Crystal Renee Aikin (born September 21, 1974) is an American
gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...
singer-songwriter from
Tacoma, Washington, and the winner of the
first season of ''
Sunday Best''. Her
eponymous debut album was released on January 13, 2009, through
Verity Records
Verity Records is an American gospel music-focused record label, founded in 1994. The Gospel group operated by Provident Label Group, which in turn is owned by Sony Music Entertainment.
Artists
* 21:03
* Crystal Aikin
* Deitrick Haddon
* DeW ...
.
Biography
Early life and career
Aikin grew up in
Tacoma, Washington. Since her childhood, she attended Altheimer Memorial Church of God in Christ, where she sang in the Sunshine Band. During her teen and young adult years, she sang on the Praise and Worship team while becoming recognized as a local singer in the Tacoma-Seattle area. During this time, Aikin also obtained a
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
in
Biology
Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...
and
Psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
.
While a teenager, Aikin was part of a local group called Heaven Sent Us. In the late 1990s, Aikin joined a local singing group called Soul (Hendrix/Trinity Records). This group gave her more exposure outside of the Tacoma area, even performing at the
Gospel Music Workshop of America
Gospel Music Workshop of America is an international music convention founded by Rev. James Cleveland.
GMWA membership
Active GMWA Membership ranges from professional and amateur Gospel vocalists to instrumentalists, composers, arrangers, directo ...
.
After leaving Soul, Aikin continued singing in the Tacoma area. In 2005, she enrolled at
Pacific Lutheran University
Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) is a private Lutheran university in Parkland, Washington. It was founded by Norwegian Lutheran immigrants in 1890. PLU is sponsored by the 580 congregations of Region I of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ame ...
and obtained a
nursing
Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ...
degree. Aikin's mother, a registered nurse also, is a Professor of Nursing at the university. After that, she started working as an
emergency room
An emergency department (ED), also known as an accident and emergency department (A&E), emergency room (ER), emergency ward (EW) or casualty department, is a medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine, the acute care of pati ...
nurse.
''Sunday Best''
In 2007, Aikin auditioned for the reality television contest, ''
Sunday Best'', where
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
singers compete for a record contract in the
Christian music industry
The Christian music industry is one aspect of the broader music industry, with a focus on Christian music and subgenres such as gospel music, southern gospel, contemporary Christian music, contemporary worship music, and even traditional church mus ...
. After being chosen to participate, Aikin went to Los Angeles. After several weeks of competition, she finished in first place, winning a recording contract with
Zomba Gospel Music (now
Verity Gospel Music Group). She also won a
2008 Toyota Camry.
Performances/results
Post ''Sunday Best'' career
After signing with Verity, Aikin released her
eponymous debut album on March 17, 2009. The album featured producer contributions from
PAJAM
PAJAM is an American songwriting and production team, made up of Paul Allen, J. Moss and Walter Kearney, all of Detroit, Michigan. The team works with gospel, soul and R&B artists.
They are best known for producing the 1997 debut album ''Finall ...
,
Dre & Vidal
Dre & Vidal is a songwriting and production duo consisting of Andre Harris and Vidal Davis, who are best known as the main producers for Jill Scott and Glenn Lewis. Alumni of DJ Jazzy Jeff's A Touch of Jazz production team, Dre & Vidal were also ...
, Gerald Haddon, Derek Clark, and
Asaph Ward
Asaph Alexander Ward is an American gospel music record producer.
Background
Ward came to the forefront of the gospel music industry as producer of the groundbreaking 1998 album ''Everlasting Life'' for gospel jazz singer Kim Burrell. Since then ...
, among others.
In 2010, she was nominated for a
GMA Dove Award
A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards are presented annually. Formerly held in Nashville, Tennessee, the Dove Awards ...
for New Artist of the Year at the
41st GMA Dove Awards.
Discography
Albums
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aikin, Crystal
Living people
Pacific University alumni
African-American women singer-songwriters
Singers from Tacoma, Washington
1974 births
African-American Christians
21st-century American singers
21st-century American women singers
21st-century African-American women singers
20th-century African-American people
20th-century African-American women
Singer-songwriters from Washington (state)