The last of the three won out. At the ages of 11 and 15, he performed at Harlem's Apollo Theatre; during his later appearance, he placed second in a competition after singing Trey Songz' "Gotta Go." Within a few years, he was opening for national acts such as Bow Wow and Hurricane Chris when their tours hit the Washington, D.C. area. While working on an album for an independent label, Canty was sidetracked by a successful audition for the U.S. version of The X Factor. Mentored by L.A. Reid, he advanced through the first season of the talent contest with his versions of K-Ci & JoJo's "All My Life," Culture Club's "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me," Rose Royce's "I'm Going Down," and Michael Jackson's "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)," among others. By the end of 2012, Canty signed a recording contract with Epic, appeared on the soundtrack for Think Like a Man with "Won't Make a Fool Out of You" (which peaked at number 69 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop chart), and released This Is Marcus Canty, an EP featuring the single "In & Out" (a number 56 hit on the same chart). ~ Andy Kellman