Rising star sings of heavenly place
This year's Cinderella has got to be newcomer Jaci Velasquez. Taking the radio charts by storm, her single "If This World" zoomed to the top in just eight weeks. And her ten-track Heavenly Place, released in May, exploded into the top ten on the sales charts. That's reason enough to turn a pumpkin into a coach, but when you add the fact that Velasquez is only 17-years old, it's glass slipper time for sure.
An ordinary teenager with lots of energy, talent, and ideals, she has an extraordinary voice. Just watch and listen to her new video "Un Lugar Celestial" with the strong, beautiful drive of her voice as she sings, "I know the arms of heaven wait for me/And yet I feel its sweetness here and now/In this life on earth I have found/Un lugar celestial...." In this title cut, recorded and filmed in New Mexico, the stark desert landscapes and weather-worn houses make listeners aware that heaven is a place of companionship with God -- wherever it may be.
Myrrh has also released singles of Jaci singing "If This World" and "Flower in the Rain," both of which spent several weeks at #1 on the CCM and CRR adult contemporary radio charts. Jaci had the good fortune to sing songs written by such notables as Chris Eaton, Ronnie Brookshire, Regie Hamm, and Bob Farrell.
"I've got the chile running through my veins."
-- Jaci Velasquez on her Hispanic heritage
But Jaci is not just a studio artist. She toured last spring with 4Him and opened the show with just three songs. Standing ovations became the order of the day following her set. No one has worked harder or traveled more than Jaci to promote her singing. She has made the rounds of Christian bookstore chains and distributors -- something not many Christian artists do. And everywhere she went, she made people feel she was their sister, their daughter, their friend.
Jaci grew up as a part of a traveling family involved in music and ministry that helped shape her future, and planted in her a strong desire to be involved with both areas when she became an adult. She got an early start -- around age ten or so she started to sing in churches where her dad was pastoring. She saw what music did for other people, and that made her want to do more. She remembers singing "Master of the Wind" for her grandpa, and shortly after that she noticed he was "getting more involved with God, seeking Him more." That made her realize singing was what the Lord intended her to do. You will see Jaci's grandfather Eduardo Velasquez playing guitar on the video.
The titles of Jaci's songs on Heavenly Place speak sermons in themselves, "Baptize Me," "On My Knees," "I Promise," and "We Can Make a Difference" are not the usual topics of a young singer's repertoire. Jaci relates, "I've always known what I wanted from life. I know what I want out of my ministry. I want to go and reach people my age that maybe even a youth pastor couldn't reach.... It scares me to death, but I know where I stand with the Lord."
To hear Jaci share her vision is to be given hope again. To hear her sing it, as in the message of abstinence on "I Promise" is to be renewed and inspired to share it with someone else. That's the way her ministry works.
"To have a relationship with God, it's the most important testimony you can have before people. It's not easy all the time -- I have a hard time with it sometimes. But that's what is going to last."
