Gospel Singer Jessica Reedy Talks Number One Album

She also dishes on working with R&B powerhouse Faith Evans

Growing up, Jessica Reedy thought she was going to be an R&B singer. Having been raised by a mother who often sung around the house, it wasn’t hard for the budding singer to catch the bug too. Still, God had other plans. When Reedy gave her life to Christ her priorities changed.

“When I got saved, I didn’t want to be a singer anymore. I wanted to be a great mother and I wanted whatever God has for me,” Reedy told Loop 21. “I was done chasing the dream.”

It was only when a friend dragged her to BET’s Sunday’s Best auditions in Washington, D.C. when the 23-year-old realized her dream would finally be fulfilled. Her debut album From The Heart reached the number one spot on the Gospel and Christian iTunes charts as well as the Billboard charts.

Loop 21 caught up with the singer to find out where she learned how to sing, why she became depressed after her stint on Sunday’s Best and what it was like working with R&B powerhouse Faith Evans.

Loop 21: You have an amazing voice and a lot of range. How did you learn how to sing?

Jessica Reedy: My mother is one of the best singers I’ve ever heard in my life. And before that, it was my grandmother. I would wake up to singing. That was the alarm clock, beautiful singing, 24-hours-a-day, to the point where you’d be like, ‘Oh, please be quiet.’ You had no choice but to learn. My mom could deliver a song in such a way...ohmygosh.

Loop 21: I read you got really depressed after Sunday’s Best. Tell me what happened:

Reedy: I got off the show and I had no direction. Nobody told me what to do next. I had no manager, no lawyer, I didn’t even know what to do or who to call. I said, ‘Well God now what? I can’t believe you let me be on national TV. Wow, that’s amazing, but that moment is gone, now what am I going to do. Are you going to help me? I still got bills.' Then I started thinking, I shouldn’t have went on that show. I should’ve stayed home and started looking for another job. I just got depressed. Then I sat in a closet, literally I sat in my closet, and I prayed a prayer. I said, 'God do you even see me?'...I had this peace and assurance that everything was going to be okay and that’s when I wrote the two extra verses on “God Has Smiled on Me.”