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Juan Winans

Juan Winans (b. July 24, 1981) is a Grammy Award nominated American singer/songwriter and music producer. He is a third generation member of the legendary, Winans family .

Family and early life

Juan Winans was born in Detroit, MI on July 24, 1981. The second child of four (Carvin Jr., Joy & Ian) born to Carvin Winans (b. 1958) and Deborah Kerr Winans. His paternal grandparents, David (April 20, 1934. April 8, 2009) and Delores Winans met each other in 1951, at the ages of 17 and 15 while singing in the Lemon Gospel Chorus. They wed two years later, forming a union that would produce ten children, and last nearly sixty years. Mom & Pop Winans, as they would come to be affectionately known, had seven sons (David Jr, Ronald, Carvin, Marvin, Michael, Daniel, Benjamin) consecutively, before having three daughters (Priscilla, Angelique, and Debra). Both David's father and grandfather were preachers in the pentecostal church, thus he raised his ten children in a strict religious home. They taught their children how to sing and they honed their skills performing quartet music at their grandfather's church. However, it wasn't until years later in 1980 that Marvin, Carvin, Michael and Ronald, would be discovered by Andrae Crouch , who signed them to Light Records , as The Winans .

On January 1, 1981 , six months prior to the birth of his second son, Carvin Winans, along with his three brothers, released their debut album, Introducing The Winans , embarking on a career that would earn them 5 Grammy Awards and the title, First Family of Gospel music. In 1987 Juan's uncle and aunt, would release their debut album and become internationally known as BeBe & CeCe Winans . Several years later, in 1993 his father's youngest siblings, Angie & Debbie Winans would release their self entitled debut album to critical acclaim. Yet, even in this environment, Juan wasn't interested in pursuing a career in music.

Career

Winans Phase 2

In the winter of 1997, The Winans were asked to compose and perform a theme song for a Detroit NBC affiliate. They approached their sons about recording the song with them. It was during this time that Juan first expressed an interest in pursuing music, stating in a 1999 interview for CCM magazine, " I don't think I ever aspired to sing before we put this group together". He, along with his older brother, Carvin and two cousins, Marvin Winans Jr , and Michael Winans Jr. would form the group Winans Phase 2. In the following year, they signed a record deal with Myrrh/ Epic Records and began working on their debut album entitled, We Got Next . The project was released in August of 1999 and included tracks from industry heavyweights, Rodney Jerkins , Narada Michael Walden , and Babyface . The album debuted at #1 on Gospel Billboard charts , and sold over 250,000 units in the U.S. It was nominated for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album at the 42nd Grammy Awards . However they lost the award to Yolanda Adams . The group was also featured on several national television shows including The Oprah Winfrey Show , Donnie & Marie , Soul Train, and the Queen Latifah show. In the spring of 2000 the group performed to crowds in London, Germany, and Amsterdam promoting the release of We Got Next. A 2002 40 city tour featuring the entire Winans Family would mark the unexpected end of the group.

Juan has never publically spoken about why, with all of it's potential, Winans Phase 2 never recorded again. However, former members, Marvin, and Michael have cited "internal problems" , and "not really wanting to be an artist" as reasons for the group's breakup. Marvin however, asserts that though they don't record music together, they "were and still are the closest cousins you will find!"

2003-2007

In 2003 Winans returned to the studio to record backround vocals for his uncle BeBe Winans Christmas album, My Christmas Prayer. The following year he relocated to Nashville to concentrate on songwriting.

In 2005 Winans, along with Babyface , provided backing vocals for the song I Said I Love You off of the Kirk Whalum release, The Songs Of Babyface. He is also credited with singing and arranging background vocals on George Huff 's , My Christmas EP . It is also during this time that Winans began attending Bethel World Outreach Church in Nashville, TN where he would lead worship service for the next four years.

2008-Present

In 2008 Winans co-wrote the song Seattle for Gospel/R&B dou Mary Mary for their fourth studio release, The Sound. The album proved to be their best charting album to date, debuting No. 7 on the Billboard 200 , No. 2 on the US R&B chart, and topping the gospel and CCM charts. The album held the No. 1 position on the Billboard Gospel Albums chart for over six months after its release. Winans also collaborated with Hip-Hop legend Heavy D on his critically acclaimed, Grammy nominated album, Vibes , co-writing and singing background vocals for the song No Matter What.

The following year Winans composed the lyrics for and produced the song Need You To Fall for Michael Bolton . The song was released on Bolton's One World One Love album in September 2009 in the United Kingdom. The album was subsequently released in the U.S. on May 4, 2010. In October of 2010 Winans, along with his wife, Lisa, collaborated with producer Warryn Campbell to compose material for the highly anticipated Tyler Perry film, For Colored Girls . They wrote the song Sun , performed by Lalah Hathaway . It appears in both the film and on the soundtrack.

Winans once again teamed up with Warryn Campbell and Mary Mary on their fifth studio release, Something Big, co-writing Catch Me, and Never Wave My Flag . The latter was performed by the group on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno March 31, 2011.

Winans has been credited with providing music for the hit movie Jumping The Broom . He also wrote the second single from Bishop T.D. Jakes Sacred Love Songs II album. The song is entitled Closer , and is performed by R&B star, Joe .

Personal Life

In the fall of 2005 Winans met and began dating recording artist Lisa Kimmey , lead singer of Contemporary Christian group, Out Of Eden . The two met while attending the same church. They married on September 8, 2007 in Franklin, TN. They welcomed their first child, Sophia, on New Years Eve 2010.

Juan currently resides in Los Angeles, CA