Selah is a

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 ...

vocal trio consisting of

Todd Smith Todd Smith may refer to: People *Todd Smith (musician), American singer, songwriter and guitarist * Todd Smith (politician), Canadian politician *Todd Smith (singer), American vocalist and member of Selah *Todd Smith (wrestler), American wrestler * ...

, Allan Hall, and Amy Perry. The group has been featured on ''

The 700 Club ''The 700 Club'' is the flagship television program of the Christian Broadcasting Network, airing each weekday in syndication in the United States and available worldwide on CBN.com. The news magazine program features live guests, daily news, co ...

'', ''

Hour of Power ''Hour of Power'' is a weekly American Evangelist television program broadcast from Shepherd's Grove Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California, near Los Angeles. It is one of the most watched religious broadcasts in the world, seen by approximat ...

'', and TBN.

Group history

1997–2004: Original lineup

Selah was originally formed by brother and sister,

Todd Todd or Todds may refer to: Places ;Australia: * Todd River, an ephemeral river ;United States: * Todd Valley, California, also known as Todd, an unincorporated community * Todd, Missouri, a ghost town * Todd, North Carolina, an unincorporated ...

and Nicol Smith (now

Nicol Sponberg Nicol Sponberg (1970) is an American Christian music singer. Sponberg was formerly a member of her brother's band Selah (; hbo, סֶלָה, selā) is a word used 74 times in the Hebrew Bible. Its etymology and precise meaning are unknown, ...

), along with friend Allan Hall. The group quickly gained success with the release of their first album, '' Be Still My Soul'', in 1999. They became known for transforming old

Christian hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

s into a more modern style and with their powerful voices and beautiful harmonies. Todd and Nicol, who spent their childhood in

Subsaharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the African ...

, brought many African elements to their songs as well. They are as comfortable singing in Kituba, as they are in English. Todd gives credit for his music career to his missionary upbringing. "I've been singing in front of people since I was three," he said. "My parents are missionaries. When we came back to the United States, we had to visit each church that sponsored us. That was a good training ground." They also did well-known covers of already-famous songs such as "

You Raise Me Up "You Raise Me Up" is a song originally composed by the Norwegian-Irish duo Secret Garden. The music was written by Secret Garden's Rolf Løvland, and the lyrics by Brendan Graham. After the song was performed early in 2002 by the Secret Garden a ...

" by Secret Garden and "

Bless the Broken Road "Bless the Broken Road" is a song that has been recorded by several American country music artists. Co-written by Marcus Hummon, Bobby Boyd, and Jeff Hanna in 1994, it tells how the journey through relationship heartbreak and disappointment was ...

" by

Marcus Hummon Marcus Spencer Hummon (born December 28, 1960) is an American country music artist. He is the father of country singer Levi Hummon. Early life Hummon was born in Washington, D.C.. He graduated from Williams College. Career After several years o ...

. Selah went on to win a

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 their debut album. Their second album ''Press On'' was released in 2001, and also won a Dove Award, along with many nominations for individual songs in the album. In April 2000, Nicol Smith released her self-titled solo debut on Curb Records. She met and married Greg Sponberg in 2003. Nicol Sponberg released her second solo album, ''Resurrection'' (Curb Records), in 2004. The single "Crazy In Love" crossed over to the secular

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

charts while songs like "Safe" continued to earn her airplay on Christian radio. Todd also produced a solo album, ''Alive'', in 2004.

2005–present

Nicol left the group in 2004 to pursue a solo career, and for most of 2005

Melodie Crittenden Melodie Crittenden (born 1968) is an American country and Christian music artist. Her first album was recorded at the age of nine in Norman, Oklahoma, and was titled ''Melodie Sings''. She traveled around Oklahoma with her family band "The Crit ...

sang with the group. The 2006 ''

'' album was a project that teamed original Selah members Allan Hall and Todd Smith with a wide variety of guest singers. After auditioning 15 female vocalists, Amy Perry became a full-time member based on her vocal abilities and spirituality. Allan Hall also began to get a more active singing role, from originally being the band's accompanist. In 2014, Selah released ''

You Amaze Us ''You Amaze Us'' marks the ninth album from Selah. Curb Records released the project on August 19, 2014. Allan Hall and Todd Smith of Selah produced this album alongside Ed Cash, Jordan Mohilowski, and Jason Kyle. Reception Specifying in a fou ...

''. The title track debuted at No. 1 on ''Billboards Christian Soft AC chart, becoming the first song in the history of the chart to do so. "You Amaze Us” spent a concurrent 12 weeks at No. 1 on the Christian Soft AC chart. In 2014, Amy Perry and Allan Hall also released solo albums – ''Glory All Around'' (Perry) and ''Work of Love'' (Hall).

Discography

Albums

Studio albums

Compilations

Singles

Other appearances

*''Grace'',

Jim Brickman James Merrill Brickman (born November 20, 1961) is an American pop songwriter, pianist and radio host. Brickman has earned two Grammy nominations for his albums ''Peace'' (2003) for Best Instrumental, and ''Faith'' (2009) for Best New Age Album ...

: "Be Thou Near to Me" *''Church in the Wildwood: Cherished Hymns'',

Gaither Homecoming ''Gaither Homecoming'' is the name applied to a series of videos, music recordings and concerts, which are organized, promoted and usually presented by Christian music songwriter and impresario Bill Gaither. To date, the ''Gaither Homecoming'' t ...

: "

Take My Hand, Precious Lord "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" (a.k.a. "Precious Lord, Take My Hand") is a gospel song. The lyrics were written by Thomas A. Dorsey, who also adapted the melody. Origin The melody is credited to Dorsey, drawn extensively from the 1844 hymn tune, " ...

Just a Closer Walk With Thee "Just a Closer Walk with Thee" is a traditional gospel song and jazz standard that has been performed and recorded by many artists. Performed as either an instrumental or vocal, "A Closer Walk" is perhaps the most frequently played number in the ...

Dove Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Selah American Christian musical groups American musical trios Curb Records artists Musical groups established in 1997 Word Records artists