Hilary Weeks

An inspirational musician who has won a devoted following for her message of faith and positive thinking, Hilary Weeks has enjoyed success in the Christian music community as well as with fellow followers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (more commonly known as Mormons). Weeks was born Hilary Novakovich on March 7, 1970; she was born in Colorado, and spent most of her childhood in Anchorage, Alaska. Raised in a family that loved music, Hilary began playing piano at the age of eight, and she was 14 when she wrote her first song. In 1993, Hilary graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in music; that same year she published a song for the first time, and the tune, "He Hears Me," appeared on that year's EFY album (a series of annually released albums of inspirational songs for young people, tied into an annual LDS youth seminar). During her time at BYU, Hilary also married Timothy Weeks, and she began using the name Hilary Weeks.

Hilary's EFY song also appeared on her debut album, He Hears Me, released in 1996 by the LDS-affiliated label <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Deseret+Book%22">Deseret Book</a>. The album quickly earned acclaim within the inspirational and LDS musical communities; it was named Inspirational Album of the Year by the Faith Centered Music Association, and cited as Best Album by a Female Artist by the LDS Booksellers Awards. Her second album, Lead Me Home, followed in 1999, and earned her FCMA Pearl Awards for Songwriter of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, and Album of the Year. Arriving in 2000, I Will Not Forget, Hilary's third album, was another success, and by the time she released Day of Praise in 2004, she'd struck a new record deal with the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Shadow+Mountain+Records%22">Shadow Mountain Records</a> label. In 2004, Weeks became a published author, releasing the book Bedtime and Naptime...and Bedtime and Naptime: Survival Tips for Busy Moms. (Hilary and Timothy are the parents of four daughters, so she knows the subject well.)

Christmastime, Weeks' first seasonal album, was released in 2006 (a second, Christmas Once Again, appeared in 2009), and 2008 brought the album If I Only Had Today. With her 2011 album, Every Step, Weeks enjoyed a major career breakthrough, as the album broke the Top Ten of the Christian Albums chart, peaking at number six, making her the first LDS artist to do so. (It also hit 102 on the Top 200 Albums chart.) Her next two albums achieved similar success; 2013's Say Love went to number nine on the Christian chart, and 2016's Love Your Life went to number seven. Weeks is also founder of the website billionclicks.org, in which she encourages women to create and keep track of positive thoughts, hoping in time to generate a billion clicks, each one representing a positive and encouraging thought. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi