As I Am

Anything this lady sings is fabulous. I have most if not all of her albums now and cannot listen to them enough. You can understand the words with her clarity. Enjoy

I just want to say that this is an amazing CD. As she stated, these are songs that she grew up on with some "Jesus songs". I love all the songs on the CD. I have read some other reviews stating that she is conforming. Christians seem to be the minority in the world now a days. So how can she be conforming? She made this album for herself and to inspire her fans. The song, "Taylor the Latte Boy" may seem out of place. However, it is labeled as Bonus Track and the song does inspire single women to keep beliving that love will find them. I attend the Women of Faith conference in Columbus, Ohio. She gave a wonderful testomony on the struggle of being a Christian on Broadway and Hollywood because in that area, saying Jesus is like saying a dirty word. She sang Taylor the Latte Boy and Word of God Speak and truly inspire the people in the crowd at the Women of Faith Conference. Near the end of the conference, the new album, "As I Am", was practically sold out. Praise God! I also want to say. That this album does not force Christinaity on you. Some might state Christian muisc does this. She wanted all walks of faith to be able to take something from this CD. You don't have to like the CD. Please respect it though. Being a Christian does not mean being a fanatic but it does mean you love God and you have him in your heart. I think this album will be enjoyed by all types of people.

You may know Kristin Chenoweth as the lovelorn pie waitress Olive on the ABC show "Pushing Daisies", but you may know that she is a very decent singer also. "As I Am" is her foray into Christian music and a very good one at that. She can stir emotions with her lithe, expressive voice on such classics as "Joyful, Joyful" and "As I Am", but her worship style anthem "Power" can lift your spirits up. If you liked Kristin on "Daisies", then you should give this album a try.

Much has been made of the religious nature of these songs. I don't think it has to matter. If you like the lyrics, fine. If not, listen for the quality of the songs and singing. The songs are much better than on "Lessons Learned" where Kristin sounds like your everyday pop singer. These songs give her the chance to show just how much more she can do. Listen to "Upon This Rock" and at the end, thrill to her hit a ringing high C, with a high E flat just at the very end. I wish I could hear more of her singing in operatic range.

I had heard great things about Kristin Chenoweth well before I ever heard her sing. I remember her getting lots of good press for her performance in YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN and, later, WICKED of course. But even though I officially live close enough to New York to consider heading in to see a show, I never did catch either of those productions. I finally did get to see her on a EVENING AT THE (Boston) POPS special on PBS though and remember being suitably impressed. She was genuinely sweet and funny--and when she pulled out all the vocal stops, well, WOW! Her first solo effort, LET YOURSELF GO (the one with two different covers) had her in full-out Broadway mode. (I was about to say "Broadway DIVA mode," but that's just it, she's not really all that diva-esque in her manner or affect.) That kind of music may or may not be your thing, but when it's done right, you've got to admit it's darn impressive. She was very much in her element on that one, so it came as a surprise when she switched over to a side interest, Contemporary Christian Pop, for her second solo outing, AS I AM. I'd never fault performers for wanting to reveal different aspects of their art or themselves to their fans, but on your sophomore effort?? Is that really wise? Well, I guess if you count the cast albums Chenoweth had appeared on, AS I AM is not really SOPHOMORE effort--maybe more like a "summer session extra credit" or something. And even though I'm pretty secular myself, my reservations about this record have little to do with its subject matter. It's more that Christian pop is, first and foremost, POP. If you weren't paying attention to the words, you'd think it was just slick, commercial pop music--which it is, essentially. There are, in fact, a few songs on the record which really are not specifically Christian in their orientation, like the opener "It Will Be Me," which seems to be your standard profession-of-love song. This expression of the ultimate love and loyalty COULD conceivably be interpreted as being sung from the point-of-view of Christ or a Christ-like figure and not just a mere mortal, madly in love. But I think that a bit of a stretch. This one's really just secular. But musically and emotionally, it pretty much is of a piece with the rest of the record. Unless you're focusing on the lyrics, you're scarcely going to notice what's Christian and what's secular here. One rather "poppy" trait MOST of the songs share, in fact, is that very few of them tax Ms. Chenoweth's much vaunted vocal prowess much. Of course, it's not necessary for a great singer to lay on the ornamentation on every track--just the opposite, in fact. Still the neophyte listener here would never guess that Kristin Chenoweth is an impressive coloratura soprano when she wants to be. But maybe in a Contemporary Christian context strutting your vocal stuff might seem too PROUD or something. The title of one track, "Power," suggests that it might be the show stopper we know her to be capable of, but it turns out it's her attempt at a Christian rock song and all chops go to the guitar--and the gospel flavored back up singers. The one track where she lets loose with a few dramatic, operatic swoops is "Upon This Rock," the CD's official closer (before the bonus track, "Taylor The Latte Boy"). She's duly impressive on that number(and evocative of the young Kate Bush), but unfortunately, it's just not that great or memorable a song. I never understand how a CD that was never issued with a different track list (and fewer songs) can claim that one of its tracks is a "bonus," but in this case, I'll buy it. "Taylor" wills strike some as a sop to her Broadway fanbase. It does stand out from the rest in that regard. It's got that showbiz pizzazz that the poppier, Christian tunes here foreswear. And after all that (probably quite genuine, but still kinda ho-hum) humility, it's kind of refreshing. If Kristin Chenoweth can't quite sing EVERYTHING, she can sing quite a lot. She certainly can do justice to glossy pop (or glossy Christian pop) quite handily. She acquits herself well, for the most part here. And aside from "Taylor," there are one or two other shining moments here. When she does something a little more "trad," like "Wayfaring Stranger," you start to wonder what she might be able to pull off with a collection of old style hymns.

