Jaci Velásquez Biography

Years before offering her most anticipated recording to date, Crystal Clear, to, literally, hundreds-of-thousands of eager fans, and before becoming a teenaged singing sensation with album sales over the three million mark, Jaci Velasquez seemed destined for musical renown.

Jaci's talent began to emerge before she could talk or walk. She was just a baby in a crib when her parents realized she had rhythm as she snapped her fingers in time to the music they were playing in the other room. Then, they realized she could sing. In church one Sunday, the powerful voice belting out "Our God Reigns" turned out to be two-year-old Jaci's, emanating not from the choir loft but the nursery. She made her solo debut at age three; and, at nine, not even a mysterious hearing loss (from which she quickly recovered) could stand in the way of her destiny.

At age 14, Jaci's big break came when the Velasquez family band was performing in Houston. The pastor of an area church called Mike Atkins Management to let them know there was a "bright new talent" in Houston. Two years later Atkins became her manager; and, shortly thereafter, Jaci was signed to Myrrh Records. She now records for its sister label, Word Records.

By the time she was 16, Jaci had a hit CD, Heavenly Place, which debuted in the top 10 of SoundScan's Christian music chart in 1997 and spent 83 weeks on Billboard's Heatseekers chart. Her sophomore release, 1998's Jaci Velasquez, debuted at #1 on Billboard's Christian Music Album Sales Chart and spent 16 consecutive weeks on Billboard's "Top 200 Albums" chart. Every single from both of these discs went to the top of the AC airplay charts. Then, in 1999, to honor her grandparents and her Mexican/Spanish heritage, Jaci released her first Spanish-language project, Llegar a Ti, for Sony Discos; and, it too, became a hit, helping her reach a larger audience than ever before.

But it is not only a Latin audience she wants to reach. She reaches out to young people of all races and backgrounds with a message of abstinence that "True Love Waits," as the name of one organization she supports so aptly puts it. "Relationships come and go, but what matters most is your longstanding relationship with Christ," she tells concertgoers. It's a message that Jaci, a young single woman, puts into practice in her own life.

Now she's chalked up more accomplishments than could fill a high school yearbook; and the momentum continues. She recently completed her fourth album, Crystal Clear, which unites the talents of both her previous producers: top Christian pop producer Mark Heimermann and leading Latin producer Rudy Perez. This award-winning duo has merged energetic, emotional pop with Latin vibrancy, creating an album that is up, joyful and celebratory an accurate reflection of who Jaci is.

Bio courtesy of word records