R&B
Joann Rosario
Bio by The 700 Club
Verity Records
CBN.com
– JOYOUS SALVATION
Though Joann Rosario has received accolades for her debut album More More More, which peaked at No. 4 on Billboard’s Top Gospel chart and has been called a "Latin Gospel Diva," she really doesn't want the music she does to be put in a box. The formally trained vocalist would like to be known as a worshipper – and even an evangelist. Her voice and style are very versatile, and she firmly believes that whatever songs are born of the Holy Spirit should transcend any labels or categories – just as long as people are brought to the Lord. The term "diva" doesn't really seem to fit her, since she wants people to keep their eyes on God, not her.
Her new album is Joyous Salvation and the theme to best describe it is discovery. Joann says, “It’s about living a righteous life. It’s about living in obedience and sacrifice; it’s about giving and loving people and truly being free from sin. Together, this is what I call ‘Joyous Salvation’. Living that type of life is a life without worry. And even if something does go wrong, it’s okay because you know that God is first in your life and you’re seeking Him. You just wait for Him to show up. Just wait on your miracle. That’s ‘Joyous Salvation’”.
The song "Beautiful Son" is the first song that the Lord gave Joann with the music and lyrics at the same time. Joann thought about the bond of a mother and child and really started thinking about the sacrifice the Lord made. God's love and sacrifice is greater than we know.
Joann feels that every believer is called to worship. We can't take center stage from the Holy Spirit and God, and we have to fight to keep surrendered and have true worship. If it wasn't by His grace, we can't do it. The life that you live, as well as the song you sing to God is worship. We're responsible for obedience.
NEVER THE SAME
Joann has been singing for as long as she could remember. Her parents even told her she might have sung before she learned to talk. So imagine the tragedy Joann faced at age 27 when she found out she had nodules on her vocal chords while she was recording her follow up album (Now More than Ever...Worship) to her popular debut album, More More More. Because of these nodules, she lost the functionality of both her singing and speaking voice. That's obviously a big deal for someone who subsists on music and is the National Music Director at Maranatha World Revival Ministries, an organization her father founded with 400 churches in its jurisdiction.
Joann didn't understand why bad things happen, but she was able to see beyond a moment of tragedy. She put everything in God's hands and asked God to restore her -- change her character. Joann recalls that she would sit and cry out in the studio during recording. This "wilderness experience" was a year and a half of praying and recovery.
Joann believes it all happened in God's time and for His purposes. A specific area God was dealing with was the call for her to preach. God wanted her to see herself as more than a singer since her call is to be an evangelist through singing, preaching – whatever God wants her to do.
She also dealt with her fears, like "what am I going to say?" and other insecurities. Joann had to learn to trust God and surrender everything to Him, like her ambitions. She was angry and upset and God reminded Joann about Job – even though you slay me, I will worship. God gave grace and strength to get through it. She took her eyes off herself and tried to be a blessing to other people. Little by little, with prayer and voice therapy, her voice came back. Joann says it was a miracle, but a slow-paced one.
Some other things she learned were that you need to take your eyes off of yourself and worship God in every area of your life. It is an act of faith, and it restores your joy and faith. It's not easy to worship when things go bad, but now Joann has learned to be positive in the bad. Overall, Joann says she is a more happy, joyful, thankful person. The revelation is alive in her heart.
Now when she leads worship, she has the opportunity to see the change reflected in people. Audiences respond to the Spirit. She has learned to create an atmosphere of worship and to be prayerful and listen to God. She has had the privilege of seeing what God has done in people's lives. She feels like she is at a whole other level of worship. She knows the direction she and the crowd she's leading should go, the direction that God wants. There is a more tangible feeling of the presence of God than when she was young. However, the message seems to be the same - reminding people that we are not here for ourselves and trying to get us back to our first love relationship/passion connection with God.
LIFE'S JOURNEY
Joann's father has pastored in Chicago for 33 years. She started singing at three-years-old... before she could talk. Her father had her sing special songs at church and she had the privilege of having her parents be good Christian examples for her. One of the great principles they taught her was sowing and reaping.
Though she was brought up in a good Christian environment and knew Christ since she was a child, Joann had to find her own relationship with Him. When she was 12 years old, she "shut down," she had self-esteem issues.
In her heart, the call was always there to sing and evangelize. When she was around 16, she realized the call and took it seriously. At about 18, she began to lead worship and is grateful for her father's persistence in getting her to lead worship. She went to college at Oral Roberts University and received great musical training there. She was able to record with other musical groups, try different musical styles, and work on more bilingual projects. However she also experienced growing pains. It was the first time she was out on her own and really got to explore what she believed.
Two years after college she worked with gospel singer Fred Hammond. He had seen her many years before on a television appearance that Joann made with her friend's musical group. She joined his group Radical for Christ and worked with Hammond for two years. A few years later, she released her own solo album, More More More. She is now a solo artist.
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