'That Spotlight Has Destroyed a Lot of People' —CeCe Winans Talks Faith, Family, and Surviving the Industry (🎧 Listen)
"This is a life that can bring a lot of joy, but it can steal from a lot of places if you don’t have the priorities in place..."
Success and longevity in the music industry require more than just talent, according to award-winning gospel artist CeCe Winans. They require the utmost discipline — especially when it comes to self-care and staying grounded.
Artists have to tend to their spirit, soul, and body, the veteran singer told Faithfully Magazine in a June 30 interview.
“And a lot of times artists lose sight of that, and that’s why we lose so many people before their time…” she said.
Winans, the most-awarded female gospel artist of all time, learned early on in her 44-year career to keep faith and family paramount to her work.
“I’ve gotten wiser over the years, but prioritizing has been a part of my life for a long time,” she explained. “I’ve been married now for 42 years. I’m 61. So I had to learn really early on to prioritize my husband and my family over my career — putting God first, and then putting those other things in place…”
Winans revealed how she keeps herself from simply doing too much to avoid burnout as an artist — which is no small feat, considering the proud grandmother made her public debut (alongside brother BeBe Winans) as a teen in 1982 as part of the PTL Singers on Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker’s “The PTL Club.”
Although they were not the first Black gospel artists to draw broad interest from White Christian audiences, the duo was certainly influential in helping to break down racial divisions in Christian music — a topic we touch on in the interview below.
In addition to discussing upcoming projects, including her new devotional book, Faith for Generations (written with Suzanne Gosselin), Winans also shared with us the most important piece of advice she gives younger artists about navigating the business while staying true to their convictions.
Winans, co-founding pastor of Nashville Life Church in Tennessee, also explained the strategy behind the production of her latest album, “The Hymns.”
“The Hymns,” her 14th major solo project, is a soul-stirring yet simple production that features the popular artist singing 16 staples — such as “How Great Thou Art” and “Nothing But the Blood” — primarily over the piano. Winans, who also made a significant impact in R&B music, is hoping to keep younger Christians as engaged with the timeless hymns as they are with contemporary music.
To access our Premium Q&A with Winans, listen to the exclusive audio below, or read the transcript (edited for length and clarity).
Conversations like this one are why readers subscribe to Faithfully Mag. From Tony Evans opening up about restoration and “the last season” of his life, to Brenda Salter McNeil’s unfiltered take on racial reconciliation, to N.T. Wright on what Western Christians get wrong about salvation — our exclusive Q&As with pastors, activists, artists, and others go deeper than the headlines. Subscribe now for full, instant access.
