Zie'l

The soulful all-female gospel group Zie'l was formed in Shreveport, Louisiana in 1998 while members were still in their early to mid-teens. Noted for their striking multi-part harmonies and impressive range, <a href="spotify:artist:3qNDQQUVRmXjr8wRuRUuI0">Christina Bell</a>, her sister Crystal Bell, Aphten Jones, <a href="spotify:artist:3adyeKexNPZGZ2wNvqqmw7">Keyondra Lockett</a>, and Undrea Northcutt signed with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Light+Records%22">Light Records</a> for their 2006 debut, Genesis, which included a cover of <a href="spotify:artist:6VUdDU44uo3KwSHc9lAEFE">the Clark Sisters</a>' "Is My Living in Vain." After a hiatus with little word of their status, they returned in mid-2013 with a funky stand-alone single, "Redeemed," now a trio without Northcutt or Jones. A single written by <a href="spotify:artist:3adyeKexNPZGZ2wNvqqmw7">Lockett</a> and produced by Drathoven (<a href="spotify:artist:47opbYEKDjXnRk9uLscp11">Yolanda Adams</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:08p7B5OtcUuVblvkQIlBhJ">Tyrese</a>), "State of Emergency," appeared in the spring of 2014 on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Dream+Records%22">Dream Records</a>, and the album Zie'l (Pronounced Zy-El) arrived that fall. A mix of contemporary gospel and contemporary R&B, it featured Louisiana hip-hop artist A1 Bold on the highly processed electro-R&B track, "Determined." "State of Emergency" went on to hit the Top 20 of Billboard's Gospel Airplay chart in 2015. ~ Marcy Donelson, Rovi