September 3, 1999
Well, first of all, thank-you to everyone who entered the Jaci Karaoke contest. I am in the process of digitizing and uploading all your entries so everyone can vote! We received about a dozen entries from an overwhelming majority of girls, from ages 7 to 24.
In case you haven't heard yet, Jaci's newest CD, Llegar a Ti is out, and I've uploaded complete, accurate word-for-word lyrics to the Lyrics Page. It is truly a blessed album -- a LOT of prayer went into it, and Jaci has accomplished something we can all be proud of -- again! I am in the processing of translating the album into English and will have those translations uploaded soon for us non-Spanish speakers. Also, Jaci's first home video, Clips and Conversations is out featuring all of her videos ("Un Lugar Celestial," "On My Knees," and "God So Loved") and an interview from around the time Jaci Velasquez was released.
I am also in the process of totally redoing the design and layout of this site, to include a complete Spanish version as well, so if you have some time and are fluent in both English and Spanish, please e-mail me if you are willing to help! It's a major undertaking. I will have tons more pictures (mostly promotional pictures), complete video clips of her videos plus some of her live performances, lots more sound clips from radio and TV interviews and live performances and a few more surprises, so keep checking back with us, or join our mailing list to get e-mail when we're through!
Everyone wants to know: when is Jaci going to release another English album?! Well, according to a new interview from K-Love Radio Magazine it will be sometime next year, and Jaci will be writing some of the songs on it AND co-producing it! The interview also mentioned that Jaci's next single will be "I Will Rest in You" from Streams and that there probably won't be another single from Jaci Velasquez.
Word also has it that the title track ("Llegar a Ti") of Jaci's Spanish album will be the new theme song for the telenovela "El Amor de Mi Vida" on Telemundo airing in December, 1999. Jaci is also rumored to be performing and recording a video with Latin group MDO. Well, that's about all the news as of now. God bless you and please continue to pray for Jaci and the new album, Llegar a Ti, that it reaches hands that need to hear it, that God allow it to be used solely for His glory, and that Jaci continue to seek His will and follow the perfect path He has paved for her life (like He has for you).
August 6, 1999
A transcript from Jaci's interview and concert from the 25th Annual Christian Artists' Seminar in the Rockies is available here. It contains a fairly decent interview with Jaci, so please take a few minutes and read it. I'm also working on creating MP3 files from that concert, and so far one is available of Jaci's new Spanish song "Con Tu Amor" here (note that this is an MP3-encoded wave file, that will play in modern wave players or any MP3 player).
Two other brief news items: Jaci's latest single, Show You Love moves up one position to number 11 on the Twenty the Countdown Magazine (CRR) chart. And the last bit of news for today: the Pictures page has been updated, with 20 new Jaci concert photos, and the Links page has been updated. Enjoy, and God bless you!
July 28, 1999
Lots of news today! First off, Jaci's latest single, Show You Love remains at #1 for three weeks now on the CCM Christian Hit Radio Chart. Only two other Jaci songs have stayed at #1 for more that two weeks, so this is no small achievement! Congratulations, Jaci.
Secondly, Jaci Velasquez has gone GOLD! This means that the Recording Industry Association of America has certified that over 500,000 copies of her second album have been sold. This has actually been true since April 15th, 1999, but I hadn't announced it here yet.... Click here for more information.
More news about Jaci's new Spanish album! It's going to be called Llegar a Ti (pronounced "yeh-gar ah tee" for you non-Spanish speakers :) ) instead of Un Lugar Celestial, the latest word is it will be released August 31st, and it promises to be one of her best yet! Visit the lyrics page for a track listing, and photo of the album cover, and click here for 3 brief sound clips. So far, my favorite is "Con Tu Amor."
Two online official Jaci events: First, August 1-6, 1999, you can see the 25th Annual Christian Artists' Seminar in the Rockies, where Jaci will be performing LIVE on the internet here. Second, September 19th and September 26th, Tommy Noe of the Christian Music Magazine will be interviewing Jaci, and posting transcripts here.
