Sonya Jenkins has a conversation with Yolanda Adams….
Four-time Grammy-Award Winning Singer Yolanda Adams has blessed us with her impeccable voice and inspirational songs for more 20 years. Since her 1988 CD debut, Just As I Am, the statuesque singer has become more graceful and multi-faceted with time. Fittingly, her new CD, BECOMING, gives credence to her growth. With a new CD, a classy clothing line, a confident spirit, and a strong sense of family, Yolanda Adams is becoming all God has ordained her to be.
I recently interviewed the gospel songstress. Below is an excerpt from my interview with her:
Sonya: “What’s the difference between this CD and other CDs you’ve made in the past?”
Yolanda: “It’s my own production – my own label. That’s the biggest difference. I’ve been writing on all of my records, but this one is the first one where 100 percent of the writing is done by me. So, it was very liberating and it’s also very personal because it comes from experiences that I’ve had for the last four or five years.”
Sonya: “How did you come up with the CD title, Becoming?”
Yolanda: “All of us are evolving into something special. I just like to believe that we’re all here for a reason. My reason may not be yours, but there’s a reason that we’re all here together. Like people wouldn’t know about the album if you didn’t do the interview, so I think we’re all becoming something really beautiful every single day.”
Sonya: “How do you handle difficult times?”
Yolanda: “I handle difficult times the way everybody should. You should say – ‘Okay, this right here is only temporary. It can’t stay too long in my life and there’s something that I’m supposed to learn in this hour.’ I’ve never looked at my life as though it’s supposed to be a bed of roses every single day. Quite the contrary. . . I just think that everything that we do should always reflect God. How would God handle this? How would knowing God’s providence in my life and His place in my life help? Should I throw in the towel? Should I blame God for this? Naw, I should keep it moving because that shows maturity. I should be thankful because I am His child. And then I should also look at it as though this is the next step to something greater.”
Sonya: “What advice would you give to aspiring singers?”
Yolanda: “Sing everywhere. Sing at baby showers (laughs). Sing anywhere they will let you sing, because somebody is going to see you and they’re going to want to either invest in you or take the time to take you to someone who can really do something with that beautiful voice.”
Sonya: “Besides promoting your new CD, what else is on your schedule?”
Yolanda: “We’re going to be doing that hot and heavy [promoting the CD]. But we have a clothing line coming out in the fall. We’re really excited about that. We’ve been working on it for a while. I just wanted to make sure that I had the best possible line that women can have. Since I am a person in the public eye, I’m always conscious of what I wear, whether it’s at a business meeting, a banquet, or at a tea, I want to make sure that I am, first of all, appropriate. So, the line that we’re putting out is a very, very classic line. I want women to understand that even though you are a business woman or a first lady or owner of your own business taking charge, you can look sleek; you can look wonderful in classic styles that don’t have to have your cleavage showing or your butt showing. I shop a lot of places and some of the stuff that I’m finding in some of the stores; I’m like, ‘Really?’ Y’all want people to wear this on a daily basis?’ My line is one of those lines that you can always find something very classic and classic doesn’t mean it’s not sexy.”
Sonya: “What’s the name of your new clothing line?”
Yolanda: “Yolanda Adams Couture. We’re doing like Ms. Tracy Reese did at first. I’m doing trunk shows and we’re really excited because we have good reviews so far. I’ve let a few of my favorite ladies like Nicki Taylor and Susan Taylor see the pictures from the web sites, so they’re really excited. It is on the level of say St. John Knits because I found that St. John is moving away from their knit niche. I’m like, ‘Hey. This is where we can jump into this.’”
Sonya: “What would you tell young ladies about having positive self-esteem, no matter what their shape or size?”
Yolanda: “The first thing is not to look at a model as the standard. Your body type is the body type that God gave you. Of course I want them to be fit, but that doesn’t mean that they’ll all be a size 6. I want them to take care of themselves − exercise, drink lots of water, eat the right things, but then make them understand that they are gorgeous in their own right. We all can’t look like Halle Berry, but we all are beautiful. There are times when Halle Berry doesn’t think she’s beautiful, which is kind of crazy to all of us. She’s been the standard of beauty in People magazine for the past eight years, but you have to look at yourself realistically. Don’t go changing your body – especially at 12 and 13 years old.”
