, in that season where I was asking, who am I if I’m not singing? Who am I if I’m not entertaining? Finding God during that pause is ultimately what brought me back to music.
When you returned in 2023, how did it feel different from everything that came before?
I have to admit I was less thirsty. I was such a little kid on such big stages, always just trying to get to that next big thing. I think when I stopped making music my whole life is when it started to work. When I started releasing music again in 2023, I really was just doing it to express myself to God. I had 28 monthly listeners on Spotify.
No one was checking for me. I just had it on my heart to get these songs out, songs that were really healing for me and an expression of that healing journey with God. And it just so happened that they started going viral. As soon as you’re not as intensely pursuing it is when it started to work for me.
Your debut album Love Me to Life landed you a 2026 NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding New Artist. How did it feel to be seen and affirmed by your community that way?
It was everything. It was my first nomination of my career, and I literally could not believe it. My knees were shaking when I found out. It really is so cool to build a platform off your real-life experiences, watch the audience grow, and then start getting industry recognition. I’m extremely humbled and honored by the recognition from the NAACP, and also by everything the NAACP does for our community. I’m deeply rooted in understanding how important it is to be acknowledged by them, so I’m so grateful.
So let’s talk about the new single, Worthy. Where did it come from?
Worthy comes from the girl I was when I thought toxic relationships were normal, when I thought being treated badly in a relationship was normal. I wanted to write a song for that girl, to show her some love and remind her of her worth, that love shouldn’t hurt her. The music is just a reflection of the real-life journey. I’ve been through some mess with relationships, really because I just didn’t understand my worth.
I wanted to go back and write a song for that girl I was then, and for people who might need a reminder that they’re worth more than rubies, that they deserve kind love just because, not because they have to prove it. You deserve that just because you are.
Your music sits at the intersection of R&B, gospel, and spirituality. How do you navigate bringing faith into mainstream spaces?
As a songwriter, all I can do is write about my life, and my faith happens to be a huge part of my life. I literally would not be alive today were it not for my faith in Jesus, and that’s my lived experience, so that’s what I’m writing about.
I think the fact that my music has been able to live in so many different types of spaces culturally is really just a testament to how alike we all are as people and how we’re all looking for healing and peace. I just happened to find mine in my faith. There are a lot of people who do relate to it, so I just focus on them and lean in.
What does 2026 look like for you?
I try to live by just not limiting myself. I can make plans, but God always has so much better plans for me. Right now, I’m thinking about more music. With Worthy, I want to go on that same journey for the girl I was when I first started getting curious about God, when I first started to be tired of toxic relationships, when I first started to be tired of being messy in a lot of different kinds of ways. I want to go back and write music for that girl. Everyone can expect me to get up close and personal about my mess this year. I’m excited.
Where can people find Worthy and follow you?
Worthy is literally anywhere you can listen to music. It’s on all streaming platforms, and so is all of my music. You can find me on social media at @leeleevasi on all platforms. Take a listen and let me know what you think.