Yolanda Adams

A powerhouse gospel singer who has played a significant role in expanding the genre's popularity, Yolanda Adams has retained a contemporary edge since debuting in the late-'80s. Her magnificent voice notwithstanding, the Texas native has parlayed her fashion savvy and strong R&B and soul influences into a vibrant gospel style that has regularly crossed over onto the pop charts. Her 1999 breakout, Mountain High Valley Low, was a platinum-selling success that helped introduce her to the masses and she went on to release a subsequent string of popular albums while launching a parallel career as a radio host. After 2011's Becoming, Adams stepped away from recording to focus on other aspects of her career. She mounted a comeback 13 years later with the release of 2024's Sunny Days, her 12th studio set.

The eldest of six siblings from Houston, Texas, Adams began her career as a school teacher during the mid-'80s while doing occasional modeling work on the side. Her mother had studied music while at college, so Adams grew up listening to jazz and classical along with gospel artists like James Cleveland and the Edwin Hawkins Singers and R&B acts like Stevie Wonder and Nancy Wilson. She got her start as a singer with Houston's Southeast Inspirational Choir, then later signed a contract with the Sounds of Gospel label which released her debut album, Just as I Am, in 1987. From the start she blended secular themes and fashion into her gospel-themed music and regularly made the Top Ten on Billboard's Gospel chart. Mid-'90s albums like Save the World and More Than a Melody raised her profile, as did tours with Kirk Franklin & the Family. Her upwards trajectory continued with 1996's Grammy-nominated Yolanda Live in Washington, but it was 1999's Mountain High Valley Low which that proved to be Adams' mainstream breakthrough. A massive multi-platinum success, it topped the Gospel and Christian charts and made it into the pop Top 40 while winning a Grammy for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album.

With her newfound momentum, Adams ventured into new territory with 2000's Christmas with Yolanda Adams, followed in 2001 by the Gold-certified Experience, an album that earned her a second Grammy Award. A performance at the White House and a soundtrack contribution to the film Honey marked some of her highlights during this period and in 2005, she returned to the studio for her chart-topping ninth album, Day by Day. Her last for Atlantic, the label closed out her deal with The Best of Me, a greatest-hits compilation that kept her atop the gospel charts. Adams briefly signed with Columbia for 2007's What a Wonderful Time, her second Christmas album, then ventured into radio as the host of The Yolanda Adams Morning Show. She also published her first book, Points of Power.

Arriving four years after its predecessor, 2011's Becoming crossed over onto multiple charts including R&B, Independent, and Gospel. That same year she performed several high-profile gigs including an Aretha Franklin tribute at the Grammys and the National Memorial Day Concert in Washington, D.C. Although she released no new music for the rest of the decade, Adams continued to host her radio show until 2016 and performed regularly. 2024's "Church Doors" marked the first new recording from Adams in 13 years and served as the lead single for Sunny Days, her 12th studio album. Co-produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, it bore her signature mixture of R&B and uplifting gospel. ~ John Bush & Timothy Monger