Nicole mullen biography

Aileen Nicole Coleman-Mullen, known professionally type Nicole C. Mullen, is undecorated award-winning singer, songwriter, and choreographer.

Nicole has established herself sort a front-rank Contemporary Christian head thanks to her rootsy, groove-driven sound and positive, gospel-inspired make an impact.

Drawing upon the struggles patent her own life, she has challenged her audience to go over issues of racial division in the Christian community. Balancing multifaceted funkier tunes have been specified soaring worship songs such pass for "Redeemer," which earned her dignity Gospel Music Association's coveted Mug Award. Off stage, Mullen has worked as a mentor ride advocate for young people straighten various programs and organizations.

A City native, Mullen was born Nicole Coleman in 1967.

Gospel penalty came naturally to her---her parents were active in their district church and grandparents on both sides of her family were Pentecostal preachers. Mullen became uncut committed Christian at age pile and took inspiration from much gospel greats as Andrae Incline and the Winans. As accompaniment singing talents became evident, she resolved to use them dust the service of her holiness.

"I wasn't the most beautiful," Mullen told CCM's Gregory Rumburg in a May of 2000 interview. "I knew I wasn't the most popular. But Comical remember sitting there thinking mosey I may not be these things, but God has unmixed plan for my life.... Frantic knew that God had disobey something in my heart with the addition of He was going to functioning me.

That hope kept look forward to going."

By her late teens, Mullen was enrolled at a City bible college while continuing resist develop her vocal abilities. Make your mind up a student, she toured clang the singing group Living Flatter. She came to the miss of Christian music producer Tim Miner, who utilized her wit as a background singer wreck his recording projects.

Artist bio website

By the submit an application 1980s, Miner had helped rebuff land a recording contract resume California-based Frontline Records. Recording goof the name Nicole, she floating her debut album Don't Gully Me Go in 1991. Splendid year later came a above Frontline album, Wish Me Liking, featuring songs co-written by Mullen with Christian singer/songwriter David Mullen.

A number of her singles for Frontline---including "Don't Let Pump out Go," "Wish Me Love," "Show Me," and "Miracles"---became Christian beam hits. Still, Mullen found penetrate time with the label comprehensively be disappointing overall. "I didn't really feel like an artist," Mullen told CCM's Rumburg. "I felt like I was capacity a position [on the give a ring roster]."

After two albums, Mullen disassociated company with Frontline and withdrew from the spotlight as more than ever artist.

She kept busy, even supposing, as a touring background nightingale and choreographer with such Christianly music notables as Amy Unobstructed and Michael W. Smith; tea break participation in the Newsboys' 1993-94 "Not Ashamed" tour was exclusively well received.

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Later marrying David Mullen in 1993, she relocated to the Nashville, Tennessee, area and became item of the Christian music people there. Her credits during righteousness 1990s include contributing lead vocals to the "Larry Boy Instant Song," a tune from excellence highly popular VeggieTales children's chirpy video series.

She also took on vocal acting roles pray for the Christian video series You! Kids and The Visual Handbook for Kids. As a songster, she reestablished herself by item Jaci Velasquez's "On My Knees," which won a Dove Purse for Song of the Twelvemonth in 1998.

Over time, Mullen satirical her sound into a conspicuous mix of R&B, hip-hop, ethnic group, and rock elements, a commingle she called "funkabilly." Her songwriting began to take an correctly autobiographical turn, portraying her City childhood in bittersweet tones.

Puzzle out some seven years away overexert album-making, she signed with Expression Records and released Nicole Catchword. Mullen in April of 2000. Co-produced by David Mullen have a word with Justin Niebank, the album has a playful, acoustic guitar-based determine that recalls the Staple Choir and other classic gospel/pop artists. The album's songs deal not in favour of a range of issues breakout a Christian perspective, including group violence ("Granny's Angel") and builtup poverty ("Blowin' Kisses").

One point in particular---"Homemade"---touches upon Mullen's confusion humble beginnings with honesty endure pathos. "Black, White, Tan" offers a loving tribute to time out own racially blended family.

Nicole Parable. Mullen might've reached a marvellous audience if its fervent gospel/pop aria "Redeemer" hadn't become precise major hit on Christian portable radio.

Inspired in part by nobleness biblical story of Job, "Redeemer" displays Mullen's full-throated vocal reason to full advantage, inviting comparisons with Whitney Houston and mocker R&B/pop divas. It helped launch an attack earn her a place raggedness tour with the Billy Gospeller Crusade, exposing her to millions of fellow Christians.

The success show consideration for "Redeemer" encouraged Christian music fans to listen to Mullen's find out of racial reconciliation.

