Ask Yolanda Adams what she loves about her music and ministry. The answer is as warm, embracing, and reflective as her songs. “The music brings joy. I truly believe that my songs bring the answers and the solutions, as opposed to just talking about the problems. My music at its core is joyful.”
Joyful, uplifting, inspiring, affirmative, exuberant, playful, and universal in its appeal and intention – that is the music of Yolanda Adams. The message and ministry of this Grammy-winning Gospel/Adult Contemporary superstar is abundant with love, faith, rhythm, and wisdom. It is delivered by one of the most persuasive and popular voices in contemporary Gospel. Working with some of the biggest names in pop, R&B, hip-hop, and gospel, Yolanda’s career has been marked by a string of hugely successful albums, sold-out tours, standout TV appearances, a successful radio show, and a desire to incorporate into her music a multitude of genres and influences.
“It’s vitally important to keep growing now that people know me and my music,” she says. “We’ve been blessed enough to impact so many lives, both in and out of the typical gospel market, so on each album it’s important to keep reaching outward so that even more people can get inspiration from what we do. Luckily, I don’t have to be anybody but Yolanda, because people don’t expect me to be anything other than who I am. For an artist, it’s a great place to be.”
A lifelong resident of Houston, Texas, Yolanda grew up in a household filled with spirit, soul, and songs. Her mother studied music, and Yolanda and her five younger siblings heard everything from jazz to classical to rhythm and blues. She soaked up the sounds of gospel legends James Cleveland and the Edwin Hawkins Singers, jazz icon Nancy Wilson, and pop/R&B great Stevie Wonder. That wide swath of sonic textures, combined with years in the church choir, would guide Yolanda – both as a performer and a person.
Yolanda is also heavily involved in other children’s issues. She works closely with the U. S. Department of Health and Human Resources to ensure that kids in low-income areas receive immunizations. Along with that nationwide program, Yolanda lends her energy and commitment to a number of other child-based organizations, including the Children’s Defense Fund and Houston charities such as juvenile diabetes and The Escape Center. “I’m very involved with kids because after being a teacher for seven years, I just can’t stop loving the kids. I am a teacher forever.”
With her unerring sense of humanity and her compassionate message, Yolanda Adams has touched audiences worldwide, and they in turn have made their impact upon her. “I believe that fans enhance your career. They draw out of me what they need and that’s how I’m able to write the songs. It inspires me to feel their love and appreciation. It’s like what Sally Fields said when she won the Oscar, ‘You like me! You really like me!’ I never take that for granted, and each year and each album I am humbled that there are people who want to hear my songs. It’s truly amazing. It’s truly the grace and favor of God.”
Yolanda has received several awards and accolades, but her greatest achievement is her daughter, Taylor.
Yolanda Adams
Grammy Award-Winning Gospel Artist
www.yolandaadamslive.com
