Breaking News: Crystal Collins to perform at Black Press All Star Awards 
August 30, 2006 -- (BlackPressMagazine.com) Inspiring. Uplifting. Melodic.
Describing CRYSTAL COLLINS, the gifted singer from the Madea Goes to Jail play, may be as easy as picking up a thesaurus. Just don't look to find a synonym for her style of music. This inspirational recording artist writes and sings songs that transcend definition and just speaks to the heart of the listener.
Born in Niagara Falls New York, Collins has sung background for legendary Gospel and R&B artists like Luther Vandross, Kelly Price, Glenn Jones, Little G of Silk, and Dorothy Norwood. Crystal was also featured on Edwin Hawkins' It's Church Time CD.
For nine years, Crystal acted and sang in such inspirational stage plays as "A Good Man is Hard To Find", "Where Have All the Good Men Gone?” and "Love Should Have Brought You Home". She even had a small role in the box office hit movie Diary of A Mad Black Woman (Lion's Gate Films) and is currently on tour as the incarcerated Chico in Tyler Perry's Madea Goes To Jail.
Introduced to the world of music at the tender age of 4, Collins got her first big break singing on a Jerry Lewis Telethon. There she performed a heartfelt rendition of "Jesus Loves the Little Children". Realizing her ability to capture an audience, she later went on to establish a singing group with her sister, followed by a quartet that included her aunt, aptly entitled The Collins Sisters and The Collins Sisters & Company, respectively. In 1985, a fateful signing under the Atlanta based Meltone Records roster found a 13-year-old Crystal moving to Georgia to be closer to the label. He Careswas the title of the sub-radar Gospel album put out by The Collins Sisters on Meltone.
"Being on an independent label was challenging because they didn't have all the tools and staff to promote our album the way it should have been promoted", Crystal adds.
However, being signed to a label did have its advantages. As The Collins Sisters traveled the U.S. promoting their debut album, they not only got to go places they never imagined going; they also encountered a multitude of people that would later help them in their search for stardom.
You can see Collins perform at the Awards Luncheon at the 2nd Annual Black Press All Stars Awards in Baltimore, MD on Sept. 15, 2006 and at the VIP Winners Circle Reception and Silent Auction at the Great Blacks in Wax Museum Mansion at 6 p.m.
