Moriah Smallbone
Moriah Peters Smallbone | |
---|---|
Birth name | Moriah Castillo Peters[1] |
Born | [2] Pomona, California, U.S.[3] | October 2, 1992
Genres | Contemporary Christian, pop rock |
Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar |
Years active | 2008–present |
Labels | Reunion |
Spouse(s) | Joel Smallbone |
Website | www |
Moriah Smallbone[4] (born Moriah Castillo Peters, October 2, 1992) is an American Actress, and Latin-Country artist from Nashville, TN. She is a singer and songwriter born in Pomona, California and raised in Chino, California and Ontario, California. She previously worked under the name "Moriah Peters".
Background[edit]
Moriah Castillo Peters was born on October 2, 1992,[5] in Pomona, California.[3] Her father is Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Anthony Moreno Peters and her mother is Patricia Castillo Peters;[6][7] she has an older sister named Bianca and younger brother named Anthony Ezra.[3][6] Smallbone grew up in the California inland towns of Chino and Ontario.[3]
Smallbone started writing songs at the age of 13 and played the guitar since she was young.[8] Smallbone "had dedicated herself to the leadership of God at the age of 14 and can still remember her heart's genuine prayer of, 'God, I just want to be used by you.'"[9]
Smallbone attended Don Antonio Lugo High School in Chino, California, where she achieved a 4.1 Grade Point Average, which earned her a scholarship to Cal State-Fullerton.[10] She planned to use the scholarship for law school with the end goal of becoming an entertainment lawyer.[10] However, she felt compelled by God to become a Christian singer. She was initially uncomfortable about her "froggy" voice, but after hearing Jaci Velasquez, she never felt that way about her voice again.[10] McKay compared her voice to that of Natalie Grant and Nichole Nordeman.[11] Because her dad is a jazz bass player, her musical influences are varied and include Chaka Khan, Stevie Wonder and Steely Dan.[10]
Smallbone auditioned for American Idol, but the judges—Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson, and Avril Lavigne—were harsh to her because of her wholesome image, telling her to experience life ("kiss a boy") before entering the music industry.[10][12] Smallbone had a 'no kissing' rule and believed in waiting for marriage to kiss anyone.[11] Touched by the values she portrayed at the audition, a random stranger introduced Smallbone to Wendi Foy,[10] who helped her make a three-song demo to market to record labels in Nashville.[10] As a result, Smallbone joined Reunion Records on August 11, 2011.[10][13] On April 17, 2012, Smallbone released the album I Choose Jesus.
Smallbone was the singing voice of Vanna Banana on the VeggieTales movie Princess and the Popstar.[10][14]
During the writing phase of the I Choose Jesus album project Smallbone wrote 50 songs.[15] Her inspiration for the album came from a myriad of places "including her family, her own relationship with Christ and experiences she's walked through with other young girls while leading her high school Bible study."[15]
Her second album, Brave, was released July 15, 2014.[16] "You Carry Me" was the lead single from the album.
She appeared in her first film, Because of Gracia, that was released in 2017.[citation needed]
Personal life[edit]
Smallbone is of Mexican-French heritage.[8] Smallbone married Joel Smallbone, from the band for King & Country, on July 7, 2013.[17] They now reside in Nashville, Tennessee together.[3] Though she previously worked under the name "Moriah Peters", Smallbone now goes by her husband's surname.[4][18]
Tours[edit]
Smallbone was on The Hurt & The Healer tour with MercyMe and fellow artist Chris August, where she was the opening act for the two.[15][19] Smallbone also toured with Tenth Avenue North, Audrey Assad, and Rend Collective Experiment in 2012 and 2013, during the "Struggle Tour".[citation needed] In August 2014 she was on the Air1 Positive Hits Tour.[citation needed]
Discography[edit]
Albums[edit]
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |
---|---|---|---|
US Christ. [20] |
US Heat. [21] | ||
I Choose Jesus |
|
23 | 11 |
Brave | 9 | – | |
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart |
EPs[edit]
Title | Album details |
---|---|
Live from the Quarry |
|
Singles[edit]
Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | |
---|---|---|---|---|
US Christ. [22] |
US Christ. Air. [23] | |||
2012 | "I Choose Jesus" | 23 | I Choose Jesus | |
"Well Done" | 24 | |||
2014 | "You Carry Me" | 20 | 17 | Brave |
2015 | "Brave" (feat. Andy Mineo) | 29 | 24 | |
2021 | "Known, Seen, Loved" | — | — | Live from the Quarry |
"Trust" | — | — | ||
"Worth" (feat. Joel Smallbone) | — | — | ||
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart |
Featured performer[edit]
Year | Title | Artist | Album |
---|---|---|---|
2018 | "Pioneers" | For King & Country | Burn the Ships |
References[edit]
- ^ Peters, Moriah. "Peters Moriah Castillo". ASCAP. Retrieved April 17, 2012.
