Tauren Gabriel Wells is an American singer, songwriter, and multi instrumentalist from Houston, Texas who is known for making
contemporary Christian music
Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and s ...
.
Biography
Wells was a founding member of
Royal Tailor
Royal Tailor was an American Christian pop rock band. The group disbanded in 2015.
History
Royal Tailor was started by Tauren Wells, DJ Cox, Jeremy Guzman, and Blake Hubbard while they were attending Indiana Bible College in 2004. Jarrod Ingra ...
along with DJ Cox and Blake Hubbard while they were attending
Indiana Bible College
Indiana Bible College (IBC) is a Bible college endorsed by the United Pentecostal Church International (UPCI). Founded in 1981 by Rev. Dennis Croucher of Seymour, Indiana, United States, it relocated to Indianapolis in 1988 under the direction an ...
in 2004.
Jarred Ingram later joined.
In 2016, Wells signed to
Provident Label Group
Provident Entertainment is a division of Sony Music headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee and focused primarily on Christian music. The group handles its own physical distribution through its Provident-Integrity service.
Provident Label Group
...
-
Reunion Records as a solo artist, and he released his first solo single, "Undefeated", in May 2016. It marked a distinct shift from the glossy pop rock sound of Royal Tailor to a more electronic sound. It also featured Reach Records rapper
KB and served as the soundtrack for
Dude Perfect
Dude Perfect (DP) is an American sports and comedy group headquartered in Frisco, Texas. The group consists of Tyler "TT" Toney, twins Cory and Coby Cotton, Garrett "Purple Hoser" Hilbert, and Cody "Tall Guy" Jones, all of whom are former colleg ...
's "World Records Edition" video on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
. Wells released his second solo single, "Love Is Action", in August 2016 and his first solo EP, ''Undefeated EP'', on September 12, 2016. "Love Is Action" was No. 1 on Christian Hot AC/CHR Radio for nine weeks.
In January 2017, Wells released "
Hills and Valleys", which reached No. 8 on the Christian Airplay Chart and No. 3 on the Hot Christian Songs chart. The full-length ''Hills and Valleys'' was released digitally on June 23 and was released physically on July 21. The fourth single, "When We Pray", was released on October 20, 2017; it peaked at No. 7. He was featured on
Crowder
Crowder may refer to:
Places in the United States
*Crowder, Oklahoma
* Crowder, Mississippi
* Crowder, Missouri
*Crowder College
Crowder College is a public community college in Neosho, Missouri. It serves the Community College District of Newt ...
's "
All My Hope". The single peaked at No. 3 on the Christian Songs chart and No. 1 on the Christian Airplay chart, becoming his first number one.
In 2018, Wells received
Grammy
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 pre ...
nominations for Best Contemporary Christian Performance/Song and Contemporary Christian Album of the Year, but did not win either.
In 2018, he became a
worship leader
Contemporary worship is a form of Christian worship that emerged within Western evangelical Protestantism in the 20th century. It was originally confined to the charismatic movement, but is now found in a wide range of churches, including many ...
at
Lakewood Church
Lakewood Church is a non-denominational evangelical Christian megachurch located in Houston, Texas. It is one of the largest congregations in the United States, averaging about 45,000 attendees per week. The 16,800-seat Lakewood Church building ...
,
Houston, Texas
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
.
The fifth single, "
Known", was released on June 23, 2018.
The song peaked at No. 3 on the US
Hot Christian Songs
Hot Christian Songs is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It ranks the popularity of Christian songs using the same methodology developed for the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, the magazine's flagship songs ...
chart, becoming his fourth Top 10 single from that chart. It was a huge success on Christian radio, reaching number one on multiple charts including Christian Airplay and Christian AC Songs. It was nominated for the
2019 Grammy Award for
Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song.
