Genre: Christmas, Pop/Rock, R&B/Urban
For fans of: Christina Aguilera, Mandy Moore, Jessica Simpson, Beyoncé, Britney Spears
Label: Virgin Records

 1 of 5

Stacie Orrico never asked to be a star. Stardom, with all its glittering promises, found her. She was discovered at 12, released a gold-selling debut album at 14, and traveled the globe to support her internationally best-selling follow-up at 17. By the age of 18, Orrico had sold more than 3.4 million albums worldwide.

But the demands of a successful career nearly drove this young, preternaturally gifted singer and songwriter out of the music business. Thankfully, Orrico not only possesses a dazzling voice, she is also blessed with a rare maturity, which enabled her to walk away from her career three years ago to rediscover who she was and what, and whom, really mattered to her. Orrico's elegant new album, the soulful, R&B-powered Beautiful Awakening, tells the story of that journey, which has landed her where she is today: in control of her life and career for the first time.

"It's definitely a peaceful record," says Orrico, now 20. "I wanted to make an album that you would want to put on while you're sitting in your bedroom after a long day. I wanted it to have songs that I could sing accompanied by just an acoustic guitar." The result, a stripped-down affair that sets raw beats, guitar, piano, and a few strings against Orrico's jazz-inflected powerhouse vocals, is the work of an artist coming into her own. Orrico says the topics, which range from break-up songs ("I'm Not Missing You," "Don't Ask Me to Stay") to romantic ballads ("Easy to Love You," "Wait") to a shout-out to single moms ("Babygirl") to a celebration of family ("So Simple"), "reflect a time that is really joyful and where love has been a part of my life. Whereas in the past my music arose from a place that was a lot rougher emotionally."

next page... |  1 of 5

				Try 3 Issues of Christianity Today Free! Name Street Address City/State/Zip E-mail Address Subscribe to Christianity Today and get 3 free trial issues. No credit card required. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Offer valid in U.S. only. If you decide you want to keep Christianity Today coming, honor your invoice for just $19.95 and receive nine more issues, a full year in all. If not, simply write "cancel" across the invoice and return it. The three trial issues are yours to keep, regardless.

FREE Newsletter Sign up now for the Christian Music Today weekly newsletter:    RSS Feed   RSS Help