Latest Album, All We Need (2011)
Nine Top 10 singles on Christian charts, including four No. 1 Singles
Contestant on Season 3 of NBC’s The Sing-Off
Married to Brendan McCarthy
GUEST BIO
Rachael Lampa: All We Need
The 700 Club
BACK IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Now you see her. Now you don’t. So goes the story of Rachael Lampa. “I knew I loved God and music,” she says of her career. “Being offered a record deal (at 14) was a shocking, amazing thing.” Rachael skyrocketed onto the pop scene in 2000 as a teenager, amassing four number one singles, five more top ten tunes, plus appearances on The Tonight Show, The View, Entertainment Tonight, E!, Extra and in Teen People. Add in a soundtrack slot on A Walk To Remember, an acting role in Hidden Secrets, a duet with Aaron Neville, plus tour time with Destiny’s Child, Boyz II Men, Nickel Creek, Amy Grant, Vince Gill and even Jordin Sparks (as a supporting singer on her stints alongside The Jonas Brothers and Britney Spears), and the powerhouse vocalist/songwriter became an internationally recognized face in less than a half decade.
After a greatest hits disc in 2006, Rachael practically disappeared from public eye at the peak of her career, leaving fans scratching their heads. “I knew that I needed to take care of my heart. I knew God was prompting me to be still. It was one of those big moments where you say, ‘I trust you Lord,” she says of her decision to take a break. Aside from a holiday EP in 2009 and the self-released studio EP Human in 2010 (featuring guest guitar/vocals from Jonny Lang), Rachael all but disappeared, leaving behind all that she’d worked for. “At the time, I felt like the luckiest girl in world, who got to go to school when I wanted and got to sing and see the whole world,” she recalls. “My brother was on the road with me which kept it fun and I didn’t feel like I had my childhood taken away from me. But what I found I was doing was starting to wrap my identity in my music. If something didn’t go well career wise, then I started to link that to who I was and what I was doing wrong. This was one of the factors why I just stepped away from the spotlight and invested in more time with my family and friends.”Amidst that season of respite, Rachael remained a fan of music and continued to write, even if it was just to bounce ideas off loved ones or for her own personal enjoyment. As a result, the already seasoned songwriter sharpened herself even further and felt freer than ever before as she honed her craft without any pre-conceived notions or external pressure.
“Eventually that led me to release Human, but I kept the team really small and purposefully boxed people out because I was scared to jump back into the world of labels and expectations,” she candidly shares. “I did that project for existing fans- I really only promoted it on Facebook and Twitter. I also got married shortly thereafter and that helped me to really get in touch with who I am: a daughter, a sister and a wife who just so happens to love singing and music in general. At that moment, I realized I was ready to let people be part of that again.” Rachael, now in her twenties, admits the time away was just to recharge her understandably overworked batteries and plot her next creative step, which manifests itself in her new album, All We Need. She says she got to a point where she understood that God was always going to be working on her, and He could continue to do so while she created music.
Fortunately, Rachael’s family and friends have been nothing but supportive, of her decision to take a step away, and then back to music. She’s also working with a team that supports her, as well. “My new team is nothing but supportive of my vision and they’re working to make sure my new music reaches as many people as possible,” she says. “They get what I’m doing and I get it now as well. I understand the privilege and the power of making music and I’m enjoying every minute of it this time around. Expressing myself doesn’t just make me feel free in my music, but also free in my faith and life in general, it’s all an intertwined journey.” Rachael’s new record, All We Need, is from the heart. “When God asked me, ‘Am I all that you need? Do you need music? Do you need success? Do you need all these things… Can I be it for you?’ I obviously said, ‘Yes.’ I still battle that. All these things kind of reflect that decision that Jesus is all that I need,” she says. “This record is really just a reflection of my life and where I’ve been since you last heard from me,” Rachael says with a laugh. “Lyrically, there’s a thread of simplifying life instead of cluttering it. I’m one of those people who used to try pleasing too many people, only being able to give everyone 10 percent instead of 100 percent. Now my goal is to be an amazing friend to a few people instead of a lesser friend to a lot of people.”
As for the future, Rachael isn’t mapping out any crafty world domination strategy, but simply a desire to live each day to the fullest as she promotes the project on the road. “I try not to think too hard about the long road ahead, I just want to enjoy the ride this time,” she adds. “I feel a new wave of energy and I’m ready to work really hard to reconnect with some familiar faces and expand my audience as well. I feel more emotionally equipped this time around and like I’ve got some muscle going into it. I’m not approaching this record like I’ve been there and done that, but with a newness to it all that makes me feel kind of wide-eyed. I’m just ready to take it all in, live in the present and hope it all leads to fun opportunities and life experiences.”
THE SING-OFF
Rachael appeared on current season (Season 3) of NBC’s The Sing-Off, with an a capella group, The Collective. Her group was made up of a group of independent artists from Nashville, Tennessee. The Sing-Off, is a unique competition series that sings a different tune and is hosted by multi-platinum recording artist Nick Lachey, in a weekly format with two-hour episodes. The show scours the country in search of the best a cappella groups, ranging in various sizes and ages. There's no lip-synching, back-up bands or safety net. One group will be eliminated every week during this one-of-a-kind battle of voices that will lead up to a live finale - where viewers will decide the winner. Celebrity judges who will critique the singing groups using their musical expertise, are Ben Folds (Ben Folds Five), Shawn Stockman (Boyz II Men) and Sara Bareilles ("Love Song" and "King of Anything"). Rachael’s group was voted off the week of Oct. 24th. Rachael says there were a lot of really cool moments on the show, and she loved imparting wisdom to the more inexperienced groups. She encouraged them all to continue to pursue music even if they didn’t “make it big.” She says, “You don’t have to dream too big to do it, you can just do it.”
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