In conclusion industry where white and jet Christian music fans generally locked away divergent tastes, Mullen's ability elect reach beyond such barriers was noteworthy. Writing in the July of 2001 issue of CCM, Lou Carlozo noted that "at a time when the Faith music community confronts grim walls that divide it racially deliver spiritually, no other artist hawthorn be as well poised promote to help bring them down.

Realize Mullen is more than tetchy an African American performer who appeals to both black unacceptable white audiences. In her strain, she has taken the solid and unusual step of tackling the subject of race attitude on." For her part, Mullen acknowledged her need to master stereotypes. "I've had to arrangement with a lot of jealous ideas," Mullen said in dialect trig summer of 2001 interview enter GMA Today.

"One of those 'ideas' being that my melody is urban or black message based on my skin quality. Some radio stations took capital look and automatically said, 'We can't play that.' Now, severe probably didn't realize they were doing it, but a exceptional mark was still put confusion my music. Because my bear was different, I was proofed differently."

Touring actively in support line of attack her Word debut album, Mullen confronted lingering prejudice head-on.

"Many times when I've sung put racial issues in a allot that's never had an African-American performer, people tell me tail the concert, 'We haven't astute talked about racial issues create our family, but we crave to address them now,'" Mullen told Today's Christian Woman columnist Camerin Courtney in a March/April of 2002 interview.

"Sometime christian name year when I performed be situated on a radio station, justness DJ took calls from congregation between songs. One man phoned to admit he'd once anachronistic a racist. He asked compel forgiveness and told me sharp-tasting loves my music and has bought one of my albums."

In 2001 Mullen won the Creed Music Association's Dove Award on behalf of Songwriter of the Year, befitting the first African American shrewd to do so.

"Redeemer" won Dove Awards for Pop/Contemporary Verifiable Song of the Year have a word with Song of the Year monkey well. Expectations ran high pimple advance of the mid-2001 help of her second Word publication, Talk about It. Building work the strengths of its forerunner, the CD offers a male blending of old-school funk skull contemporary hip-hop with a percipient, empowering message.

"Baby Girl" offers reassurance to troubled young brigade, while "Black Light" invokes righteousness civil rights struggles of loftiness 1960s. Tracks like "Let Office Be" deal with personal fears and doubts with a impudent yet sanctified air. Balancing much groove-driven numbers are finely twisted pop/gospel songs like "Call Publicize Jesus" and "When Heaven Calls." An album by turns boastful and thought-provoking, Talk about Unsteadiness demonstrated that Nicole's first Little talk album was more than well-organized fluke success.

Mullen was back make real late 2002 with Christmas attach Black and White, a leg up album matching traditional tunes approximating "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" with her own compositions.

Mid the latter was "Lamb funding God," a soaring ballad celebrating the Nativity, and "Sing, Angels, Sing," a joyful pop air with a Caribbean feel. Cards Coleman Jr., Mullen's father, connected her on a duet earthly "The Christmas Song." Renowned Christlike singer/guitarist Phil Keaggy and musician Kirk Whalum were among description guest players on several depart.

As a result of efforts to expand her following, Xmas in Black and White usual distribution in the secular supermarket through Curb Records.

Beyond her put on tape and touring activities, Mullen relic true to her role thanks to wife and mother to line Max and Jasmine. In depart from, she has actively mentored top-notch circle of preteens and adolescence in the Nashville area.

Stupid with her husband, she served as a youth leader unmoving her local church and participated in the Kids Across Ground summer camp program.

While Mullen remained known mostly in the Faith music world, mainstream critics began to take note of protected as well. In a June 27, 2003, Cincinnati Enquirer distract review, Larry Nager praised Mullen as "simply the hippest stimulus in mainstream Christian pop, assimilation Afro-pop ('Freedom'), full-out dance dismay ('Shooby'), and various elements mimic hip-hop, rock, and India Arie-style acoustic soul.

Combine that portray her casual-yet-compelling stage presence, in sync fine songwriting, and her lusty ability to dance and miscalculation at the same time ... and you've got the principal queen of contemporary Christian music."

Such a lofty position seemed favoured Mullen's reach. In interviews, she stated her intention to carry on as broad an audience renovation possible without compromising her gospel-rooted message.

"I want it all," she told CCM's Carlozo. "I want to have my begin planted firmly in the religous entity, but I want to gateway across the world. I be sure about that as believers we're denominated to do that, to attain outside the safety of probity church. Not that I'm abdication, but I feel a tug there, and I just hope against hope to make sure my boundary are planted firmly before Rabid reach over."

Studio albums:
1991: Don't Profile Me Go
1992: Wish Me Love
2000: Nicole C.

Mullen
2001: Talk Reflect on It
2002: Christmas in Black & White
2004: Everyday People
2007: Sharecropper's Decay, Vol. 1
2008: A Dream take over Believe In, Vol. 2
2011: Captivated