Born in Baxley, Georgia, Solomon's family relocated to Fort Myers, Florida when she was an infant. Solomon attended high school at the Cypress Lake Center for the Arts. She holds a black belt in sembact martial arts; her father is a martial arts instructor. Her parents are Alice and Larry Goethie; Vonzell uses her mother's maiden name professionally. She has one older sister, Zanobra, and two brothers, Kendall and Gabriel. Solomon auditioned for P-Diddy's Making The Band in the second season of the show but was not selected for the group. Diddy himself says that he does not remember her and later stated on Live with Regis and Kelly that Solomon was not well suited for a hip-hop group. In April 2004, Solomon released a demo CD, My Struggle.
American Idol
Prior to auditioning for American Idol, Solomon worked for the United States Postal Service as a mail carrier and sung with local bands in southwest Florida.
Solomon auditioned for the fourth season of the show in Orlando, Florida and placed third behind runner-up Bo Bice and winner Carrie Underwood. This was the second time Solomon had auditioned for the show, as she had originally auditioned during the second season but was cut by the producers. She made the Top 12 of American Idol on February 28, 2005 and in her first performance in the Top 12, judge Simon Cowell said she needed to do something memorable to make it far in the competition. During the Top 11 performances which was Billboard #1's week which Solomon performed Best Of My Love by The Emotions and Cowell said that, that was her first memorable performance of the competition and Solomon finally made 3rd place. On May 18, 2005 Solomon was voted off during choice selections week after her three performances: "I'll Never Love This Way Again" by Dionne Warwick, "Chain of Fools" by Aretha Franklin, and "On the Radio" by Donna Summer. Her elimination left contestants Carrie Underwood and Bo Bice in the Idol finale.
Post-American Idol
Solomon is featured on the Dear Santa holiday compilation album with a rendition of "O Come All Ye Faithful" alongside Alicia Keys, Nick Lachey, and other well-known recording artists. She has also shot footage for a cameo role in the 2007 independent film Still Green. She also recorded a song for a Christmas album, "Breaking For The Holidays" called "It's Gonna Be A Cold Cold Christmas."
She is the CEO at her independent record label, Melodic Records. Before starting the company, she was the highest-finishing American Idol contestant to not get signed to a recording contract afterward. She also became a paid spokesperson for the United States Postal Service, as she was a mail carrier before her "Idol" appearances.
In mid-2006, it was announced that Vonzell had a planned record. The record has gone into development hell, and since then not much has been heard about her record. Later Vonzell's representatives claimed that none of the "media's speculations" were true and that they just hit a few bumps along the road. Her CD, My Struggle, under the artist name Baby V, was released to Itunes on January 9, 2007. Fans are expecting Vonzell's professional musical career to begin late 2007, which is when she plans a release of an actual single from her mostly completed album.
On May 17, 2007 a fire erupted in Solomon's Fort Myers, Florida home. Authorities suspect that an electrical malfunction in the attic to be the cause. The fire was accidental in nature. Damage to the home was estimated at more than $200,000. Solomon was not injured. However, a family pet, a small dog, died in the fire. After discovering the fire, Solomon called 911 from a neighbor’s home. The 911 call was received at 11:25 p.m., and firefighters from the South Trail Fire Department had the fire under control at 11:45 p.m.
