All three performers are both singers and songwriters, and each of their albums represents a different step in their musical evolution. Their first two albums drew a wide base of support ranging from the gospel and contemporary Christian camps to mainstream R&B fans. Then Anointed began attracting lots of play from the mainstream market with their video and single "In God's Hands Now" (#40 on Billboard's Hot R&B Singles chart).
"It surprised us because we weren't really trying to go that route at first," Walls says of the mainstream acceptance. Strangely enough, it was "In God's Hands Now" that really opened the door and helped put them in the mainstream market.
Anointed now has support from both Myrrh and Epic labels for their new album, giving the group a strong push to both audiences. The seven cuts on Under the Influence have plenty of diversity from pretty acoustic tracks, such as the title cut, to funk-laden tunes like "Get Ready" to lovely ballads like "Take Me Back" and "Answer to My Prayer."
Crawford says Anointed's sound was shaped by the different influences on the members of the group. All three are natives of Columbus, Ohio. "Growing up, we listened to a lot of Christian artists, gospel artists, and mainstream artists." Each of their albums represents a different step in the group's evolution of musical sound. That's likely to continue because they are as talented at songwriting as singing.
Nonetheless, their sound can always be identified with Crawford's deep, rolling bass underlying the lead vocals and smooth harmony of Walls and Greathouse. "Truly classy," the sound is called in CCM Update.
Viewers may remember Anointed's bring-the-house-down performance with Michael W. Smith at last year's Dove ceremony. Since then they've been touring with Christian artists Bryan Duncan and Clay Crosse.
A busy year! Who could guess what 1997 and the years beyond hold for Anointed?
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