Perry Martins
Nearly 50 million people in America in the U.K. tuned in to watch the Royal Wedding Between Meghan Markle and Prine Harry on television, and global estimates put the viewership closer to two billion. The wedding notably featured a stirring sermon from an African American preacher and a beautiful rendition of “Stand By Me” by The Kingdom Choir, the talented gospel music group.
Since their performance at the royal ceremony, gospel music has received lots of boost and acceptance all over the world and the choir has been experiencing a whirlwind of opportunities and success. Led by director Karen Gibson, the group still feels humbled and honoured to have sung for the couple on their special day. Now, they have nowhere to go but up.
Months after the wedding, The Kingdom Choir was offered a record deal
CBS News reported that within that first week following the wedding, The Kingdom Choir’s “Stand By Me” reached number one on the Billboard Hot Gospel Chart. By July, Sony offered them a record deal, and for the group, they viewed it as an answer to their prayers to be able to reach more people with their voices.
They described singing for the duke and duchess as both surreal and an honour, and the chance to work with Sony as a bonus. One of the choir members, Sharlene Monique Morris, told the outlet last year:
“You’ve got to understand, we rehearse in Karen’s living room. … This is just, we pray, we worship, we sing in her living room.
And repeat. We do it again. So the Sony thing is just like, for us, I’ll be very honest, it’s like, wow, we actually get to reach so many more people, and that’s the exciting thing for us. It’s like, this is really, really cool.”
According to NPR, the London-based group has performed for Bill Clinton, Queen Elizabeth II, and Nelson Mandela in the past, but the wedding was a high point because it was a celebration of love. The Kingdom Choir released their debut album, Stand By Me, in October 2018.
The record deal led to The Kingdom Choir tour in the UK, and now North America
Town & Country reports that this past spring, The Kingdom Choir completed a 22-date tour throughout the United Kingdom. Their last performance on that leg ended on the duke and duchess’s wedding anniversary at Prince Albert Hall. Gibson is over the moon about being able to share their music around the world live, and is looking forward to traveling with the choir:
“What is truly wonderful is that we now have a global platform to take our music to people all faiths and none. For me, the message of gospel music—that of love, hope and inspiration—has always been relevant to everyone. It can bring peace and healing to individuals and communities suffering some of the noise and divisions of modern social and political life.”
The Kingdom Choir will begin touring the United States and Canada in September and will complete their run in November.
New music and stops across the country are promised
North American tour dates will kick off in Las Vegas, Nevada on Friday, September 6, spreading from coast to coast and Canada with 29 planned dates. Per The Kingdom Choir press release, audiences will be treated to gospel favourites as well as pop songs:
“This fall, The Kingdom Choir will tour in support of their debut album Stand By Me (Sony Music), a soulful collection featuring renditions of classics such as ‘Amazing Grace’ and ‘Hark! The Herald Angels Sing’ to more contemporary cuts from today’s hitmakers like Beyoncé’s Halo, Adele’s ‘Make You Feel My Love,’ and Coldplay’s ‘Fix You.’
Culled from Cheatsheet.com
