MARY MARY Serving as the full time Marketing & PR coordinator as an extension of Releve’ Entertainment, Steven Jones of VGSL was more than honored to be asked to represent SONY recording artists MARY MARY! Over the past decade, contemporary Gospel has been one of the fastest growing segments of popular music, and other than Kirk Franklin, no act is more responsible for popular acceptance of the genre than Mary Mary. Consisting of sisters Erica Atkins-Campbell and Tina Atkins-Campbell, Mary Mary has brought a fusion of gospel themes with soul and hip-hop sounds that has resulted in more exceptional music that has crossed not only the Gospel/Soul boundary, but has even brought a level of pop radio acceptance to God-based music. The Atkins sisters were raised in Inglewood, California, the middle daughters of an Evangelical minister and part of a well-known singing clan locally. They began to separately land gigs as backing vocalists for various Soul and Gospel performers, including Brian McKnight and Kenny Lattimore. While they were known mostly as singers, the two were also developing their songwriting skills, and a chance meeting with hot young producer Warryn Campbell (Brandy, Boyz II Men) helped them to land a publishing contract. Their song “Dance” was included on the Dr. Doolittle soundtrack, and they wrote and performed “Let Go, Let God” for the movie The Prince of Egypt With their star rising in the Gospel world, they signed with Columbia and began working on their debut. Delighted to have mega- producer Campbell at the helm, the duo crafted a groundbreaking album that drew immediate critical raves and an excited response from music buyers everywhere. Thankful earned Mary Mary a slew of accolades including a Grammy for Best Contemporary Gospel Album, two Dove Awards, three Stellar Awards and a Soul Train Award. Just as exciting was the reaction outside the U.S.: the single "Shackles" was a Top 10 Pop Billboard hit in the U.K., France, the Netherlands and Australia. "I remember the first time we went overseas," recalls Tina of a huge stadium show in Holland. "Seeing 60,000 people singing Shackles' along with us was absolutely amazing!" Currently Mary Mary is enjoying continued success with the release of the self-titled CD Mary Mary which was released in June of 2005. Already certified Gold, the album continues to hold the number 4 position on Billboard’s top gospel charts. The CD has earned the group multiple awards including the 2005 American Music Award for favorite Contemporary Inspirational Artist, as well as Gospel Song of the Year for the song “Heaven” awarded to the group by ASCAP, The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers. With a current R&B top 10 hit entitled “Yesterday” on the Billboard charts the girls show no sign of slowing down any time soon! When asked of their recent success the girls responded, “I hope that this album changes lives more than anything else," says Erica. "I want people to hear it and be encouraged to keep going. We want people to hear the record and respond. We're going to continue to do what we do and do it Mary Mary style. We're going to go out and be funky and fun - we can't help being those kind of people. Ultimately, we're just two girls from California who love God and are glad about the talent God's given us." (back)