For the past ten years, singer/songwriter Rebecca St.
James has been a dominating figure in the Conteporary Christian Music
scene, often looked at as one of the top, if not the top female vocalist.
Her style is considered pop/rock/alternative, but she has also released
worship albums in recent years.
Rebecca Jean Smallbone was born July 26, 1977 in Sydney,
Australia. She moved to America when she was about 14 years old becuase
her father was offered a job in the States. Just before the move, at
age 13, she released an album independently in Australia, entitled Refresh
My Heart. She made her national debut in 1994 when she was sixteen with
her self-titled album released through ForeFront Records. Since then,
over a million records have been sold.
Currently, Rebecca lives in Franklin, Tennessee and performs
about 200 concerts a year. She is working on a new pop/rock album that
is due out later in 2005.
Rebecca St. James' foundation is in Jesus Christ, and
that is evident to all those around her. She is passionate about showing
God's love to others and spreading the Good News around the world. "Rebecca's
commitment to God and His Word have clearly been the central tenets
of her music and ministry, and I think that's the main reason for her
success and her popularity," says Mark Moring of Campus Life magazine.
"Sure, her music is hip and innovative, but it's her underlying commitment
to Christ and her unabashed proclamation of God's love that primarily
attract the listener.
Rebecca comments during an interview about what inspires
her to write music: "I think there's so many forms of inspiration that
I draw from. I mean, mostly the Bible really lyrically and from experiences.
But musically, I mostly listen to Christian music so I've grown up on
Christian music and listened to a lot of Christian radio."
Rebecca says that her insperations for writing music are
the Bible, her own life experiences, and other Christian music. Many
of Rebecca's most popular songs over the years can be found on her 2003
release, Wait for Me, The Best From Rebecca St. James:
1. I Thank You
2. Expressions of Your Love
3. God
4. Pray
5. Mirror
6. Wait For Me
7. Yes, I Believe in God
8. Song of Love
9. Speak To Me
10. Here I Am
11. Stand
12. Reborn
13. Lamb of God
14. Go and Sin No More
15. Until Your Love Broke Through
16. A Cradle Prayer
17. Breathe
18. Psalm 139
This album includes the song "Wait For Me," a defining
song that addressed Rebecca's inspiring commitment to remain abstinent
until marriage.
This album includes the song "Wait For Me," a defining
song that addressed Rebecca's inspiring commitment to remain abstinent
until marriage.
Rebecca released Live Worship in 2004. When asked why
she decided to do another worship album so close to Worship God (2002),
she said this: "I've been thinking about doing a live worship album
for a long time. I grew up being impacted by the power of live worship.
And there's something very powerful and very real and inviting about
hearing thousands of people worship God on a CD. It just draws you in
and makes you feel a sense of unity and community. And the timing seemed
right to do this now."

Rebecca released Live Worship in 2004 and says that it
is something she has wanted to do for a long time. She feels there is
something extra powerful and inviting about hearing thousands of people
praising and worshiping God on a CD. It helps people feel unitied and
a part of a community.
Rebecca St. James' Albums:
Refresh My Heart, 1991 (Independent)
Rebecca St. James, 1994 (ForeFront)
Prayers and Worship, 1995 (ForeFront)
Remixes, 1995 (ForeFront)
God Single, 1996 (ForeFront)
God, 1996 (ForeFront)
Christmas, 1997 (ForeFront)
Pray, 1998 (ForeFront)
Transform, 2000 (ForeFront)
Worship God, 2002 (ForeFront)
Wait for Me: The Best From Rebecca St. James, 2003 (ForeFront)
Live Worship, 2004 (ForeFront)

Rebecca's newest book, "She" was released November 1,
2004. "She," which stands for Save, Healthy, Empowered, is a book for
women of the 21st century who are bombarded with messages telling them
they must be a beautiful, thin, sexy, successful, strong, outgoing,
outstanding, multi-tasking, independent superwomen. In the book, Rebecca
takes women back to what matters most - God and Biblical principles.
She was inspired to write this "new form of feminism" book because of
her own experiences and passion for family values, and because of recent
events that have proven this to be a hot topic in our country.
Rebecca is not afraid to let her message of faith and
family values be heard, and has spoken out about the topic various times
in magazine articles, newspapers, and on TV.
A recent career highlight:
Visiting the White House and having breakfast there and
being able to share a bit about abstinence and seeing if she could partner
with President Bush's Faith Based Initiatives.
Awards and Honors:
Rebecca has been nominated for and received many awards
in her carreer. Some of them include a Grammy award in 1997 for "Pray,"
and being named Best Female Artist by the readers of CCM and Campus
Live Magazines in 2002, and by the listeners of K-Love, and Air 1 radio
networks. As well, Crosswalk.com called Rebecca St. James the most influential
woman in Christian music.
A couple of years ago, when asked, "What is your life
like outside of the spotlight," Rebecca St. James responded: "At the
end of the day, I'm a 25 year-old on a mission to point people to God
and to be faithful to His mission and His will for me. On the personal
side, I'm a hopeless romantic who enjoys the outdoors, chick flicks,
swing dancing, and just being a kid. I love my friends dearly, love
to laugh, love kids, and love to help people. And I'm very loyal to
Australia; very proud of my homeland and would maybe like to live back
there one day."
