Oleta Adams

Multiple Grammy-nominated contralto singer/songwriter, Stellar Award and Dove Award nominee, Oleta has inspired a growing legion of fans "with journeys of the heart via songs that draw deeply from her roots in gospel, while crossing effortlessly into the realms of soul, R&B, urban, and popular music."

A long-time resident of Kansas City, where she launched her career playing piano bars, hotel lounges and showrooms, and where she has found sanctuary from the turmoil of the entertainment industry, she says, "Oh, I love it here. First, there's more bang for the buck, but my husband is also from here. When my initial success happened, it made sense to be in the center of the country. I'm from the state of Washington, and that always meant it would take an extra day to get wherever I needed to be."

Oleta quickly became a local institution, with her own billboard and a regular gig at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Celebrities from every musical genre caught her act, including Eartha Kitt, Cab Calloway, Air Supply, Gino Vanelli, Yes and Billy Joel. Finally serendipity came in the form of the British band Tears for Fears, whose frontmen Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith asked her to appear on their 1989 "The Seeds of Love' album, video and European tour.

Her success, nurtured by worldwide tours with Tears for Fears, Phil Collins, Michael Bolton, and Luther Vandross, has been solidified by three Grammy nominations and a seemingly bottomless well of creative energy.