Marcus Canty

Marcus Canty (born January 22, 1991) is from Bowie, Maryland, where he currently lives. The Won't Make A Fool Out of You Songfacts states that Canty was born in Bowie, Maryland and raised there by his single mother Darlene Canty. At the age of 15, Canty performed at The Apollo Theater and the following year he auditioned for American Idol but was cut by the judges. Five years later he entered the first season of The X Factor USA. During his audition, he sang "I Wish" by Stevie Wonder.

His musical influences include Marvin Gaye, Luther Vandross, Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway, Boys 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.
As a result of his success on the show, Canty was given a recording contract in January 2012 by Epic Records. His first single, "Won't Make A Fool Out of You," was released on March 7, 2012.