Amber Riley is a force of nature. That is why when she belted out "I Have Nothing," disguised as The Harp on "The Masked Singer" earlier this year, fans were already quick to tell that it was her.
Despite flying relatively under the radar in the past few years, Amber Riley surely had "Glee" fans fixated on her talent and iconic voice.
Playing the sassy and soulful Mercedes Jones on "Glee" for six seasons is enough for the millions of the show's fans around the world to easily distinguish her just from her voice alone.
In the span of six seasons, Riley performed a lot of Whitney Houston tracks on the show, especially songs from the musical and movie "Dreamgirls."
In the first season, Riley, through her character Mercedes, cemented her vocal dominance on the group, with her powerful performance of a classic "Dreamgirls" hit - "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going."
Since then, Riley had been the go-to artist who performs anything Whitney, or anything "Dreamgirls."
She even performed "It's All Over" with some of the cast on Season 3, and "I Am Changing" with Chris Colfer.
Very recently, Amber Riley surprised everyone when she won "The Masked Singer" Season 8. This is apart from her huge win on "Dancing With The Stars" a few years back.
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Basking on the glory of her win, Riley was fortunate enough to become a guest on "The Jennifer Hudson Show." For some, this might seem to be a normal occurrence, as it is common for show winners to do so. But for longtime Gleeks, this is iconic as both singers have played Effie White from "Dreamgirls."
Shortly after "Glee," Amber Riley went to West End to become Effie White in the British production of "Dreamgirls," while, Hudson, sealed her Oscar Award for Effie White in 2006's movie adaptation of "Dreamgirls."
The two were all out singing the famous Effie White song. But as for Amber, playing Effie and winning "The Masked Singer" and "Dancing With The Stars" is something close to her.
"I started out on Glee as Mercedes Jones and her character was always fighting for the spotlight, and then I did Effie in Dreamgirls," Riley revealed. "Having her story being this gift and not being able to be out in the front. And I felt that. And so I feel like doing things like Masked Singer, doing things like Dancing With the Stars, I get to be the winner for those stories. It's just full circle for me."
In 2017, Amber Riley won her Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for "Dreamgirls."
READ ALSO: Amber Riley Now 2022: Net Worth, 'Glee', 'The Masked Singer' Champion, West End?
