Yolanda Adams

Yolanda Yvette Adams (born August 27, 1961) is an American gospel singer, actress, and host of her own nationally syndicated morning gospel show.

She is one of the best-selling gospel artists of all time, having sold over 10 million albums worldwide.

In addition to achieving multi-platinum status,

she has won four Grammy Awards, four Dove Awards, five BET Awards, six NAACP Image Awards, six Soul Train Music Awards, two BMI Awards and sixteen Stellar Awards.

She was the first Gospel artist to be awarded an American Music Award.

She is known as the "Queen of Contemporary Gospel Music", the "First Lady of Modern Gospel", while Variety dubbed her the "Reigning Queen of Urban Gospel".

She graduated from Sterling High School in Houston in 1979.

After graduating from Texas Southern University, she began a career as a schoolteacher and part-time model in Houston.

Eventually, she gave up teaching to perform full-time as a lead singer.

Adams first attracted the attention of Thomas Whitfield and Sound of Gospel Records as a lead singer with Houston's Southeast Inspirational Choir affiliated with the Church of God in Christ, under the direction of Carl Preacher, Brenda Waters, and Shirley Joiner.

The choir released the single "For My Liberty" in 1982 with her as the featured vocalist.

In 1986, Adams was featured on the Edwin Hawkins Music and Arts Seminar Choir released Give Us Peace, with a performance entitled "My Trust Lies in You".

Later, she signed a recording contract with Sound of Gospel which yielded her first album Just As I Am in 1987.

In 1990, she was discovered by producer/keyboardist Ben Tankard, and signed to his independent label Tribute Records and released Through The Storm.

Tankard's goal with Tribute Records during this time was to develop an audience for a smoother gospel/jazz sound.

He featured Adams' vocals on his album and concept video single "You Bring Out The Best in Me" on his 1994 release Play Me in Your Key.

The collaboration received positive response from gospel, jazz and "quiet storm" formats.

One year later, Adams followed with Save the World, which included her first signature song "The Battle Is The Lord's".

Her next release was 1995's More Than a Melody, which featured more production work from Tankard with contributions from O'Landa Draper, and BeBe Winans.

The single "Gotta Have Love", from that album featuring Tony Terry on background vocals, gained mainstream notoriety and was her first single and music video.

Yolanda... Live in Washington, released the following year, featured versions of material from her first three albums.

The footage from this recording was released as a collection of two videos on VHS initially, and later as a single set on DVD and CD.

During this time Tribute Records' parent company Diadem Music Group merged with Benson Music Group, which was eventually bought by New York-based Zomba/Verity Records.

Songs from the Heart was her final release for Verity Records, including "Only Believe", which was a popular song on contemporary radio.

The album also included "Still I Rise", a dedication to Rosa Parks, which was inspired by the Maya Angelou poem of the same name.

"Fragile Heart" was dedicated to the memory of Adams' long-time road manager, who died in 1998.

Adams' first significant attention outside the urban contemporary gospel arena came with the release of Mountain High... Valley Low in 1999 on Elektra Records.

Several mainstream artists and producers helped in the production of this album including Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (Janet Jackson, Boyz II Men), James "Big Jim" Wright (Mariah Carey, Nicole C. Mullen), Warryn Campbell (Mary Mary, Brandy), and Keith Thomas (BeBe & CeCe Winans).

The album went 2× Platinum in 2000 and won Adams a Grammy Award.

Notable singles from the album include "Yeah", "Fragile Heart", and "Open My Heart".

In 2000, Adams released a Christmas album, and in 2001 she released a live album (The Experience).

Adams was named by Billboard, in 2009, as the No. 1 gospel artist of the decade, driven by the sales of her No. 1 album Mountain High...Valley Low.

Billboard listed her as one of the Top Gospel Artist of the 2010s.

She has scored five number one albums on Billboard's Top Gospel Album.

Adams was inducted into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame in 2022.

The eldest of six siblings, Adams was born in Houston, Texas.

In 2016, President Barack Obama awarded Adams with the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award for her volunteer service.

She was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame by the Gospel Music Association in 2017.

In 2018, she became the first gospel artist nominated for a Tony Award for her work on SpongeBob SquarePants.

In 2019, she received the Soul Train Music Awards Lady of Soul Award, and received critical acclaim for officially opening Super Bowl LIV with her performance of "America the Beautiful".