- ^ Peters, Moriah (October 3, 2011). "The finale of My Birthday". Twitter. Retrieved April 15, 2012.
- ^ a b c d e Staff(s) (July 14, 2014). "10 Questions with ... Moriah Peters". allaccess.com. All Access. Retrieved July 16, 2014.
- ^ a b Clarks, Jessie (March 6, 2023). "Courtney + Moriah Smallbone Preview 'Unsung Hero' Movie". The Christian Beat. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
- ^ State of California. "Moriah Castillo Peters, Born 10/02/1992 in California". californiabirthindex.org. California Birth Index. Retrieved July 16, 2014.
- ^ a b Peters, Moriah (November 28, 2013). "Tweet". twitter.com. Twitter. Retrieved July 16, 2014.
- ^ Peters, Moriah (May 13, 2014). "Facebook post". facebook.com. Facebook. Retrieved July 16, 2014.
- ^ a b Peters, Moriah. "Moriah Peters - About". MoriahPeters.com. Retrieved April 16, 2012.
- ^ Peters, Moriah (March 28, 2011). "About Moriah Peters". Facebook. Retrieved April 15, 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Somers, Liz (April 16, 2012). "Moriah Peters ignores "American Idol" advice". Denver Post. Retrieved April 16, 2012.
- ^ a b McKay, Ace (April 16, 2012). "Moriah Peters releases 'I Choose Jesus' (Ear 2 Ear)". Alabama Live. Retrieved April 17, 2012.
- ^ Spirit 105.3 (January 26, 2012). "Moriah Peters Shares About Her American Idol Experience". YouTube. Retrieved April 16, 2012.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Provident Label Group (August 11, 2011). "Moriah Peters Joins Provident Label Group Family of Artists". Jesus Freak Hideout. Retrieved April 16, 2012.
- ^ IMDb (2011). "Veggietales: Princess and the Popstar". IMDb. Retrieved April 17, 2012.
- ^ a b c The Times Record (April 20, 2012). "New artists snag spots on Camp, MercyMe tours: Moriah Peters chooses Jesus". The Times Record. Archived from the original on June 1, 2016. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
- ^ Gelwicks, Roger (July 13, 2014). "Moriah Peters, "Brave" Review". Jesusfreakhideout.com. Jesus Freak Hideout. Retrieved July 16, 2014.
- ^ Dinger, Anna. "For King & Country's Joel Smallbone Married Moriah Peters On July 7 [Photo] : Articles". MusicTimes. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
- ^ St Cyr, Sylvia (September 20, 2021). "WATCH: Moriah (Peters) Smallbone releases new music after 7 years". CHVN 95.1FM. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
- ^ Davis, Doug (March 29, 2012). "MercyMe: Christian band brings 'Hurt and the Healer' to 'Boro". The Tennessean. Retrieved April 16, 2012.
- ^ Billboard (May 5, 2012). "Christian Albums: Week of May 05, 2012". Billboard. Retrieved April 26, 2012.
- ^ Billboard (May 5, 2012). "Heatseekers Albums: Week of May 05, 2012". Billboard. Retrieved April 26, 2012.
- ^ "Moriah Peters (Hot Christian Songs". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 1, 2019. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
- ^ "Moriah Peters (Christian Airplay)". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 1, 2019. Retrieved May 14, 2019.