Audience of One is the third studio album by the Trinidadian-American singer Heather Headley. It was released by the EMI Christian Music Group on January 13, 2009 in the United States, following Headley's transition from RCA Records. It is a collection of cover versions of popular gospel hymns as well as original songs, chiefly produced by Keith Thomas. It won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Gospel Album at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards. In addition, Audience of One was nominated for a Dove Award for Contemporary Gospel Album of the Year at the 41st GMA Dove Awards."41st Annual GMA Dove Awards nominees announced" on The Tennessean, February 18, 2010.

Critical reception

Upon its release, Audience of One received generally positive reviews from most music critics. The Boston Globe writer Ken Capobianco saw it as an improvement from Headley's previous work and praised her singing, calling her vocal performances "commanding" and her voice "the purest and boldest voice in pop". The Washington Posts Sarah Godfrey wrote favorably of Headley's performance on the album and stated, "Audience of One lifts its voice to the heavens." However, Metro Spirit writer Frazia Lee viewed it as "redundant with slow-paced songs", but commended Headley for her intent with gospel themes. Elysa Gardner of USA Today commended Headley for her vocals and wrote that the album's pop-oriented songs are "saved by Headley's discipline and grace, which not only pleases the ear but also reinforces the sense of humility so central to these songs".

Chart performance The album debuted at number 27 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart in January 2009.Montgomery, James. "Taylor Swift Continues Fearless Billboard Reign". MTV. Retrieved March 9, 2010. It marked Headley's lowest opening for a studio album up to then and was a considerable decline from her previous effort In My Mind (2006). It also reached number one on Billboards Top Gospel Albums and at number six on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.Penhallow, Steve. Branching to gospel fits Headley’s range. The Journal Gazette. Retrieved March 9, 2010.

Track listing All tracks are produced by Keith Thomas.

Personnel Credits for Audience of One adapted from Allmusic.[ "Credits: Audience of One"]. Allmusic. Retrieved March 9, 2010.

Instruments and performances

Darryl "DJ" Abernathy – drums Nico Abondolo – bass Steve Becknell – French horn Garrett Body – bass Becky Bunnell – violin Jorge Calandrelli – conductor, orchestration Darius Campo – violin Roberto Cani – violin Marion Caselberry – chorus Larry Corbett – cello Jonathan Crone – electric guitar David Davidson – violin Anthony Davis – chorus Brian Dembow – viola Drew Dembowski – bass Marcia Dickstein – harp Johnny Dillard – bass Bruce Dukov – violin, concert master Annette Dunlap – chorus Stephen Erdody – cello Alma Fernandez – viola Shannon Forrest – drums Tiffany Gatlin – chorus Sheldon Goodson – chorus Tim Gordon – saxophone Dan Greco – percussion Justin Hageman – French horn David Hamilton – piano, orchestration Heather Headley – arranger, vocals Terry Holmes – chorus Lenair Hunt – chorus Tyrone Jefferson – trombone, horn arrangements Lawrence Jones – electric guitar Roland Kato – viola Sherrie Kibble – chorus Paul Klintworth – French horn Miran Kojian – violin Johana Krejci – violin Armen Ksadjikian – cello Cindy Larson – chorus Tanika Leigh – chorus Phillipe Levy – violin Olivia Mack – chorus Liane Mautner – violin Tracey McGhee – chorus Jerry McPherson – electric guitar Tamika Newsome – chorus Adam Nitti – bass Ira Noise – organ Carmel Nunnally – chorus Risha Nunnally – chorus Robin Olson – violin Jadon Poindexter – chorus Katia Popov – violin Michael Ripoll – acoustic guitar Anatoly Rosinsky – violin Denise Rutledge – chorus Harry Shirinian – viola Carol Smith – chorus Gene Smith – chorus Audrey Solomon – violin Tina Soule – cello Tracey Taylor – chorus Keith Thomas – piano, arranger, Fender Rhodes, string arrangements Cedric Thompson – drums, keyboards Rick Todd – French horn Irina Voloshina – violin Dave Walther – viola Rick Watford – guitar Margaret Wooten – violin Kimmie Young – chorus Nathan Young – arranger, chorus master Suzanne Young – chorus

Technical and production

James Auwarter – engineer Darryl Bush – production coordination Rob Clark – assistant engineer Jonathan Crone – engineer, production coordination Ken Love – mastering Josh Miller – engineer Smokie Norful – arranger Ken Pennell – executive producer Bill Airey Smith – engineer Paul "Scooby" Smith – digital editing Glenn A. Tabor III – mixing Keith Thomas – programming, producer Cedric Thompson – engineer Scott Velazco – assistant engineer Matthew Westerholm – arranger Bill Whittington – engineer, mixing Thomas Wright – engineer, assistant engineer

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2006) Peakposition

Year-end charts Chart (2009) PositionUS Top Gospel Albums (Billboard)8US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)84

References

External links

Audience of One at EMI Gospel