Julie De Azevedo

One of the few Latter-day Saints to break into the mainstream market, singer/songwriter Julie de Azevedo shows incredible staying power. Her songwriting is marvelous, touching on many contemporary subjects with a hint of folk but big on pop-rock sound. She often touches on spiritual subjects, but only the experienced LDS member would be able to recognize that she's even doing so, her lyrics are so contemporary. Her lyrics are also blessedly profanity-free in a genre that has its share of filth. She's a multi-talented woman. Her formal education is actually in Social Work and Psychology. Music was simply a private passion for her. She wrote songs to express herself creatively, some of which were used by other artists. But that all changed in 1988 when she released her first album, simply titled Julie. Since then, her music career truly took off, earning her recognition and awards. Her 1996 release Pray for Rain earned her several Pearl Awards from the new Faith Centered Music Association, including: Songwriter of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, Contemporary Album of the Year, Contemporary Song of the Year ("Pray for Rain") and Inspirational Song of the Year ("Window to His Love"). Her primary instruments were voice and piano until 1999, when she learned the guitar. With her newfound guitar skills, she began to push her sound into new realms, all of which is very evident on her excellent 1999 release Dive Deep. Julie continues to work full-time in Social Work, and makes her home in Salt Lake City with husband Jeff and two children. ~ Dacia A. Blodgett-Williams, Rovi