It was also nominated for Top Christian Song at the
2019 Billboard Music Awards.
In late 2019, he released "Miracle", "Perfect Peace", and "Like You Love Me" leading up to ''Citizen of Heaven'', which was released in 2020. It also featured the songs "Famous for (I Believe)", "Millionaire (Good Like That)", and "Close".
In early 2022, he released "
Fake It", "Empty", and "Come Home" which were all singles leading up to the release of his 3rd studio album, titled ''Joy in the Morning''.
Personal life
Wells married his wife Lorna Brittany (née Macey) Wells in 2011. Wells served on the staff of his father-in-law's church in Houston known as Royalwood Church until 2018. Wells and his wife Lorna started the Prisma Worship Arts School, to train musicians. They have 4 children.
Through the school, Prisma offers private coaching in piano, drums, guitar, bass, voice, violin, viola, and cello.
Discography
Studio albums
Live albums
Extended plays
Singles
As lead artist
As featured artist
Promotional singles
Other charted songs
As lead artist
As featured artist
Awards and nominations
Grammy Awards
, -
! scope="row" , 2012
, ''Black & White'' (with
Royal Tailor
Royal Tailor was an American Christian pop rock band. The group disbanded in 2015.
History
Royal Tailor was started by Tauren Wells, DJ Cox, Jeremy Guzman, and Blake Hubbard while they were attending Indiana Bible College in 2004. Jarrod Ingra ...
)
, rowspan=2, Best Contemporary Christian Music Album
,
, -
! scope="row" , 2015
, ''Royal Tailor'' (with Royal Tailor)
,
, -
! scope="row" rowspan="2" , 2018
, "
Hills and Valleys"
, Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song
,
, -
, ''Hills and Valleys''
, Best Contemporary Christian Music Album
,
, -
! scope="row" , 2019
, "
Known"
, Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song
,
, -
! scope="row" , 2020
, "
God's Not Done With You (Single Version)"
, Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song
,
, -
! scope="row" rowspan="2" , 2021
, "
Famous For (I Believe)"
(featuring Jenn Johnson
Jennifer Louise Rock Johnson is an American Christian worship singer, songwriter and worship pastor. She is a co-founding member of Bethel Music, and is one-half of the husband-and-wife worship duo, Brian & Jenn Johnson. She is also a senior wors ...
)
, Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song
,
, -
, ''
Citizen of Heaven''
, Best Contemporary Christian Music Album
,
, -
! scope="row" , 2022
, ''Citizen of Heaven (Live)''
, Best Contemporary Christian Music Album
,
''Billboard'' Music Awards
, -
! scope="row" ,
2019
, "Known"
,
Top Christian Song
,
, -
! scope="row" ,
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
, "
Famous For (I Believe)"
,
Top Christian Song
,
GMA Dove Awards
, -
! scope="row" ,
2012
, Royal Tailor (as former frontman)
, rowspan="2", New Artist of the Year
,
, -
! scope="row" ,
2017
, Tauren Wells
,
, -
! scope="row" rowspan="3" ,
2019
, "
Known"
, Song of the Year
,
, -
, Tauren Wells
, Contemporary Christian Artist of the Year
,
, -
, "Known"
, Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year
,
, -
! scope="row" rowspan="3",
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
, Tauren Wells
, Contemporary Christian Artist of the Year
,
, -
, ''
Citizen of Heaven''
, Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year
,
, -
, Citizen of Heaven
, Short Form Video of the Year
,
, -
! scope="row" rowspan="3",
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
, "
Famous For (I Believe)"
, Song of the Year
,
, -
, Tauren Wells
, Contemporary Christian Artist of the Year
,
, -
, "Famous For (I Believe)"
, Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year
,
, -
! scope="row" ,
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
, "
Fake It"
, Short Form Video of the Year (Performance)
,
, -
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wells, Tauren
1986 births
Living people
Essential Records (Christian) artists
21st-century African-American male singers
American performers of Christian music
Performers of contemporary Christian music
Performers of Christian contemporary R&B music