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Fifteen-year-old Rachael Lampa loves the pop divas: Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston and their like. But this 4' 10" diva-in-the-making had to tape the *Divas* TV special to watch later; a phone interview with an entertainment journalist kept her up past her bedtime, and her first period Spanish class starts at the un-lovely hour of 7:30 a.m. "I don't mind it," she insists. "I'm a morning person...after 10 minutes, I'm fine."
A day in the life of Rachael Lampa looks like that of any given 10th-grader at Monarch High in Louisville, Colorado, near Boulder. "I get up at 6:30, crawl to the shower, dry my hair, finish my homework from the night before," says Rachael, a typical American suburban teenager who occasionally peppers her usually articulate conversations with "like, you know?" and this-or-that "thingy." Talking with Rachael is like talking with any other happy, well-adjusted adolescent girl, for the most part. There's basketball; she's a stand-out point guard on the girls' jr. varsity team ("I love playing, but I don't watch it on TV--it bugs me"), church ("I love my church...our youth group leader is so cool...") and school ("My favorite subject is lunch-it's very educational. I taught myself how to peel an orange in one piece with an aluminum pop-top").
But Rachael Lampa, the Monarch High point guard and champion orange peeler, and Rachael Lampa, the budding pop diva, would seem to have very different schedules. Sports and school lunches had to wait when Rachael went to London for the recording of the prestigious London Session Orchestra's contribution to her much-anticipated Word Records CD, Live For You. The church youth group and Fellowship of Christian Athletes met without her when Rachael stayed in Nashville for meetings with some of Music City's most successful songwriters.
And her brother Ryan drove to Monarch High by himself the week that Rachael flew to Nashville to record a duet with the legendary Aaron Neville, an event that seemed almost ho-hum until Rachael was told about Neville's famed duet with one of her heroes ("THAT's him? The guy who sings 'Don't Know Much' with Linda Ronstadt? I'm singing with HIM? Oh my gosh!").
Aaron Neville wasn't the first to be wowed by Rachael Lampa's prodigious talent-it was evident early on in her young life. Very early, in fact: family legend has it that Rachael belted out tunes from her baby crib and could sing perfect harmony by age 4. From time to time, her singing got her in trouble-despite her parents' pride in their child's talent, enough was enough, and singing too loud at the dinner table won Rachael a trip to her room more than once.
"We knew she had a God-given talent from the beginning," says Marianne Lampa, a stay-at-home mom of 4 who met her husband Phil while both were working as nurses in an Indiana hospital. "We've encouraged her to sing whenever and wherever it's appropriate. Just not while the rest of her brothers and sisters are trying to eat or do their homework," Mom says, laughing.
"I've dreamed of being a recording artist, for as long as I can remember," says Rachael. "I grew up listening to Christian music, especially Amy Grant-'El Shaddai' from Age To Age was the first thing I heard." She was quickly at home on a stage, from The Jenny Jones Show's Young Talent Search (at 12) to finishing in 2nd place at the World Championship of Entertainment and her frequent performances of the national anthem at Colorado Rockies baseball games, Rachael's childhood dreams seemed destined to come true.
Though Rachael had already been a regular performer by the time her age hit double-digits, it was a "chance" incident that brought her talent to the attention of Nashville record executives at a conference in Estes Park, Colorado. "I had never even heard of "Praise in the Rockies,' but this guy who was lining up the performers happened to be staying with one of our friends, down here," says Rachael. "He heard my voice on a demo tape of our friend's song, and he wanted to hear more."
Two days later, Marianne Lampa got a phone call from Estes Park-it was the same fellow, Danny Meeker, asking if Rachael could come up the next day and perform two songs. Rachael remembers the moment: "I was, like, getting my hair cut or something, and Mom called me and said, "Oh, by the way, there will be people from five record companies there listening to you...and you'll be singing after Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith.'"
A daunting task for a 14 - year - old, but she handled it like a pro - at least on the outside ("I was freaking out!') - and the record execs swarmed like flies to honey. "When I got done singing, I started to walk backstage and the first person I saw was this guy who said, "Hi, I'm Brent Bourgeois from Word Records.' I thought, "A record company?' I'd never met anybody from a record company before!"
She met plenty of them - that week, mother and daughter made daily trips up to the mountains to meet with several record representatives, and, shortly thereafter, the drives became flights to Nashville for more meetings. At the tender age of 14, Rachael Lampa signed a long - term artist agreement with Word Records and her new friend Brent Bourgeois. Looking back just a few short months, the teen sensation is surprisingly reflective. "I would not have been prepared for this to happen any earlier," she says. "When I went to Estes Park, I had just been to a great youth conference in South Dakota, and my faith was building fast. It was the right time - I was really ready for this to happen, and God opened all the doors."
Indeed, it's her vibrant, personal faith in Jesus Christ that is at the center of Rachael Lampa's busy young life. From the parental discipleship of the senior Lampas ("My parents are from really strong Christian homes themselves") to her close relationships with adult role models at St. Louis Church and her high school's chapter of Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Rachael is fully supported and thoroughly grounded in reality, despite the whirlwind of recording sessions and media interviews.
In the midst of juggling all of these priorities, Rachael is quick to count her greatest blessings. Without pausing for a breath, and with the unbridled enthusiasm of a teenager in love with life, Rachael rattles off her list: "An awesome, supportive family and friends! The ability to keep up a normal life in a regular high school...people that care about me and pray for me, the privilege to have grown up with faith and the knowledge of God. God around me, and God's presence, always with me."
Though she's not a songwriter (yet!), Rachael, A&R vice president Brent Bourgeois and the rest of the Word Records team have taken great care to make sure that the songs she sings are close to Rachael's heart and mind, reflecting her experiences in the writing talents of Christian music's brightest and best songsmiths.
To that end, the multi - talented Bourgeois (who is also an award - winning producer/singer - songwriter/artist) put together a most unusual creative conclave. Singer - songwriters Cindy Morgan, Chris Rodriguez, Chris Eaton, Ginny Owens, David and Nicole C. Mullen, and Michelle Tumes joined Bourgeois for a few weeks' songwriting retreat in the Tennessee countryside.
"Mom and I stayed there a few days at the beginning, so I could tell them about my life, my faith, everything. One day, I went for a long walk with Cindy and Michelle, and I told them about my friend's mom dying...they talked. It was a special time I won't forget."
The result of Rachael's visit was a flood of inspired creativity - too many songs to choose from, in a fraction of the expected time. "I loved every one them; it was hard to pick!" From the up - tempo debut single, "Live For You" (a Chris Eaton/Chris Rodriguez co - write), to heart - stopping power ballads like Chris Eaton's "Always Be My Home" and a gospel - flavored Morgan/Owens collaboration, "Blessed" ("It's been my favorite from the beginning"), Rachael Lampa's too - mature - to - be - 15 vocal prowess is matched by the passion that comes from a deeply - felt intimacy with her God. Brown Bannister, the album's co - producer, echoes this. "She sings these songs like they are coming from the depths of her soul."
For this pint - sized powerhouse, this diva without a driver's license, the pure joy of singing about her faith surpasses all the fanfare. "I hope I can help point people - especially kids - straight to God, to his comfort and to his Word. This has been such a blessing for me."
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