Trin-i-tee 5:7 Prepares for ‘The Gift’
Trin-i-tee 5:7 was a breath of fresh air when they first appeared on the gospel scene in 1998. Hailing from New Orleans, the trio of stellar singers comprised of Chanelle Haynes, Angel Taylor and Adrian Anderson known as, Trin-i-tee 5:7, have steadily reached new levels of success with each empowering album release. The group’s name was derived from the Biblical scripture of John 5:7, which defines the Trinity.
The group’s journey began when the high school classmates formed a singing group. With determination, the group eventually caught the ear of Vicki Mack, the owner of the faith-based label, Gospocentric Records. Mack immediately saw the group’s potential to not only be credible gospel stars but also their cross-over appeal to the mainstream urban world.
Indeed, in less than a decade Trin-t-tee 5:7 have become the best selling trio in gospel music and have crossed music genre lines. The gifted recording artists made their mark with a #1 gospel album debut and have since achieved award winning results and critical acclades. Their fourth album T57 debuted at # 2 on the chart resulting in a Grammy Award nomination and winning two prestigious Dove Awards for the group.
“We have some of the most devoted fans on the planet,” Chanelle says. “So, when it was time for us to think about our next project, we knew we wanted to do an album that would be a gift to the people who have made our long career possible.”
The gift: Trin-i-tee’s holiday spectacular Love * Peace * Joy at Christmas. “From the beginning, we knew we wanted to try and make a lasting Christmas album,” Adrian informs. “Before Trin-i-tee even went into the studio, we went back and studied classic albums and video clips of Christmas material that we considered timeless.” After listening to countless holiday songs recorded by artists ranging from Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” to Michael Jackson’s “Give Love on Christmas Day” (both which are included on Love * Peace * Joy at Christmas) the Trin-i-tee women felt more than ready to put their personal spin on the unforgettable material.
“We found quite a few old videos of The Supremes performing Christmas songs and we just couldn’t get enough,” Adrian laughs. “It’s not like we were trying to copy anything, but those clips were such an inspiration to us. Believe it or not, we also watched a lot of clips of Dean Martin and Sammy Davis as well.”
“The songs we selected are those that will make you warm inside,” Chanelle Haynes says. “Christmas is a time of God and family, so it was our goal to make a record that would make the listener feel good inside.” Love * Peace * Joy at Christmas produced by the talented studio crew, Bama Boyz (BeyoncÈ, Solange, Mya and the T57 release), features such endearing standards as “Silent Night,” “The Christmas Song,” “The Little Drummer Boy,” “Winter Wonderland, “Joy to the World,” “O Holy Night,” a jazz inspired renedition of “White Christmas, “ a soulful remake of Michael Jackson’s “Give Love On Christmas Day,” and Contemporary Christian favorites “Mary Did You Know” and “Welcome to our World.”
As a bonus the project includes an original recording of “This Christmas” by Contemporary Gospel star, Brian Courtney Wilson. The Love*Peace*Joy at Christmas package also includes a bonus DVD of five (5) performance videos from Trin-i-tee’s most recent television special Gospel Music Channel presents Christmas at Union Station. The DVD showcases the trio’s charismatic performance and visual appeal on the classics, “Winter Wonderland,” “O Holy Night,” “Silent Night,” “This Christmas,” and “The Christmas Song.”
The group’s self-titled debut album, Trin-i-tee 5:7, was produced by
heavyweights R. Kelly and Kirk Franklin (gospel’s biggest selling artist) helping to defined the group’s sound. With a mÈlange of silky soul styled ballads like “God’s Grace”, a rousing cover of “Mary, Don’t You Weep” and club-friendly tracks such as “Call His Name” the album debuted at #1 on Billboard’s gospel album sales chart in the summer of 1998. The album eventually went gold and earned them a Stellar Award as Best New Artist of the Year. When their sophomore album, Spiritual Love dropped in 2000 it proved to be their biggest hit yet. The album featured four radio hits, including “Put Your Hands Up”, “I Promise”, “My Body” and “There He Is.” Upon its debut, the album enterted at #1 on the gospel chart and reached #5 on the R&B album sales chart. Two years later, the ladies were back on top with the edgy dance track “Holla” from The Kiss album that earned them performances on “Soul Rain” and a BET “106 & Park” video premiere.
The trio joined the successful management team at Music World Entertainment headed by industry leader Mathew Knowles and signed to Music World Music’s inspirational recording label, Spirit Rising in the fall 2007. The pulsating track “Listen” from their Spirit Rising debut T57 graced the Hot 100 R&B airplay chart and was one of the biggest gospel radio hits of the 2007-2008. The album went on to win two Dove Awards, a Grammy nomination, and earned them a performance slot on the Grammy broadcast with Aretha Franklin, BeBe Winans, Israel & New Breed and the Clark Sisters.
Trin-i-tee 5:7’s career has been blessed with successes the trio only dreamed about a few years ago. But Chanelle, Angel and Adrian remain grounded and focused on what is important and are grateful for life’s blessings. While Trin-i-tee 5:7 enjoys traveling the world, they each understand that there is nothing like being home for the holidays. Surrounded by the love of God as well as great food and family. And knowing that true gifts are Love, Peace and Joy at Christmas.
Stay Tuned for our Interview with Trin-i-tee 5:7 Next Month! Apart of The UrbanBridgez.com Interview Series!
Trin-i-tee 5:7 – Love, Peace, Joy At Christmas In Stores October 27th!
