Alexis Spight is a singer/songwriter with a spirit as fiery as her bright red hair and a fierce determination to use her music ministry to reach and encourage people everywhere, from the church to the club. With a musical style that is as unique and eclectic as her look, Alexis has been charting her own path in the gospel music industry and gaining loyal and enthusiastic fans along the way. The 2012 first runner-up of Season Five on BET’s Sunday Best, Alexis has been winning ever since. Her debut album, L.O.L.: Living Out Loud was a smashing success, peaking at No. #1 on the Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart. The album garnered two Stellar Music Awards nominations, including New Artist of the Year and Contemporary Female Vocalist of the Year.
Now she’s back with a sophomore project that’s promising to reach even greater heights. Her new album, Dear Diary drops August 28, and marks the first release on the new label, Uncle G Records, which is distributed by eOne Music in Nashville, TN. The lead single, “All the Glory” is already a hit. It was No. 1 on Billboard’s Gospel Indicator chart, for three consecutive weeks, No. 5 on Mediabase and No. 7 on Billboard’s Gospel National Airplay charts. Alexis believes people relate to this worship song because it simply gives credit where credit is due. “I learned in school that it’s plagiarism to take credit for someone else’s work.” She said. “So all this song is doing is just citing Jesus.” Alexis second single, “It Will Be Alright” is currently on Billboard Gospel Charts. It’s an encouraging and uplifting song that will encourage you even at your lowest point.
This new album is very much a reflection of who Alexis is, or perhaps who she has become. At just 22-years old, she has been on a musical and spiritual journey, prompted by periods of adversity, which recently included the death of an aunt who helped raise her and a serious illness of another close family member. She also has experienced times of self- doubt, when she has been discouraged about her career and her music ministry. “There are so many different things that I’ve experienced, but God let me know that I needed to feel the infirmities of his people so that my music would come from a pure place when I minister,” she said. She describes this album as an “audio diary,” through which listeners can look at her life experiences and draw encouragement in knowing that she has made it through and they can too. The 12 songs on the album also reflect her wide-ranging musical taste. The lyrics are all about the goodness of God, but the message is delivered through musical styles that include R&B, neo-soul, Go-Go music, praise and worship, contemporary gospel, traditional gospel songs and even a hymn. “I want everyone to have something they can connect with,” she says. “Young people love my music, but my great grandmother is 84 years old and I want her to find a track on the album that she would enjoy as well.”
The genre bending album opener, “New School Twang,” which Alexis co-wrote, puts a contemporary, urban music twist on a melody of standard gospel songs. “I’m Blessed,” an up-tempo, R&B style song and “I Believe,” the mid-tempo neo-soul style song written by Alexis, are both meant to encourage people during the times of frustration and discouragement to hold on and keep believing. Alexis describes “It Will Be Alright” as a “collard greens and cornbread kind of song” with a lot of soul and a lot of heart. “Prayer Can Do,” is another of the album’s genre benders. With “old school” lyrics about the power of prayer, this hand-clapping, foot-stomping song has a syncopated urban beat that will make you want to get up and dance. “Safe House” is another urban style song with the reassuring message that we will always have a safe place with God. Alexis returns to the theme of letting go and letting God in a pair of songs, “Don’t Worry” and “Drop That.” “Only Jesus” is a departure from the other songs on the album. She was inspired to write this song as a hymn, something she has never attempted, and the results are stunningly powerful. “Friend” is a “full out urban song” that declares that Jesus is the ultimate friend who is always there when you need Him. The album and the journey end with “Your Reward,” a song written by Alexis to give her personal testimony, thanking God for all that He has allowed her to accomplish and dedicating her success back to God.
Alexis’s journey began in Buffalo, New York, where she was born and raised. She is the oldest of five children. Her father is a guitarist, singer, and preacher, and her uncle and grandfather are preachers as well. Both music and God were at the center of her family life. She began singing in the choir at her church when she was three years old. She sang with her mother until she found confidence in her voice. When she was only eight years old, she formed a singing group with her sisters, Alyssa, Jazmin, and baby sister Jada, who has started to build her own solo career under the tutelage of Greg “Uncle G” Lyons. The group, The Spight Sisters, performed around the Buffalo area and in various parts of New York.
When she was 12, Alexis discovered a love and talent for writing music. She began writing as a way to deal with a traumatic event and a difficult period in her life. Her family lost their home in a 48-hour period due to financial difficulties, and all seven of them had to move into an extended stay hotel, where they lived for three months. “I suddenly knew what it was like to lose everything, but God blessed us through it all,” she says, “It prompted my family to have an unspoken bond, and I believe it was preparation for this journey.” The Spights now live in Kansas City, where her father is the senior pastor of Madden Temple Church of God in Christ, and he oversees the Greater Faith and Deliverance Ministries in Binghamton, New York.
Alexis always knew that she wanted to be a professional singer. Her father, who helped train her as a singer, taught her that if she wanted to do something, she should go after it and learn all she could about it. She attended Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts, the school where her mother and father attended as dance and music majors respectively, and she spent hours studying singers she admired, such as The Clark Sisters and Kim Burrell, among others. At 16, she began to audition for televised singing competition programs. She auditioned for American Idol and X Factor before landing a spot on Sunday Best. “I guess God wanted my voice for him,” she says.
Alexis is looking ahead to a busy schedule and bright future in gospel music and beyond. Her immediate focus is on promoting her new CD and continuing her Dear Diary Tour. In the future she would like to get more involved with acting in theatrical productions and on television. She also wants to write books. One important goal for her is to build her fledgling nonprofit organization, God Sisters, through which she mentors young women between the ages of 13 and 19. She began streaming sessions every Monday, where she discussed topics such as relationships, bullying and peer pressure. Within three weeks, more than 800 young women had signed on to the weekly sessions. Because of the work on her new album and her touring, she has temporarily suspended the weekly sessions, but continues to counsel and mentor young women through social media. She plans to resume the sessions and expand her organization to include trips, conferences, and other activities. “Helping young women is my passion,” says Alexis. “I never turn off my mentorship.”
Whatever her future holds, one thing is for sure, Alexis will do things her way. “I’m just who I am and I try to inspire and encourage others to be themselves,” she says. “I am proof that when you remain true to who you are, God will do amazing things in your life.”
Photo Credit :: Artist Management
Unity In The Community Day Performer :: Alexis Spight was originally published on thelightnc.com
