With four Grammy awards and eight million albums sold worldwide, Yolanda Adams is considered one of the greatest gospel performers of her era, achieving a level of success outside of her genre that few other gospel artists have experienced. After singing in several local Houston choirs as a child, Adams made her debut as a solo artist in 1988 with Just As I Am. The album was initially criticized for its fusion of jazz with traditional gospel, but the unique sound soon became her trademark. She hangs with the best while on tour, making worldwide stops throughout her career and performing to sold-out arenas of thousands of ticket holders. Her style is considered one of the bases for modern gospel, with its fusion of jazz, traditional gospel and rhythm and blues. Some of her live concert performances, such as Live in Washington, have gone on to become Grammy-winning performances. In 2011, she released her 11th studio album, Becoming, to critical acclaim.
Adams initially captured the attention of gospel labels when she debuted as a lead singer with Houston's Southeast Inspirational Choir. After her debut album took off, so, too, did her professional career, culminating with her most famous single, "The Battle is The Lord's". Her album, Mountain High...Valley Low, would earn Adams her first Grammy Award and a Dove Award. Along with several national honors, her career has been so genre-defining that in 2009, Billboard Magazine named her Best Gospel Artist of the Last Decade.