Virtue (musical group)

Virtue
OriginNew Orleans, Louisiana
United States
GenresUrban Gospel, Contemporary Christian, Inspirational/Worship
Years active1997 – Present
LabelsVerity Records (1997–2005)
Darkchild Gospel (2006–2007)
Mixed Bag Entertainment (2014 – Present)
MembersEbony Holland
Heather Martin
Karima Kibble
Past membersNegelle Sumter (1995-2001)
Shavonne Sampson (1995–1999)

Virtue is an American gospel music group. The group currently consists of Ebony Holland, Karima Kibble and Heather Martin.

History

Virtue was formed in 1994 by Karima Trotter (Kibble), Ebony Trotter (Holland), Negelle Sumter, and Shavonne Sampson. All four women attended the historically Black Seventh-day Adventist institution, Oakwood University (then Oakwood College).

Their self-titled debut album, Virtue, was released on April 29, 1997 by Verity Records. The album peaked at number 18 on Billboard's Christian Albums, and number 6 on Billboard's Top Gospel Albums.

Virtue released several other albums throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, including Get Ready (1999), Virtuosity (2001), Free (2003), and Testimony (2006).

After Testimony, no new content was released by the group for over 9 years. On the 26th of February 2016, the group released the album Fearless, their 7th studio album, which charted at number 3 on Billboard's Top Gospel Albums, their highest charting album to date.

Discography

Studio albums

Title Album details Chart positions
US
Gospel
[1] 		US
Christ.
[2] 		US
Heat.
[3]
Virtue
  • Released: April 29, 1997
  • Label: Jive (#CHIP 188), Verity (#43020)[4]
 6 18 —
Get Ready
  • Released: May 18, 1999
  • Label: Verity (#43122)[5]
 4 10 22
Virtuosity
  • Released: September 11, 2001
  • Label: Verity (#43170)[6]
 4 23 33
Free
  • Released: August 19, 2003
  • Label: Verity (#53729)[7]
 10 34 —
Testimony
  • Released: June 20, 2006
  • Label: Darkchild Gospel, Integrity Gospel (#682184)[8]
 23 — —
Fearless
  • Released: February 26, 2016
  • Label: eOne, Virtue Girls (#115)[9]
 3 — —

Re-issued albums

Title Album details Chart positions
US
Gospel
[1] 		US
Christ.
[2] 		US
Heat.
[3]
Testimony Reloaded
  • Released: February 3, 2015
  • Label: Mixed Bag Entertainment (#MGB-CD-14)[10]
 21 — —

Compilation albums

Title Album details Chart positions
US
Gospel
[1] 		US
Christ.
[2] 		US
Heat.
[3]
Nothing But the Hits
  • Released: July 27, 2004
  • Label: Sony Music (#771634), Verity (#82876599982)[11]
 — — —

Singles

As a lead artist

Title Year Peak chart positions Album
US
Gospel
[12] 		US
Gospel
Airplay
[13]
"Greatest Part Of Me" 1997 — — Virtue
"Let the Redeemed" — —
"I Must Tell Jesus" — —
"My Heart's With You" 1999 — — Get Ready
"Get Ready" — —
"Love Me Like You Do" — —
"Angels Watching Over Me" — —
"Put Your War Clothes On" — —
"He's Been Good" 2001 — — Virtuosity
"Till You Believe" — —
"Gotta Worship" — —
"Down on My Knees" — —
"Healin'" 2003 — — Free
"Lord. I Lift My Hands" — —
"You Just Be You" — —
"Follow Me" 2006 4 4 Testimony
"You Are" 2014 — 17 Testimony Reloaded and Fearless
"Walk it Out" 2015 — — Fearless
"Miracle" 2016 — 23
"—" denotes items which were not released in that country or failed to chart.

Other appearances

Virtue performed on the Sisters in the Spirit tour with Shirley Caesar, Yolanda Adams and Mary Mary.[14] They also performed on the Evolution II Tour 2003 with Byron Cage, Percy Bady Tonex, Lisa McClendon, and Corey Red & Precise.[15]

They appeared on the album Bridges: Songs of Unity and Purpose in a duet with Clay Crosse and sang background for Darwin Hobbs on the song So Amazing from his album Vertical.

List of album appearances, showing year released and album name
Title
(Artist) 		Year Album
"The First Noel"[16]
(Virtue) 		1998 The Real Meaning of Christmas, Vol. 2
"Together"[17]
(Clay Crosse & Virtue) 		1999 Bridges - Songs of Unity and Purpose
"Can You Hear the Angels?"[18]
(Virtue) 		The Real Meaning of Christmas, Vol. 3
"So Amazing"[19]
(Darwin Hobbs featuring Virtue)[20] 		2000 Vertical
"So Amazing"[21]
(Oakwood University USM Compilation featuring Virtue) 		2008 The Experience

Music videos

  • "Greatest Part of Me"
  • "Follow Me"

Award history

Year Award-giving body Award Category Song /Album Title
2003 Dove Awards Urban Album of the Year Free
2006 Grammy Awards Nominated for Gospel Album of the Year Testimony

References

  1. ^ a b c Studio albums
    • For Virtue: "POPULAR UPRISINGS". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 17. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 24 April 1999. p. 17. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
    Re-issued albums
  2. ^ a b c "Virtue | Billboard Top Christian Albums". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 27 October 2001. Archived from the original on 27 March 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2021 – via Billboard.com.
  3. ^ a b c
  4. ^ "Virtue - Virtue | Releases | Allmusic". Allmusic. Netaktion LLC. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  5. ^ "Get Ready - Virtue | Releases | Allmusic". Allmusic. Netaktion LLC. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  6. ^ "Virtuosity! - Virtue | Releases | Allmusic". Allmusic. Netaktion LLC. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  7. ^ "Free - Virtue | Releases | Allmusic". Allmusic. Netaktion LLC. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  8. ^ "Testimony - Virtue | Releases | Allmusic". Allmusic. Netaktion LLC. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  9. ^ "Fearless - Virtue | Releases | Allmusic". Allmusic. Netaktion LLC. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  10. ^ "Testimony Reloaded - Virtue | Releases | Allmusic". Allmusic. Netaktion LLC. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  11. ^ "Nothing But the Hits - Virtue | Releases | Allmusic". Allmusic. Netaktion LLC. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  12. ^
  13. ^
  14. ^ Collins, Lisa (28 July 2001). "Artists & Music: In The Spirit". Billboard. Vol. 113, no. 30. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 30. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  15. ^ ""Prince of Praise" Headlines Evolution II Tour 2003". Gospelwire.com. Retrieved 2007-01-12.
  16. ^ "The Real Meaning of Christmas, Vol. 2 by Various Artists on Apple Music". Apple Music. 29 September 1998. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  17. ^ "Bridges - Songs of Unity and Purpose by Various Artists on Apple Music". Apple Music. 21 September 1999. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
  18. ^ Huey, Steve. "The Real Meaning of Christmas, Vol. 3 - Various Artists". Allmusic. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
  19. ^ "Vertical by Darwin Hobbs on Apple Music". Apple Music. January 2000. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
  20. ^ "The Best of Darwin Hobbs by Darwin Hobbs on Apple Music". Apple Music. January 2007. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
  21. ^ "The Experience by Oakwood University USM Compilation on Apple Music". Apple Music. 4 April 2008. Retrieved November 2, 2021.