Return to NuthinButGospel.com
1 | 2 | 3

YOLANDA ADAMS
Ever since her late-'80s debut Just As I Am, Yolanda Adams has triumphantly carried the torch for contemporary gospel and inspirational music via 12 glorious albums. Stunningly beautiful, exceptionally educated, filled with the spirit and blessed with one of the most powerful voices in any genre of music, this Houston-native and one-time school teacher has been a stately beacon of God's light, earning numerous accolades and awards for her shining efforts, including the first American Music Award for Contemporary Gospel Artist, four Gospel Music Association Dove Awards and four National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Grammy^® Awards (including 1999's Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album for Mountain High...Valley Low which featured her secular breakthrough hit "Open My Heart," and 2005's Best Gospel Song for "Be Blessed," for which she was a co-writer).

Now in 2007, Yolanda Adams is making a major transition to Columbia Records, a powerhouse recording company with history dating back a century. "When my contract was up, I seized this opportunity," Adams states. "I needed to come to a place where singers are loved and adored. With everybody from Beyoncé to Celine Dion, Columbia is that place. They really know what to do for people with voices." Steve Barnett of Columbia Records states, "Yolanda Adams is truly the 'first lady of modern gospel' and we are proud to have her on the Columbia roster. Her pioneering blend of R&B, pop and gospel continues to inspire her fans and transform the musical landscape. Her music has brought me a lot of joy over the years and we are all very excited to hear where Yolanda is going next."

It was Barnett who personally suggested that Yolanda begin her relationship at Columbia with a holiday album. The result is What a Wonderful Time, a 10-song follow-up to the superstar's Christmas with Yolanda Adams from the year 2000. Her heart-warming new project features five eclectically arranged holiday standards, including a rapturous take on "My Favorite Things" produced by Michael J. Powell (Anita Baker), a joyous reworking of the Motown holiday classic "Give Love on Christmas Day" (on which Yolanda does her best to match young Michael Jackson's original performance), a swingin' version of "Jingle Bells" that would do Duke Ellington proud, and truly evocative versions of the ever-vivid "Do You Hear What I Hear" and "Little Drummer Boy."

Most exciting are the five original pieces that bring both effervescent and urgent messages for the season and for always. The album's gentle, acoustic guitar driven featured track "Hold On" (produced by Stan Jones, a veteran of gospel veterans that include the Canton Spirituals, Lee Williams and the Williams Brothers) actually transcends the holiday with an affirming message of strength, uplift, and hope worthy of year-round play. In a spoken passage, co-writer Yolanda reaches out to listeners who may be burdened by any number of worries with the challenge, "If you don't believe in yourself, who else will? God has a plan for you." Yolanda elaborates, "We tried to get this song on one of my previous albums but no one quite got the vision. Now everybody loves it! I just performed it on the 'Jerry Lewis Telethon.' Jerry and his sons heard me sing it at rehearsal and were blown away. Then a lady from the audience told me, 'Girl, I was arguing with my husband before I came here, but now that I've heard your song I can tell him everything's gonna be o.k.' I was speechless. People need this message."