Finally (and I saved the best for last), here is a letter from Jaci she wants all her fans to read:
Hey Guys, How are you doing? So many wonderful things have happened lately. I just could not wait to share it with you. Very sincerely, Jaci Velásquez |
July 14, 1999
I've updated the lyrics page to include Jaci's new song, "Colors of the Heart," it's a wonderful duet with Gospel singer Oleta Adams. There are complete, accurate color-coded lyrics and a couple sound clips. You can find this song on the new Bridges album now available in stores. "Colors of the Heart" is by far the best song on the album, and worth the price of the album all on its own.
There are a few new links on the Links page as well as a few concert updates on the Concerts page. About two dozen new pictures of Jaci await you on the pictures pages (thanks to Louis Rivera of The Unofficial 4Him Site for allowing me to use and enhance his recently taken photos from Jaci's King's Island concert on July 9th!) There's also two new wallpapers to choose from, and 7 (yes, 7) new magazine covers that Jaci's graced the covers of making a total of 14! God bless you!
July 8, 1999
If you want to see the cutest Jaci pictures ever -- go to the brand new Baby Jaci/Young Jaci pictures page. Don't forget about the exclusive contest either!
If there's a Parable Christian Store around your neighborhood, be sure to pick up a copy of their latest catalog - there are some new pictures of Jaci in it. If there isn't (or you're too lazy to go :) ) you can call 1-800-332-7330 and request a catalog. And you can also click here and here to view them!
Jaci's latest single, "Show You Love" is doing strange things on the charts.... It holds steady at number 2 on the CCM Christian Hit Radio chart, falls off the CCM Adult Contemporary chart, moves up four positions to number 11 on the Twenty the Countdown Magazine (CRR) chart, and up two positions to number 1 on the About.com/Greg Webb chart. Greg has this to say: "The Chart has a new queen this week, as the lovely Jaci Velasquez dances into the #1 spot with "Show You Love." The song is the fourth big hit from her sophomore project, and the second #1 ("Glory" hit the top late last year), and is also in my opinion the strongest cut on the album. This one could stay at the top for a couple more weeks...."
June 29, 1999
Today marks the 6-month "anniversary" of jacivelasquez.net -- and we have a brand new exclusive contest for you! Click here to enter!
Unfortunately, Jaci's video Clips and Conversations that was supposed to be out today has been pushed back to August 24th, when her new Spanish album, Un Lugar Celestial will be released in addition to a new folio for Un Lugar Celestial
Jaci is in a couple of recent magazines. There is a small picture of her shoulder-hugging Rebecca St. James in June/July's Release Magazine, p. 13 (click here to see it), and a small black-and-white picture and article in September's Teen Beat Magazine, p. 68 (click here to see it).
Jaci's new single, "Show You Love" is rising up the charts. It moves up three positions to number 2 on the CCM Christian Hit Radio chart, and up two positions to number 9 on the CCM Adult Contemporary chart, and up four positions to number 15 on the Twenty the Countdown Magazine (CRR) chart.
Whether you're a first time visitor or a regular visitor, I'd like to thank-you for supporting jacivelasquez.net just by visiting over these past six months. I've come up with a list of goals I'd like to accomplish during the next six months for this site. In no particular order, they are:
June 19, 1999
Some exciting news today! First of all, be one of the first to hear the NEW Jaci song, "Colors of the Heart" from the upcoming Bridges album! Jaci does an amazing duet on this song with Oleta Adams (not Donnie McClurkin as was erroneously stated before by Benson.) Wow! What an incredible pair! First of all, Oleta is a wonderful choice for a duet with Jaci. She is very much an alto in this song with Jaci soaring in soprano -- as usual, flawlessly. Jaci does some wonderful new things with her voice here too -- reminiscent of Mariah Carey (older style Mariah, not newer style) almost and not overly breathy or forced (Mariah is my favorite secular singer, by the way) especially when she sings the first "see," "me," and "are."
