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Meet the adorable and truly gifted Amber Riley of Fox’s hit new show, “Glee.” Riley plays the divalicious Mercedes with a voice from heaven.

But things were not all flowers and sunshine for Amber. At 17, she tried out for American Idol, but was rejected (what’s going on AI? You missed J. Hud AND Amber? Letting the diamonds slip through the cracks).

After her attempts at becoming America’s Idol failed, she had a brief glimpse of stardom on the pilot for “Cedric The Entertainer Presents”, though she didn’t go very far. However, the talent of Amber could not be denied, and the thanks to her brief moment on the show, was seen and picked up by the producers of “Glee”.

Aside from her powerhouse voice and acting skills, Amber is also a fashion forward young lady who refuses to be defined by her size.

She recently sat down with Life & Style magazine about having body confidence.

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“You’re not your dress size, you’re not your shoe size, you’re not your pants size,” she said. “If I’m going to wear a name tag, it’s going to say ‘Amber Riley,’ not ‘Fat Girl’!”

Amber also spoke to the mag about fashion, which is one of her passions. She said that she loves shoes and prefers shapely silhouettes instead of “plus-size clothes that look like a tent.”

Amber, a size 16 who admires Queen Latifah and J. Hud, also made an appearance on “The Wendy Williams Show” last month to promote the show.

One thing is for certain, if Amber contains in the direction she’s going now, she’ll be quickly following in the steps of her idols and become a true force to be reckoned with!!!

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