Its rare to find Religious Music with a Broadway sort of appeal... Kristin delivers in a way that will send shivers down your spine! She is singing from the heart, and you can certainly feel it, as she spins her favorite gospel sounds. Very Dramatic!

I love this fellow Oklahoman and her amazing talent. As a vocalist I appreciate her passion and technique. in my opinion Miss Chenoweth cannot do a bad performance.

Bought specifically for trac #5, in memory fo a very special young woman who died too soon. I wanted her 7 brothers & sisters to know how much she was appreciated by others.

ミュージカルで彼女の歌声に惚れ、アルバムを見つけて即買いしました。やっぱり最高です!ナンバーも良くて特にジョイフルジョイフルはダイナミックな部分もありミュージカルっぽさも感じることができます。彼女は何歳なんでしょうかね?子供が歌ったようなピュアな感じがします。ぜひとも聴いてみてください(^^)

great

I Love Kristin! A lot of emotions, but a bit to religious for me. A few songs are 5 stars.

Durch die "Wicked"-CD auf diese fantastische Sängerin gestoßen und in "Glee" wieder gehört und somit auch gesehen: Kristin Chenoweth. Ihre unverkennbare Stimme mit viel Power und trotzdem viel Gefühl. Die Liederauswahl ist sehr schön und der Stil trifft genau meinen Geschmack und ist eine schöne Country-Pop Mischung. Die Texte sprechen mich sehr an und man kann sich einfach zurück lehnen und genießen.

Hier zeigt Kristin ihre nachdenklich-sensible Seite und offenbart ihre Seele (daher der Titel). Als zu tiefst christlicher Mensch müssen dort natürlich auch Lobgesänge auf den Herrn vertreten sein. Ich als nichtreligiöser Mensch bin trotzdem begeistert, denn egal, was sie singt, es wird immer ein Meisterwerk der Stimmgewalt und Gefühlsfülle sein - so auch hier. Zudem ist nicht alles religiös gefärbt, sodass eine gelungene Abwechslung zwischen getragen und schwungvoll entsteht. Diese CD sollte selbst den hartesten Brocken zu Gefühlsregungen veranlassen ;).