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2 Albums 3 External Links |
Signed to a record company at the age of sixteen, Grant's first, self-titled album (largely self-composed) was a runaway success in terms of the Christian music market of the time. As an English major at Vanderbilt University, Grant quietly made a few more albums, before abandoning her college career for one in music. 1982's Age to Age was her first album to make critics sit up and take notice.
Hardly had Grant established herself as the rightful "Queen of Christian Pop", however, than she changed directions. 1985's Unguarded shocked some fans for its very mainstream sound (and Grant's leopard-print jacket, in four poses for four different covers). "Find a Way," from Unguarded, became the first Christian song to hit Billboard's Top 40 list.
1988's Lead Me On, released after Grant had become a mother and undergone considerable strain in her marriage, is considered her most mature album, both lyrically and musically, and in fan votes usually comes out on top. This album, too, contained many songs that were not obviously "Christian," in a catch-word sense.
Nevertheless, when Heart in Motion was released three years later, many fans were shocked and outraged that the album was so clearly one of contemporary pop music. "Baby Baby," the title track (written for Grant's new-born daughter, Millie), however, became a massive hit, and Grant was established as a name in the mainstream music world. Heart in Motion is her best-selling album, having sold over 5 million copies.
House of Love continued in the same vein. 1995's Behind the Eyes, however, struck a much darker note, and it soon became clear that Grant's longtime marriage to Gary Chapman was at an end. The two separated, then divorced. Grant remarried the next year to Vince Gill. This further outraged some fans, but the numbers were more than counterbalanced by those gained. Career