Kierra Sheard

Kierra Valencia Sheard (born June 20, 1987 in Detroit , Michigan ), also known as KiKi Sheard , is an American gospel singer. From 2004 to 2020 she had five number one albums on the US gospel charts.

Career

Kierra "KiKi" Sheard comes from a successful family of musicians. Her grandmother founded a music school, and her mother, Karen Clark Sheard and her sisters, were successful Clark Sisters in the 1970s and 80s . Her father is a preacher for the Greater Emmanuel Institutional Church (GEI) and a writer.

When her mother recorded her first solo album Finally Karen in 1997 , she sang on two successful songs: The Will of Good received a Stellar Award for Gospel Music for Best Children's Performance and The Safest Place received a lot of radio coverage . Even after that, she sang in the background with her mother and other family members.

In 2003 she signed a recording deal with EMI and in the fall of the following year she released her first album I Owe You . She went straight to number 1 on the gospel charts, which no musician had achieved with her debut before. Due to the R&B and hip-hop influences in her music, she also reached the top 30 on the R&B charts. The album also made it into the official album charts .

This was followed by the remix album Just Until ... and, after she graduated from high school , the second album This Is Me . It surpassed the success of the debut, making it into the top 100 of the official charts and number 16 in R&B. She was also nominated for the first time in 2007 for the most important US music award, the Grammy, for the R&B Gospel albums.

The third album Bold Right Life , first produced by her brother J. Drew Sheard, lagged significantly behind in the charts the following year and missed number 1 on the gospel charts. Still, it found recognition, and Sheard was nominated for a Grammy for the second year running. At the same time, appeared as the album, she was also on the hit single God in Me by Mary Mary heard. It reached number 1 on the gospel and dance charts and made the official single charts . The song got a Grammy in 2010 , but it went to the authors.

After that, she tried herself as an actress and played two small roles in films with a religious content. She also joined the family label founded by J. Drew Karew Records and released the album Free in 2011 . In addition to studio recordings, it also contained live recordings and was accompanied by a separate vocal ensemble, the Bold Right Life Choir . He returned to number 1 on the gospel charts and made it into the top 40 of the main charts for the first time.

In 2013, Kierra Sheard was part of the family documentary soap The Sheards on BET . The family then also performed a number of joint performances and concerts. Then the fifth solo album Graceland appeared , for the first time without her nickname "KiKi" on the cover. At number 33 in the album charts, it was their most successful album.

In the following years things became quieter for the gospel singer. Two EPs were released at the time, one with their own songs, one from the Karew label with Christmas songs. It wasn't until 2020 that she released another album called Kierra . Among others, Missy Elliott also took part. Although it was their fifth number one album in the gospel charts, it lagged far behind its previous successes commercially and only barely made it to number 188 on the official charts.

Discography

Albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)		Remarks
		US	Gospel
2004	I Owe You	US115 (2 weeks) US	Gospel1 (53 weeks) Gospel
2005	Just Until ...	-	Gospel10 (24 weeks) Gospel	Remix album
2006	This is me	US90 (2 weeks) US	Gospel1 (37 weeks) Gospel
2008	Bold Right Life	US114 (1 week) US	Gospel3 (38 weeks) Gospel
2009	KiKi's mixtape	-	Gospel42 (1 week) Gospel	Compilation
2011	My Kierra playlist	-	Gospel38 (3 weeks) Gospel	Compilation
	Free	US40 (3 weeks) US	Gospel1 (75 weeks) Gospel
2014	Graceland	US33 (2 weeks) US	Gospel1 (19 weeks) Gospel
2015	LED	-	Gospel3 (2 weeks) Gospel	EP
2020	Kierra	US188 (1 week) US	Gospel1 (... week) Gospel

Singles

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)	Remarks
		Gospel
2006	Why Me? This is me	Gospel6 (36 weeks) Gospel
2008	Praise Him Now Bold Right Life	Gospel7 (46 weeks) Gospel	Author: James Moss
2011	Mighty Free	Gospel28 (6 weeks) Gospel	featuring BRL Authors: J. Drew Sheard, Kierra Sheard
	You are free	Gospel17 (20 weeks) Gospel	featuring BRL Authors: Angel Chisholm, J. Drew Sheard, Kierra Sheard
	Indescribable Free	Gospel15 (23 weeks) Gospel	featuring BRL authors: Jesse Reeves, Laura Story
2014	2nd Win Graceland	Gospel15 (3 weeks) Gospel	Authors: Justin A. Brooks, J. Drew Sheard, Kierra Sheard, Elbernita Clark Terrell
	Save Me Graceland	Gospel20 (1 week) Gospel	Authors: Harmony Samuels, Kierra Sheard, Sharon Youngblood
2015	Flaws Graceland	Gospel15 (9 weeks) Gospel	Author: Diane Warren
2019	Don't Judge Me Kierra	Gospel13 (4 weeks) Gospel	Authors: HD Samuels, E. Etienne, Kierra Sheard, V. Wade
2020	It Keeps Happening Kierra	Gospel12 (12 weeks) Gospel	Authors: J. Drew Sheard, Kierra Sheard
	Something Has to Break Kierra	Gospel5 (... weeks) Gospel	featuring Tasha Cobbs Leonard Authors: Kierra Sheard, J. Drew Sheard, JL Smith, MLC Fieldes

More songs

• Let Go (2004)
• Won't Hold Back (2008)
• Love Like Crazy (2009)
• Trumpets Blow (2013)

Guest Posts

year	Title artist	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, artist , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)		Remarks
		US	Gospel
2009	God in Me Mary Mary featuring Kierra “Kiki” Sheard	US68 (20 weeks) US	Gospel1 (55 weeks) Gospel
2010	Are You Listening Kirk Franklin presents Artists United for Haiti	-	Gospel8 (20 weeks) Gospel	Benefit single
2015	Put a Praise on It Tasha Cobbs Leonard featuring Kierra Sheard	-	Gospel1 (53 weeks) Gospel
2016	Hang On GEI featuring Kierra Sheard	-	Gospel1 (40 weeks) Gospel
2017	Your Spirit Tasha Cobbs Leonard featuring Kierra Sheard	-	Gospel14 (7 weeks) Gospel
2018	Do It Again Elevation Collective featuring Travis Greene & Kierra Sheard	-	Gospel14 (23 weeks) Gospel

swell

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Chart search on Billboard (USA)

Web links

• Official Homepage (English)
• Label page at Karew Records
• Kierra "Kiki" Sheard at Allmusic (English)