The Spanish overlay Jaci does is a nice addition. I wonder if this song will appear on her Spanish album? Doubt it, but anyway, it is nice!
The song lyric and tempo are different, upbeat and the music complements the song well -- it's not at all intrusive like many duet arrangements can be. Even in the short clip, there seems to be a fair distribution of vocals and no competition between Jaci and Oleta. They sound enchanting together. In fact, Oleta almost sounds like Jaci singing an octave or so lower.... Of course, the Lyrics page has been updated, and a new page for "Colors of the Heart" has been added with lyrics and two sound clips (MP3 and RealAudio). (Click here to preorder it and help support this web site.)
Have you joined the NEW Jaci OneList yet? If not, do so now, it's free and guaranteed to keep you up-to-date on the latest Jaci news! Click here to subscribe. Once you have subscribed, be sure to take the Favorite Jaci Song Survey.
We're in the process of creating a new Articles section on this web site -- as of this writing, there are 20 articles available for viewing directly, and I have many more to add still. Special thanks to JaciVFan for helping me out by proofreading the articles!
Jaci's new single "Show You Love" moves up 3 positions to number 9 on the CCM Christian Hit Radio chart. Let's watch this song as it hopefully rises to number 1!
Finally, there is a new picture of Jaci posted in the K-LOVE radio station scrapbook. Click here to view it! Be sure to keep checking this web page frequently -- very soon details on a unique, exclusive contest will be posted that I'm sure will appeal to many of you. Also, June 29th marks exactly 6 months of jacivelasquez.net -- be looking for a facelift and lots of new features! Hey, why don't you send me some suggestions while you're at it?!
June 14, 1999
Some good and bad news -- Jaci's new Spanish Album Un Lugar Celestial has been delayed until around August. Word is she wants to make it right and add a few finishing touches to it. We'll keep you posted as to a new official release date. Apparently, the new video, Clips and Conversations will still be available on June 29th. The now confirmed release date for Bridges (with a new duet by Jaci and Gospel artist Donnie McClurkin) is July 13th (a push-back of about two weeks).
The good news is we've added a new section to this web site. The Articles section will have local links to all magazine, newspaper and web articles written about Jaci with the same design and layout as the rest of this site. I'm still working on it, but the articles that have been completed are up right now. The e-mail page has been updated and -- we are no longer offering the @jacivelasquez.net option due to lack of use. If you currently have an @jacivelasquez.net address, you do not need to change anything -- it will continue to work. You can still set up a totally free web-based e-mail account with lots of features on that page though!
Jaci's latest single, "Show You Love" debuts at number 20 on the 20: The Countdown Magazine Chart. Let's hope this snappy tune goes all the way to number 1!
One final note for today: If you think you know a lot about Jaci, be sure to check out the Jaci Velasquez Discussion Zone where I'm posting a daily Jaci trivia question with occasional prizes. And speaking of prizes, be on the lookout for a very unique contest with some very cool Jaci prizes to be announced on this website later this month. God bless you, and remember to pray for Jaci as she completes Un Lugar Celestial.
June 8, 1999
The Concerts page has been again updated and links to additional online concert information added. I forgot to mention last time that Jaci is on the cover of June's CCM Magazine, and the same picture of her is inside the magazine -- it's in reference to the Streams album. I've also added Jaci's comments to just about every song on all her albums listed in the Lyrics page. Some of them had comments before, but now all but one ("I Will Rest in You") does. Finally, I want to encourage you to consider joining the relatively new Jaci Velasquez Unofficial Fan Club -- it's actually an Excite community about Jaci that's slowly growing in numbers...give it a try -- it's free.
