Tony Cummings reports on the phenomenal rise of gospel diva Le'Andria Johnson

Le'Andria Johnson

In America's gospel chart this week there is only one artist with two CDs in the Top 10. In fact, Le'Andria Johnson from Orlando, Florida has made a meteoric rise to gospel stardom. As her biography so rightly observes, "Le'Andria Johnson's journey to a recording career almost ran like the plot for a made-for-TV movie of the week as she overcame obstacles, hardships and personal disasters to get there. Born on 23rd January 1983, Johnson was the twice-divorced single mother of three children when she fell on hard times, losing her home to foreclosure the day before a friend convinced her to drive to New Orleans in a borrowed car to audition for the cable TV show Sunday Best. The daughter of a preacher, Johnson had sung in front of her father's congregations since she was two years old, but she had hardly considered a professional career as a gospel singer. Johnson arrived at the audition with little time to spare, and wearing flip-flops and the clothes she drove there in, she was amazed to be selected as a contestant. Johnson ended up being declared the winner at the end of the show's third season in 2010, a placing that not only came with the gift of a new car and a cash prize, but also a recording deal."

The 29 year old singer vividly remembers the Sunday Best audition. She told Associated Press how some of the contestants were staring at her. "The whole time, some were like 'Oh, what does she have on?' Or, 'Why does she dress like that?' I got those looks. I dealt with all that. I almost left. But it was a little voice in me that told me to stand [still]. From there, I've watched God change my life one episode at a time."

After winning Sunday Best, Le'Andria was signed by showbiz entrepreneur and father of Beyonce, Matthew Knowles, to Music World Gospel, in a joint venture with BET and the Sunday Best brand. Matthew said Johnson's soulful voice and honest lyrics remind him of Mary J Blige. "That's why fans are buying her music, because of her honesty. I call her the Mary J Blige of gospel music. She's just a real person. She's extremely raw sometimes."

The seven song 'The Awakening Of Le'Andria Johnson' topped Billboard's Gospel Albums chart when released in mid-September 2011 and has been there ever since. Now another seven song EP 'The Evolution Of Le'Andria Johnson' is at number two in the charts and fans can buy all 14 songs in an album package 'The Awakening Of Le'Andria Johnson DeLuxe'. In January Le'Andria won a Grammy Award as Best Gospel/Contemporary Christian Music Performance for "Jesus" from 'The Awakening Of Le'Andria Johnson'. Needless to say, for her appearance on that stage, she was dressed beautifully.