Yolanda Yvette Adams 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.
Biography
Adams was born on August 27, 1961 in Houston, Texas to Carolyn Jean Adams and Major Adams. The eldest of six siblings, 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.
Today, she has 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.[4] She was the first Gospel artist to be awarded an American Music Award. Adams was inducted into Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority as an honorary member in 2018.
Age
Adams was born on August 27, 1961
Family Life
Adams was married to Troy Mason from 1987 until 1990. Adams said spousal abuse was the reason for their divorce. In 1997, Adams married former NFL player Tim Crawford. The couple divorced in August 2004 after seven years. Adams and Crawford have one daughter, Taylor Adams Crawford, born in 2001.
Career
She is known as the “Queen of Contemporary Gospel Music,” the “First Lady of Modern Gospel,” and the “Reigning Queen of Urban Gospel,” according to Variety. Adams was crowned the No. 1 gospel artist of the decade by Billboard in 2009, owing to the success of her No. 1 album, Mountain High—Valley Low.
Adams first caught Thomas Whitfield’s and Sound of Gospel Records’ attention as a lead singer with Houston’s Southeast Inspirational Choir, which was linked with the Church of God in Christ and directed by Carl Preacher, Brenda Waters, and Shirley Joiner. In 1982, she was the featured vocalist on the choir’s track “For My Independence.”
Adams’ performance of “My Trust Lies in You” was included on the Edwin Hawkins Music and Arts Seminar Choir’s album Give Us Peace in 1986. She later acquired a recording contract with Sound of Gospel, which resulted in her first album, Just As I Am, being released in 1987.
Ben Tankard, a producer/keyboardist, discovered her in 1990 and signed her to his tiny company Tribute Records, where she released Through the Storm .During this time, Tankard’s goal with Tribute Records was to build an audience for a smoother gospel/jazz sound. For his 1994 release, Play Me in Your Key, he utilized Adams’ vocals on his album and concept video single “You Bring Out The Best in Me.” The gospel, jazz, and “silent storm” forms all responded positively to the partnership.
Save the World, Adams’ first single and music video, was released in 1995, with collaborations from O’Landa Draper and BeBe Winans. The single “Gotta Have Love,” which included Tony Terry on background vocals, achieved mainstream success.
Yolanda… Live in Washington, released the following year, had VHS and DVD/CD versions of content from her first three albums. Around this time, the parent business of Tribute Records merged with Benson Music Group, which was eventually purchased by Zomba/Verity Records.
Her breakthrough came with the release of Mountain High/Valley Low on Elektra Records in 1999. Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, James “Big Jim” Wright, Warryn Campbell, and Keith Thomas produced this album. In 2000, it reached double platinum and earned Adams a Grammy Award. The album’s notable singles include “Yes,” “Fragile Heart,” and “Open My Heart.” The song was written in commemoration of Adams’ longtime road manager, who passed away in 1998.
The Experience, a live album and a Christmas CD recorded by the singer, earned her a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album. Her single “Never Give Up” was released and became gold. Under President George W. Bush’s presidency, she also performed at the White House. Adams also issued a compilation CD called The Divas of Gospel, which featured Albertina Walker, dubbed the “Queen of Gospel Music.”
Also, she was a judge and the Queen of Contemporary Gospel Music, and was acknowledged for her contributions to independent artists’ careers.
In 2007, Adams signed with Columbia Records and released What a Wonderful Time. She then began a radio career with The Yolanda Adams Morning Show, on which Marcus D. Wiley played Bishop Secular. The show aired in over 26 radio areas before returning to Texas Southern University’s KTSU-FM 90.9 in September 2019.
Among other things, she was a spokesperson for the Fila Corporation’s Operation Rebound program to support inner-city schoolchildren.
Awards/Nominations
For her volunteer work, President Barack Obama honored her with the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Medal in 2016.
In 2017, the Gospel Music Association inducted her into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. She became the first gospel singer to be nominated for a Tony Award for her contribution on SpongeBob SquarePants in 2018.
In 2019, she got the Soul Train Music Awards Lady of Soul Award and critical accolades for her performance of “America the Beautiful” to officially start Super Bowl LIV. Billboard named her one of the top gospel artists of the decade. She has five number one albums in Billboard’s Top Gospel Albums chart. Agaiin, in 2022, Adams will be inducted into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame.
At the BET Awards 2012, Adams won Best Gospel Artist for the fourth time in her career, becoming the most since the first BET Awards in 2001. On May 3, 2011, she revealed her twelfth studio album, Becoming, which was produced by Steve Bracey and published exclusively by Walmart. The title and release date of the album have yet to be announced, but she has announced songwriting and producing credits from super gospel producers Donald Lawrence, Israel Houghton, and Kirk Franklin, as well as a song and studio session with Grammy, Billboard, and ASCAP award-winning global hit songwriter Diane Warren.
Yolanda Adams Net Worth
Yolanda Adams is a $5 million net worth gospel singer, actress, radio host, and record producer.
Social Media
Facebook: Yolanda Adams
Instagram: @yolandaadams