June 5, 1999
Thanks to all of you who've written about the lack of updates for a while on this site. I'll do my best to be more frequent! There is lots of new news to report -- so let's get started: First of all, Jaci's latest song is now available. It's called "I Will Rest in You," and it's beautiful! It's available on the Streams CD, which is based on the devotional book Streams in the Desert. Also, coming in July is another Jaci song, this time a duet with Gospel singer Donnie McClurkin. It will be released on the upcoming Benson compilation album, Bridges. The big Jaci day this month will be June 29th, when Sony Discos will release Jaci's first Spanish album called Un Lugar Celestial which will include 7 of her English songs redone in Spanish (e.g., "Me Arrodillo Ante Ti" is "On My Knees" in Spanish) plus new cuts. Also on June 29th, Jaci's first solo video called Clips and Conversations will be released. It includes 3 or 4 of her music videos along with a behind-the-scenes look and exclusive interviews (in English).
Jaci has been at two awards shows recently also (even though she wasn't even nominated for anything!) She helped present an award at the Billboard Latin Music Awards, and at the 1999 Alma Awards, sang a duet of her song, "Un Lugar Celestial" with Deborah Cox. You can download an exclusive MP3-encoded wave file (CD quality) here. (Note that you'll need a recent wave player or any MP3 player to play this file.) I feel this performance was a definite asset to Jaci's music career. First of all, this was her first prime-time television appearance, and on a major national network (ABC) nonetheless. Second, Jaci's vocals were absolutely dazzling -- the best I've ever heard her sing live (and I've heard her sing live at least 8 or 9 times before).
The Lyrics, Links, Concerts (with lots of new dates!) and Pictures (especially the CD pictures page) pages of this Web Site have been updated. Enjoy!
March 24, 1999 - Dove Update
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The 30th Annual Dove Awards are over, and Jaci Velasquez is GMA's Female Vocalist of the Year! Jaci also performed her upbeat version of "Un Lugar Celestial," and was introduced as being the "19 year old [who] released her second album, her first book, performed 200 tour dates, worked on her first Spanish-language CD, and had a number one song of the year. Nominated tonight for 5 Dove Awards
including Female Vocalist and Artist of the Year, the amazing Jaci Velasquez!" During her acceptance speech, Jaci said: |
March 24, 1999
Speak for Me moves up three positions to number 1 on the 20: The Countdown Magazine Chart. So, now both CRR and CCM concur: Another #1 hit for Jaci! Be sure to check out the following updated pages: Concerts - with new dates and places, Pictures - featuring new concert photos, more wallpaper, etc., Favorites, Poll - with a new Jaci poll, and Links - with a new link to a Jaci quiz, and more articles. But first...
Please take a moment to say a special prayer. I will quote from Jaci herself: "You know what, I would definitely have to say...I'm definitely a person...that has lived out my dreams. I don't know what else to say except to say that I have lived out a lot of some of the wildest dreams I never even knew I had.... I have three brothers and one sister, and I have a sister-in-law, a new sister-in-law, and I have been very blessed to have the family that I have. My mom and dad travel with me...everyone's here except my sister.... I don't know what I would do without them.... We got some news about...a month ago. I have a sister, remember that I told you was not here. I wasn't raised with her, she was raised apart from me and...we always hear news about what's going on with her, and I get so frustrated with her all the time because she not only breaks our hearts, she breaks my mom, my dad's heart. It kills him all the time whenever he hears news about Mindy. She's a drug addict, and that's really hard and right now she's actually in prison...you would think that we all come from the perfect family homes...but God is doing a work in my family.... You guys have to promise me that you'll keep my sister in prayer, anytime you think about her, anytime you think of me that you'll pray for her. Because I hate to feel angry with her..., so keep her in your prayers whenever you can, that would be awesome."
Don't forget today: the Dove Awards, you can see them live on the internet at crosswalk.com. Results will be posted on this page immediately following the awards. Thanks for supporting this web site, and please send your comments and suggestions!
