Audience of One (album)

Audience of One
Studio album by Heather Headley
Released	January 13, 2009
Recorded	2007–2008
Genre	Gospel
Length	49:16
Label	EMI Gospel
Producer	Keith Thomas
Heather Headley chronology
In My Mind (2006) Audience of One (2009) Only One in the World (2012)

Audience of One is the third studio album by Trinidadian-American singer-songwriter Heather Headley, released on January 13, 2009 by EMI Gospel. It is a collection of cover versions of popular gospel hymns as well as original songs.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
The Boston Globe	favorable[1]
Metro Spirit	mixed[2]
USA Today	[3]
The Washington Post	favorable[4]

The album debuted at number 27 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart in January 2009.^[5] It also reached number one on Billboard's Top Gospel Albums and at number six on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.^[6] Upon its release, Audience of One received generally positive reviews from most music critics. The Boston Globe writer Ken Capobianco perceived it as an improvement from Headley's previous work and praised her singing, calling her vocal performances "commanding" and her voice "the purest and boldest voice in pop".^[1] The Washington Post's Sarah Godfrey wrote favorably of Headley's performance on the album and stated "'Audience of One' lifts its voice to the heavens".^[4] However, Metro Spirit writer Frazia Lee viewed it as "redundant with slow-paced songs", but commended Headley for her intent with gospel themes.^[2] Giving it 3 out of 4 stars, Elysa Gardner of USA Today commended Headley for her vocals and wrote that the album's pop-oriented songs are "saved by Headley's discipline and grace, which not only pleases the ear but also reinforces the sense of humility so central to these songs".^[3]

In 2010, the album was nominated for a Dove Award for Contemporary Gospel Album of the Year at the 41st GMA Dove Awards.^[7] The album won a Grammy for Best Contemporary R&B Gospel Album in 2010.

Track listing

1. "Simply Redeemed" (Tommy Sims, Marc Harris) – 5:07
2. "Ordinary Me" (Heather Headley, Will Champlin, Jonathan Crone, Liz Rose) – 4:29
3. "I Wish" (Heather Headley, Iric Headley, Jr., Keith Thomas) – 4:00
4. "Jesus Is Love" (featuring Smokie Norful) (Lionel Richie) – 5:41
5. "I Need Thee Every Hour/Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus/I'd Rather Have Jesus" (Annie S. Hawks, Robert Lowry, Louisa M. R. Stead, William J. Kirkpatrick, Rhea F. Miller, George Beverly Shea) – 4:51
6. "Running Back to You" (Fred Hammond) – 5:31
7. "I Know the Lord Will Make a Way" (public domain) – 4:46
8. "Here I Am to Worship" (Tim Hughes) – 4:43
9. "The Power of the Cross" (Keith Getty, Stuart Townend) – 6:30
10. "Zion" (Heather Headley, Thomas) – 3:38

Personnel

Credits for Audience of One adapted from Allmusic.^[8]

Musicians

Darryl "DJ" Abernathy – drums Nico Abondolo – bass Steve Becknell – French horn Garrett Body – bass Becky Bunnell – violin Jorge Calandrelli – conductor, orchestration Darius Campo – violin Roberto Cani – violin Marion Caselberry – chorus Larry Corbett – cello David Davidson – violin Anthony Davis – chorus Brian Dembow – viola Drew Dembowski – bass Marcia Dickstein – harp Johnny Dillard – bass Bruce Dukov – violin, concert master Annette Dunlap – chorus Stephen Erdody – cello Alma Fernandez – viola Shannon Forrest – drums Tiffany Gatlin – chorus Sheldon Goodson – chorus Tim Gordon – saxophone Dan Greco – percussion Justin Hageman – French horn David Hamilton – piano, orchestration Heather Headley – arranger, composer, vocals Terry Holmes – chorus Lenair Hunt – chorus Tyrone Jefferson – trombone, horn arrangements Lawrence Jones – electric guitar Roland Kato – viola Sherrie Kibble – chorus Paul Klintworth – French horn

Miran Kojian – violin Johana Krejci – violin Armen Ksadjikian – cello Cindy Larson – chorus Tanika Leigh – chorus Phillipe Levy – violin Olivia Mack – chorus Liane Mautner – violin Tracey McGhee – chorus Jerry McPherson – electric guitar Tamika Newsome – chorus Adam Nitti – bass Ira Noise – organ Carmel Nunnally – chorus Risha Nunnally – chorus Robin Olson – violin Jadon Poindexter – chorus Katia Popov – violin Michael Ripoll – acoustic guitar Anatoly Rosinsky – violin Denise Rutledge – chorus Harry Shirinian – viola Carol Smith – chorus Gene Smith – chorus Audrey Solomon – violin Tina Soule – cello Tracey Taylor – chorus Rick Todd – French horn Irina Voloshina – violin Dave Walther – viola Rick Watford – guitar Margaret Wooten – violin Kimmie Young – chorus Nathan Young – arranger, chorus master Suzanne Young – chorus

Production

James Auwarter – engineer Brian Bennison – music preparation Darryl Bush – production coordination Rob Clark – assistant engineer Jonathan Crone – composer, electric guitar, engineer, production coordination Chris Deschene – music preparation Tim Frank – art direction Russ Harrington – photography Karen Scott Jackson – creative director Sherita Leslie – wardrobe Ken Love – mastering Josh Miller – engineer Smokie Norful – arranger

Ken Pennell – executive producer Karen Philpott – cover design Bill Airey Smith – engineer Paul "Scooby" Smith – digital editing Glenn A. Tabor III – mixing Keith Thomas – piano, arranger, programming, producer, Fender rhodes, string arrangements Cedric Thompson – drums, keyboards, engineer Peter Tomashek – music preparation Scott Velazco – assistant engineer Matthew Westerholm – arranger Bill Whittington – engineer, mixing Thomas Wright – engineer, assistant engineer

Charts

Chart (2009)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard 200	27[9]
U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[9]	6
U.S. Billboard Top Gospel Albums[9]	1
U.S. Billboard Comprehensive Albums[10]	27

References

1. Capobianco, Ken. Review: Audience of One. The Boston Globe. Retrieved on 2010-03-09.
2. Lee, Frazia. Review: Audience of One. Metro Spirit. Retrieved on 2010-03-09.
3. Gardner, Elysa. Review: Audience of One. USA Today. Retrieved on 2010-03-09.
4. Godfrey, Sarah. Review: Audience of One. The Washington Post. Retrieved on 2010-03-09.
5. Montgomery, James. Taylor Swift Continues Fearless Billboard Reign. MTV. Retrieved on 2010-03-09.
6. Penhallow, Steve. Branching to gospel fits Headley’s range. The Journal Gazette. Retrieved on 2010-03-09.
7. 41st Annual GMA Dove Awards nominees announced on The Tennessean (February 18, 2010)
8. Credits: Audience of One. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2010-05-16.
9. "Audience of One > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-01-31.
10. "Billboard Comprehensive Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 2009-01-31.

External links

• Audience of One at AllMusic
• Audience of One at EMI Gospel