2003's RIAA gold-certified Throne Room, her last solo album, the heavenly gospel singer CeCe Winans brought a fresh contemporary vibe to a collection that pulsated with passion and spiritual intimacy.
2003's RIAA gold-certified Throne Room, her last solo album, the heavenly gospel singer CeCe Winans brought a fresh contemporary vibe to a collection that pulsated with passion and spiritual intimacy.
With Purified, her trailblazing seventh solo album, CeCe Winans combines the transformative power of gospel music with heart-stopping pop, street-smart R&B and infectious dance-floor rhythms to create her most compelling set of songs to-date. Truly inspired in every sense of the word, Purified is a celebration of the heart, the soul and the spirit.
Finding the beauty of God's well of inspiration in both the sacred and the secular, CeCe Winans seamlessly segues from R&B to pop to deeply felt gospel fervor showcasing the crystalline vocals, celestial melodies, and top-shelf musical elements that have made her one of the most popular, and influential, artists working in contemporary gospel music.
Open and willing to follow her inspiration wherever it takes her, CeCe's even added street-savvy raps to tracks like Pray, the album's hook-dappled first single, co-penned and produced by her hit-making nephew Mario Winans (Destiny's Child, Frankie J, Mary J. Blige, R. Kelly, Wendy Williams, New Edition) and A Place Like This, featuring the rap duo GRITS (their music has appeared in Something's Gotta Give starring Jack Nicholson, NBC's Boston Public and MTV's The Real World).
Keith Thomas – whose impressive resume includes work with Amy Grant, Jessica Simpson, Vanessa Williams and, of course, BeBe & CeCe Winans) – helmed much of Purified, producing seven songs on the album including the anthemic title track, All That I Need, Just Like That, I Promise, Colorful World, A Place Like This, and He's Concerned.
Tommy Sims (who's worked with Bruce Springsteen, Michael Bolton, The Neville Brothers and Wynonna Judd) produced the tracks Mamma's Kitchen, You Will, Let Everything, and Always Sisters written by CeCe along with her sisters Angie and Debbie.
Andy Selby (Michelle Williams, Smokie Norful) produced the plaintive You Are Loved while CeCe's nephew Mario Winans worked the soundboard for the album's divine centerpiece, Pray.
Born in Detroit, CeCe Winans was the eighth of ten children in the Winans, one of gospel music's most renowned musical families. She worked with her brother, BeBe, in a duo called the PTL Singers until the pair began performing as BeBe & CeCe Winans in 1987, becoming one of the most commercially successful gospel artists ever.
Her first solo album, Alone In His Presence, is platinum certified and took home a Grammy for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album in 1995. CeCe's next solo outing, 1998's Everlasting Love, became the nation's #1 Top Gospel Album, a feat repeated with 1999's Alabaster Box and 2004's Throne Room, both certified gold. She took home a Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album Grammy in 1991 for Different Lifestyles, as CeCe & BeBe Winans. Other Grammy wins for CeCe Winans include Best Gospel Performance, Female (1989 for Don't Cry) and Best Soul Gospel Performance, Female (1987 for For Always).
With eight of the album's thirteen tracks authored by CeCe, Purified is perhaps her most personal and candid album yet with tracks like Always Sisters, I Promise and All That I Need providing revelatory glimpses into the heart, as well as the soul, of the artist.
With songs like Mamma's Kitchen and Pray, CeCe seems destined to light up the nation's R&B airwaves with her signature blend of pop-soul-gospel. From the lush string arrangement of You Will to the up-tempo Latin-flavored Let Everything, the songs of Purified transcend musical boundaries and trends, connecting directly to the heart of the listener. CeCe Winans has been given the gifts of talent, inspiration and vision and she shares all of it with boundless generosity on Purified.
A six-time Grammy winner, CeCe Winans is also the recipient of a staggering amount of Gospel Music Association and Stellar Awards. Purified, like its predecessor Throne Room, is being released through an association between her own PureSprings Label, INO Records, Sony Urban Music and Epic Records.