The Wé Ani Story

Wé made it all the way to the Top 3 on "The Voice." It all started with an audition scored by her dad.

Wé released her first single in summer 2018. It was an anthem called “Head Up High,” which she co-wrote with Kylie Rothfield, a fellow contestant from Season 11 of "The Voice" on NBC. Be there as she performs the song during a sold-out show at Joe's Pub, a nightclub in lower Manhattan. (Photo by Kevin R. Wexler/NorthJersey.com)

Wé records her debut album producer Andre Betts in the same Hackensack studio where her career began during a music summer camp eight years earlier. Listen to Episode 5 our podcast The Wé Ani Story for the inside story on how the album was made.

Think you know Wé Ani? Behind the scenes, her parents Mac and Jackie tell the story of raising Wé. Music runs in their family. Mac once served as a personal manager for The Village People. Now he manages his daughter’s career. (Photo by Kevin R. Wexler/NorthJersey.com)

The little girl with the big voice and a commanding stage presence, Wé still calls herself “an awkward person." We dedicate this episode to hearing We and only We talk openly about her life and music, including songs on her new extended play album, "Wé Ani". (Photo by Kevin R. Wexler/NorthJersey.com)

The final episode: At long last, Wé debuts the songs on her latest EP during a live concert at the Gramercy Theater in New York City in the summer of 2018, nearly a year after she began recording. In this final episode of "The Wé McDonald Ani," We and her mentors reflect on the young artist's future, near and long-term. (Photo by Kevin R. Wexler/NorthJersey.com)

Wé Ani began singing at age 12 and rose to fame on "American Idol" and "The Voice." But she was harboring a painful childhood secret that even her parents didn't know. (Photo by Kevin R. Wexler/NorthJersey.com)

Long before We Ani became a finalist on "American Idol" and "The Voice," her friends and family discovered she had an amazing singing voice. 

Wé Ani, then known as Wé McDonald, had a busy and productive 2018. She released her first single "Head Up High", published her first children's book "Little Girl with the Big Voice", recorded her first album "We Ani" and performed in New York, Houston and Chicago. The Record was granted behind-the-scene access as the Paterson singer-songwriter moved beyond her third-place finish on the 2016 season of "The Voice."