Crystal Lynn Lewis (born September 11, 1969) is an American

contemporary Christian Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is o ...

and jazz singer,

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

and actress. Lewis has been nominated for several

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

, and has won multiple

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 ...

s. Additionally, she has released numerous CCM chart-topping hits. Lewis reached a commercial peak with her ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Top 5 albums: “Let Love In” (1990), "Beauty for Ashes" (1996), "Gold" (1998) and the Grammy-nominated ''

Fearless Fearless or The Fearless may refer to: Psychology * Lack of fear * Courage or bravery Film, television and audio Film * ''Fearless'' (1978 film), an Italian film directed by Stelvio Massi * ''Fearless'' (1993 film), an American drama directed ...

'' (2000), which inspired young future superstars like

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her Camp (style), campy style, she has been ...

and

Tori Kelly Victoria Loren Kelly (born December 14, 1992) is an American singer-songwriter, and voice actress. She first gained recognition after posting videos on YouTube as a teenager, and made it through to Hollywood week on the ninth season of ''Americ ...

Early life and career

Crystal Lewis was born in

Corona, California Corona (Spanish for "Crown") is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 157,136, up from 152,374 at the 2010 census. The cities of Norco and Riverside lie to the north and north ...

(where she grew up singing in her father's church). In 1984, at the age of 15, Lewis auditioned for a children's

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...

called '' Hi Tops''. It was written and produced by Ernie and Debby Rettino, creators of ''Psalty, the Singing Song Book''. She passed the audition, and was able to go into the studio to participate on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

recording, with the rest of the cast members. While working on the musical, Lewis met a member of the

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

band The Lifters. After becoming friends with the band members, Lewis was asked to join. Soon after, the band changed its name to Wild Blue Yonder. Wild Blue Yonder was together for two years, and recorded a single full-length album, ''Wild Blue Yonder''. It was produced by

Daniel Amos Daniel Amos (aka D. A., Dä) is an American Christian rock band formed in 1974 by Terry Scott Taylor on guitars and vocals, Marty Dieckmeyer on bass guitar, Steve Baxter (musician), Steve Baxter on guitars and Jerry Chamberlain on lead guitars. ...

front man

Terry Scott Taylor Terry Scott Taylor (born May 24, 1950) is an American songwriter, record producer, writer and founding member of the bands Daniel Amos and The Swirling Eddies (credited as Camarillo Eddy). Taylor is also a member of the roots and alternativ ...

, for

Frontline Records Frontline Records was a Christian rock record label, founded in 1986 by James Kempner in Santa Ana, California. The label focused primarily on modern rock, rap, dance-pop and hip-hop. The label closed in the early 1990s, and then resurfaced in ...

in 1986. Lewis also sang on D.A.'s album '' Fearful Symmetry'' in 1986, and Taylor's solo album ''

A Briefing for the Ascent Terry Scott Taylor (born May 24, 1950) is an American songwriter, record producer, writer and founding member of the bands Daniel Amos and The Swirling Eddies (credited as Camarillo Eddy). Taylor is also a member of the roots and alternative ...

'' in 1987. After Wild Blue Yonder disbanded, Frontline offered Lewis a solo recording contract at the age of 17. Her first solo project, ''Beyond the Charade'', was released in 1987. It featured the song "Breakdown", written by musician Jon Gibson. In 1988, Lewis sang a

duet A duet is a musical composition for two performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a harmony, as the performers take turns performing a solo ...

with Gibson called "Lost Inside of You", from his successful '' Change of Heart'' album (also released via Frontline Records). In 1992, Lewis worked in the

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and is ...

television series '' Roundhouse'', which aired on ''

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

''. In 1996, Lewis released her

Myrrh Records __NOTOC__ Myrrh Records (also known as Myrrh Worship) was an American Christian music record label. According to ''Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music'', the label was instrumental in developing a popular following for contemporary Christian ...

debut, ''Beauty for Ashes''. The album included three CCM chart-topping singles, including "People Get Ready (Jesus Is Comin')", which was honored with Song of the Year. Her next album, ''Gold'', followed in 1998. Lewis was also featured on

