Gospel singer Kierra Sheard says her music and acting careers blossoming at once was all God’s plan.
In early April, Twitter praised her splitting image portrayal of her mother, Karen Clark Sheard, in the Lifetime film “The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel.” The biopic chronicles the origin, rise and success of one of gospel music’s greatest acts, and it was the highest-rated original movie for the network since 2016. Then on April 17, the 32-year-old singer released her eighth album, “Kierra,” which debuted at the top of the Billboard Top Gospel Albums Chart. It replaced Kanye West’s “Jesus Is King (Soundtrack)” after a 25-week reign at the top of the chart.
“I sat on this music for a year and sitting on the music for that long I was beginning to be frustrated,” she told HuffPost.
This is Sheard’s first project under a new partnership between RCA Inspiration and Karew Entertainment, a record label and entertainment company launched by her parents (her father is J. Drew Sheard) in 2009. When business took longer to finalize than she expected, she turned to God for relief.
“So, I prayed and I felt like God was showing me I have a specific time [for you] to release this,” she said.
Sheard wanted the timing to be right for her self-titled opus, an album that further highlights her musical duality: love for both gospel roots and secular music genres, such as pop, R&B and hip-hop.
“I am this woman who loves the Lord,” she said. “And I’m hoping to inspire others who are listening to know that you can be a believer and still have balance.”
For the full story, visit HuffPost.com/BlackVoices.