March 15, 1999
Speak for Me moves up one position to number 4 on the 20: The Countdown Magazine Chart. Crosswalk.com has an article about Jaci's book, A Heavenly Place. Click here to read it. Got a minute? Take the NEW Jaci Poll -- click here. Finally, there are now 171 pictures (31 new ones) in the pictures pages.
March 8, 1999
Speak for Me holds steady at number 5 on the 20: The Countdown Magazine Chart, but, moves up three positions to number 1 on the CCM Magazine Chart. Congratulations on another number 1 hit, Jaci!
March 3, 1999
Take the new Jaci Poll, on this site which will change weekly. Click here to answer this week's question.... Also, the links page has been updated, and sites have been reorganized and rated. Take a look! Finally, for those who may not know, Jaci's still untitled Spanish album has been delayed until late May. As always, we'll keep you posted.
March 1, 1999
Speak for Me moves up three positions to number 5 on the 20: The Countdown Magazine Chart, and up one position to number 4 on the CCM Magazine Chart.
We're about 3 weeks away from the Dove Awards, and you can see them live this year on the internet at crosswalk.com. Of course, Jaci Velasquez will be performing live. If you're like me and frustrated with the quality (or lack thereof) of internet broadcasts, all Wal-Mart Stores will be airing them live.
You may now also order Jaci's CD's, CD's Jaci contributed to, tapes, videos, and books safely and securely from this site's new ordering page. Proceeds from sales off this site go back into this site to fund contests, giveaways, and/or for donation to a Jaci-supported ministry.
February 25, 1999
Jaci is now confirmed to be performing at the 30th Annual Dove Awards in Nashville. See the updated concerts page for details and ticket information. Today marks one month of www.jacivelasquez.net -- we have received around 3,500 hits, and wish to thank-you for supporting this site. We need your suggestions for improvement! Please e-mail us!
The pictures page has been reorganized so it loads faster, and several new pictures have been added -- including video stills from Jaci's videos. Finally, for those of us in San Antonio, TX, don't forget tickets go on sale for the Jaci Velasquez/Brother's Keeper concert at Trinity Church (not Trinity Baptist Church nor the Majestic Theater as mistakenly posted on certain other websites -- including Myrrh's!) this Saturday, February 27th. Tickets are $20 for Artist Gold, $16 for floor, and $14 for balcony, and are available at the Shepherd Shoppes and Albertsons, or you may charge by phone by calling 1-888-597-STAR.
February 22, 1999
Speak for Me moves up four positions to number 8 on the 20: The Countdown Magazine Chart, and up two positions to number 5 on the CCM Magazine Chart.
Also, Gary Chapman is joined in the studio by Jaci Velasquez on the CCM Countdown, which you can listen to in realaudio format. Together they count down the top 10 adult contemporary Christian songs. Look for a transcription from this session later this week in addition to screen captures from Jaci's 3 videos, more wallpaper, and more pictures.
February 15, 1999
Speak for Me moves up two positions to number 12 on the 20: The Countdown Magazine Chart, and three positions to number 7 on the CCM Magazine Chart.
Check out these recently update pages on this site: Pictures, Links, and Ministry. I am in the process of reorganizing and rating the links page, and redoing the pictures page so it loads faster. Look for these and other enhancements by the end of this week. Also look for a new page with the start of the Jaci fan e-mail book. Remember, submit your fanmail by March 15th, and it will be printed in a book and given to Jaci personally at one of her Texas concerts.
February 10, 1999
Sign up for free Jaci web-based e-mail! Just visit the e-mail page of this site for details. Open a new e-mail address (yourname@jacivelasquez.zzn.com or yourname@jacivelasquez.net) and receive exclusive contests, trivia, Jaci electronic newsletters and more. After signing up, send Jaci a fan e-mail to jaci@jacivelasquez.net and it'll be printed out and given to her at one of her March concerts (either Houston, Beaumont or San Anto