Kirk Franklin Kirk Dewayne Franklin (born January 26, 1970) is an American songwriter, choir director, gospel singer, and rapper. He is best known for leading urban contemporary gospel ensembles such as The Family, God's Property, and One Nation Crew (1NC) a ...

hit song A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

, " Lean on Me" in 1998. In 2000, Lewis returned with ''

'' and the Christmas album, '' Holiday! A Collection of Christmas Classics''. In 2015, her self-titled album ''

Crystal Lewis Crystal Lynn Lewis (born September 11, 1969) is an American contemporary Christian and jazz singer, songwriter and actress. Lewis has been nominated for several Grammy Awards, and has won multiple GMA Dove Awards. Additionally, she has release ...

'' was released, and the soulful jazz album ''Rhapsody'' followed in 2019. In May 2022, Lewis released ''Together We Can'', an album with guest artists and duets. The pop, soul and jazz record features

Ty Herndon Boyd Tyrone Herndon (born May 2, 1962), known professionally as Ty Herndon, is an American country music singer and songwriter. His music career began in the 1980s as a member of the Tennessee River Boys, a predecessor to the country band Diamon ...

Nikki Leonti Nikki Leonti-Edgar (born August 20, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter. Prior to her work in urban, R&B, and electronic dance music, Leonti recorded contemporary Christian music albums. She lent her vocals to over 100 songs during 4 seasons ...

Kate Flannery Kate Destiny Flannery (born June 10, 1964) is an American actress. Following her early theatre work, Flannery had her screen breakthrough playing Meredith Palmer on the NBC series ''The Office'', which won her two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Sh ...

Ally Brooke Allyson Brooke Hernandez (born July 7, 1993) is an American singer. She is a member of the girl group Fifth Harmony. Brooke began to establish herself in 2017 as a solo artist, featuring on Lost Kings' " Look at Us Now" with rapper ASAP Ferg. ...

, Lia Booth and others. She also sings with her adult children, Solomon and Isabella. "I Can't Help It" was the debut single released from the album.

Personal life

Lewis previously lived in

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

with then-husband Brian Ray, with whom she has two children, who were

homeschooled Homeschooling or home schooling, also known as home education or elective home education (EHE), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted by a parent, tutor, or an onlin ...

. Lewis and Ray divorced after 28 years of marriage, and she now lives in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Her daughter, Isabella (Izzi Ray), is also a singer and songwriter. Her son, Solomon, also pursued a career in music. He produced his mother's 2011 release, ''Plain and Simple''.

Discography

* ''Beyond the Charade'' (1987) * ''Joy'' (1988) * ''Let Love In'' (1990) * ''Remember'' (1991) * ''Recuerda'' (Spanish version of ''Remember'') (1991) * ''The Bride'' (1993) * ''La Esposa'' (Spanish version of ''The Bride'') (1994) * ''Hymns: My Life'' (1995) * ''Himnos De Mi Vida'' (Spanish version of ''Hymns: My Life'') (1995) * ''Beauty for Ashes'' (1996) * ''La Belleza De La Cruz'' (Spanish version of ''Beauty for Ashes'') (1996) * ''Gold'' (1998) * ''Oro'' (Spanish version of ''Gold'') (1998) * ''Live At The Woodlands'' (1999) * ''

'' (2000) * ''Holiday! A Collection of Christmas Classics'' (2000) * ''Holy, Holy, Holy'' (2002) * ''Santo, Santo, Santo'' (Spanish version of ''Holy, Holy, Holy'') (2002) * ''See'' (2005) * ''Joyful Noise (Songs for Kids!)'' (2006) * ''Home for the Holidays'' (2010) * ''Plain and Simple'' (2011) * ''

'' (2015) * ''Suéltalo'' (Spanish version of her eponymous album ''Crystal Lewis'') (2017) * ''Rhapsody'' (2019) * ''Together We Can'' (2022)

Filmography

Awards and nominations

GMA Dove Awards

Additional awards

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Crystal 1969 births American women singers American gospel singers Christian music songwriters Performers of contemporary Christian music Living people Musicians from Anaheim, California People from Corona, California Myrrh Records artists Singers from California 21st-century American women