More often in gospel and other genres, background singers (BGVs) don’t get the attention of the audience; everyone eyes on the popular lead artists. But despite this, singing in the background can be the perfect launch pad for new singers.
It offers mentorship from the lead artist, new connections to other artists, exposure and a wealth of experience.
This article will feature three artists who once sang in the backgrounds before launching their succesful careers:
- Nicole Mullen
- Terrian
- Lauren Daigle
Enjoy the read!
Nicole C. Mullen
From a tender age, Nicole Mullen was endowed with a phenomenal voice-one for the books. Naturally gifted, she started off singing at the age of two, and would often sing with her family. Nicole’s talent propelled her to various opportunities in her early life.
In her late teens, she enrolled to a Bible school, and there toured with a gospel group, Living Praise. Her talents were then noticed by a producer Tim Miner, who hired her as a background singer.
In her early twenties, the producer Tim helped Nicole get a recording deal with Frontline records. Nicole then released her debut album, ‘Don’t Let Me Go‘ and a year later released a second album, both under Frontline records. In her second album were songs co-written with David Mullen.
Citing disappointments from her time with Frontline records, Nicole left the label. She is thus quoted:
I felt like I was filling a position
Nicole Mullen, quoted from musicianguide.com
Moving on, Nicole Mullen took up the role of a touring background singer for renown gospel artists of the time, including: Amy Grant, CeCe Winans, Newsboys and Michael W. Smith:
- 1993 – 1994: background singer for Newsboys’ Not Ashamed tour.
- 1991: background singer and choreographer for Amy Grant’s Heart in Motion tour.
Nicole also composed Jaci Velasquez’s ‘On My Knees’ which scooped the 1998 Grammy Award for song of the year.
In 2000, Nicole returned to the stage as an artist with an album ‘Nicole C. Mullen’. In this album was her hit song ‘Call on Jesus’.
Terrian
Terrian, as TobyMac attests, has one soulful voice to bring the life into music. This must have helped earn her a spot in TobyMac’s DiverseCity band.
Terrian joined DiverseCity in 2017, after the resident female background singer Professor Nirva Ready left to pursue a duo recording career with her husband Seth, under a record label.
So Terrian took up the female background singer position that had been voided. Terrian has since toured with TobyMac in his Hits Deep tours including in 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Terrian signed a record deal with GoTee records in 2019, and debuted in the same year, with her song ‘God With Us‘. Terrian has since released five more singles and a debut project ‘Genesis of Terrian‘ in 2021.
The talented singer is still part of DiverseCity. She also mentors girls in music at a non-profit organization Angelstreet, where she was the first graduate.
Lauren Daigle
For Lauren Daigle, singing was only a childhood ambition that she didn’t feed with serious effort. But this would change at 15 years of age, when Lauren contracted an infectious viral disease due to a weakened immune system.
To recover, she had to spend two years at home in isolation. During this time, she began taking voice lessons. Her passion for music grew stronger and her vocation became clearer.
But she was still a distance from her career. After the two years, Lauren attended a charter school, graduating early in only six months. Then for her college gap year, she volunteered as a missionary in Brazil. She later enrolled at Louisiana State University for child and family studies.
While at LSU, Lauren kept tabs with her musical self, singing in the choir. She also contested on American idol, but didn’t reach the final stages. Afterwards she joined North Point Community Church, where she led worship, and later on recorded her debut songs: ‘Close‘, and ‘You Alone‘.
Lauren was then requested to sing background vocals for a local band. This exposed her skills to Centricity Music, who invited her to a workshop. On the workshop day, a designated singer was unwell, and so Lauren was invited to take her place.
Again, this led Lauren to a greater opportunity. She sang as background singer on a Jason Gray’s ‘Nothing Is Wasted‘. She then got a record deal with Centricity Music.
From here on, Lauren went on to release music that topped charts and won awards. Speaking of awards and charts, Lauren Daigle can be said to be the fastest selling new artist in recent CCM.
To wrap it up…
Sometimes, all it takes is being faithful to the call, no matter where it leads. In the end, all things work out.
But starting as a background singer is not the only way to becoming an independent singer. Everyone has their unique path. All that matters is faithfulness to the calling.
Thank you for reading! If interested, you can check out more personality profiles on Unleash Mag here.
[Cover Image: Nicole C. Mullen. Source: nicolemullen.com]
This article sheds light on the inspiring journeys of some of the most popular Gospel artists who started their music careers as background singers. It’s fascinating to learn about the hard work, struggles and determination that helped them rise to fame. Aspiring singers can take inspiration from these stories and pursue their dreams relentlessly. The article reiterates the fact that hard work, talent and passion can take you places, and success is never too far away.