“You see so many reality shows where people are getting nose jobs and getting liposuction, extreme diets and extreme body makeovers. People
don’t understand that those things are really extreme. I’m glad they took that Ugly Duckling show off because that’s horrible. But I don’t care how many veneers they get on their teeth . . . somewhere on the inside of those people, no matter how much surgery they get, somewhere in the back of their brain something tells them that they look like the person pre-surgery or pre-operation. So, you’re still dealing with, like you said before, self-esteem. You’re still dealing with the past . . . maybe husbands or boyfriends mistreated them, perhaps moms, dads mistreated them. You’ve got to
deal with the source first. What is your source of insecurity? Why do you feel insecure? Who is telling you you’re not beautiful? Who is telling you you’re not pretty? Are you telling yourself that? Okay, we can fix that. Is there someone in your family or in your school that’s bullying you or whatever? We can fix that too, because now it’s almost illegal to bully somebody. So, that’s what I would tell young people: To really search inside yourself and find the thing that you believe is most beautiful about you, enhance that and then have people around you who support you. Don’t hang around those people that are always talking about, ‘You need to change this,’ or ‘You need to do this,’ … ‘You need to lose 20 pounds,’ ‘You need to lose 5 lbs.’ Okay that’s nice for you to say, ‘But, what are you doing to better yourself?’ And especially Christian women: Stay in the word of God where it tells you how beautiful you actually are. And it has nothing to do with the outside. You can be a beautiful person on the outside, and horrible on the inside. Your attitude could just fair stink.”
Sonya: “How do you keep your skin so smooth and supple?”
Yolanda: “I make sure that I eat the right things. We grew up as a family eating fresh vegetables and lots of lean cuts of meat. We would splurge every now and then, but it wasn’t our norm to go to Jack in the Box orMcDonald’s. Those were our treats and those treats were few and far between, because my grandmother taught us how to cook. My mom was a great cook, so we enjoyed real food. That’s where my foundation comes from. I get the exercise part from my mom and dad. My mom was a cheerleader in college and high school and my dad ran track from the time he was in middle school all the way through college. And it’s in my genes to want to work out. I don’t have a problem working out. I don’t have that attitude, ‘Oh, God. Here we go.’ I find for myself that the more I work out and the better I take care of myself and the younger I look. It’s amazing to look in the mirror and I’m like, ‘Really, girl?’ I’m like, ‘Wow.’ It goes back again to taking care of yourself and not letting life and worry and stress really get the best of you.”
Sonya: “How long have you been divorced?”
Yolanda: “I’ve been divorced seven years.”
Sonya: “Are you dating now? Is there someone special?”
Yolanda: “Oh, yeah. He’s great.”
Sonya: “Do you see marriage in the picture?”
Yolanda: “We’re cool where we are. But he’s a very special young man. He’s a business man − highly successful. And we just enjoy each other.”
Sonya: “That’s great. So, what are some of the things you do to relax?”
Yolanda: “I find spending time with my daughter just makes my year, because she is hilarious. She’s ten and her name is Taylor. She is fu-un-ny. She’s a part of the honor society, she’s a part of the junior Beta society. She’s in all of this stuff and I just love it that she’s so active. And I always try, at least once a month, to go to the spa and get a massage and get a scrub and all that kind of stuff because I travel a lot and it takes a toll on your body.”
Sonya: “Where do you see yourself in 10 Years?”
Yolanda: “In the next 10 years hopefully I will have at least 10-20 artists on my label, N’House Music Group. I will be teaching young people how to be their best and preparing them for life, not just music because I think that’s so important. A lot of these shows prepare you for the music, but they don’t prepare you for life after the music comes out. I’ve always been heavy into mentorship because that’s how I grew up. My dad mentored a lot of his athletes as a coach, so for me it’s automatic to give back.”
Sonya: “Who are some of the people who inspired you?”
Yolanda: “Folks like Albertina Walker. Of course, Tremaine Hawkins, because she was actually the first lady of contemporary gospel music. She and I are very close to this day. As a black woman she did a lot for women in gospel because they had said for so long that women in gospel music couldn’t sell records. And that sounded crazy, because most of the groups back in the day were women groups. She was very encouraging. I had a very famous producer tell me once, ‘You’re gonna do good, but you’re not going to sell as many as this particular guy.’ I won’t name his name. I outsold him and started out-selling a lot of the men and then all of a sudden I started getting respect. But it started with my relationship with Traimaine Hawkins. She encouraged me.”
Sonya: “I’ve been in your presence and I must say, you have a sense of humor.”
Yolanda: “Well, you better… especially in this life. Because you never know how it’s gonna go, but you do know that you have this big God with a lot of great plans for your life. I just believe, again, if you act right, God will do a whole bunch of things that you just really don’t expect and He’ll surprise you and bless you and just shower you with a lot of divine things that come your way. And you’re just like ‘Man, God, You’re so cool.’”
To order “BECOMING”, go to http://www.walmart.com/ip/16440142
Listen to Yolanda’s new single “Be Still” at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03GQiPaa69I.
For a glimpse of designs from Yolanda Adams Couture, click below:
YolandaAdams
Also Visit - http://www.yolandaadamslive.com/site/
College Girl Fitness Tips: 
Kristin Jenkins is a senior studying Communications at the University of Georgia. She will contribute regular articles highlighting beauty & fitness. 
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