Talks of Beauty with Joann Rosario.

By Kristen Ramaseur [BREATHEcast Reporter]
Wed, May 07, 2008 @ 06:44 AM PST

Joann Rosario

Joann Rosario

As I talked over a bowl of M&Ms with Joann Rosario, it seemed I was with one of the girls rather than conducting an interview. Rosario, who was draped in a tangerine shawl and a bright smile, had lots to share about being comfortable in her skin, experiencing trials then overcoming and embracing the beauty in life that God has sent her way. Here’s what she had to say.

The Album cover and insert for Joyous Salvation really stands out. It looks like you had a big photo shoot. What was it like, playing dress up?
It was really amazing. My vision for the album was for it to be colorful, joyful, happy, outside… I wanted it to be something that looked like it could be in a Vogue Magazine…I want to give young women an example of somebody who lives for God, who loves the Lord, who has a passion for worship, but at the same time is beautiful and knows how to show that in a holy and in a clean way. I think that the team did a really excellent job. You would be surprised how many doors just the packaging has opened for us…when people look [surprised and wonder] is this Gospel? Is this Christian music?

You seem to be comfortable and having fun expressing your feminine side. Have you ever felt uncomfortable either in the past or present showing that side as a Christian artist or being viewed by the church?
Oh, I used to be a tomboy, all the way. I was not into the makeup or the dressing up. It was definitely something that I grew in to. One thing that used to make me very angry, probably around high school when I started to realized that I was not an ugly duckling. People started approaching with the wrong motivation and it used to make me very angry because, I felt like people don’t’ care about what my opinions are, who I am as a person, what I really think. All they cared to look at is the outside of me and make their judgment based on that and it really, really bothered me. So, I think that I really went into that whole tomboy thing because I [felt] like I want people to see me for who I am… At the same time; on the flip side of it, everything that we are, God has given us it for a reason. Your height, the shape of your nose, the color of your eyes, the way you look, it serves a purpose of who God has called you to be… learning not to shy away from that and how to embrace that and use it as a tool. Somebody may pick up a CD and say Hmm, that’s pretty! ... And decide to buy it. You never know. God can do what he wants to do and learning how to be comfortable with that was definitely a process for me.

What do you have to say to girls and women alike who feel like they have to hide their beauty and feminine side as Christian, as if it will be taken the wrong way?
I think that with everything there’s a balance… God shows us. Even our own common sense will tell us something is too short or something is too tight or something is inappropriate. If you feel uncomfortable and if you know that it’s going to cause someone to look at you too much in a certain way then you should probably rethink your outfit… There is a fine line. You can be glamorous. You can be beautiful. You can be stylish and fashionable, but still look like a lady. I think that just overall in the world that sense has been lost… like that old Hollywood glamour… There’s glamour. There’s a beauty that is clean and wholesome. We shouldn’t be afraid of that side of who we are. If God has made you tall, be tall. If you are more petite, be who you are, whatever your personal style is and don’t’ shy away from that.

Joyous Salvation reveals more than just your outward beauty and expression. You seem to be maturing in many ways. Can you share where you can feel the Lord is raising you up and the changes you may have noticed?
…It’s all been a process if you look at it: growing up in church, being a pastor’s daughter, singing since I was three, being comfortable with being a singer, but then losing my voice and then realizing you are more than a singer. [God saying],’I am calling you to be basically an evangelist, a woman of God. ‘It’s more than just… the artistic side of it…One step at a time God saying, ‘okay now listen’, or ‘pay attention to what I am saying’, or ‘do this’… It all goes into your music. It all goes into your message… Spiritually I think that people can tell a difference. I am not the greatest singer in the world. I love my voice. I love what God has given me, but I am not the best. There is always going to be somebody that’s better than you, but at the same time I am unique and I am who I am…All I can do is do who God has called me to do. So when you bring that to the table and people hear your sincerity and they feel your heart and your love for God it all bleeds through and that, it blessed people. To some people it will appeal to other people, they may say ‘uh it’s not necessarily my cup of tea or my style’, but it’s all fine, you know. We all have a place in the body.

Many listeners and readers may not know about the trial that occurred in your life, affecting you ability your sing. Please share your testimony with them.
I was diagnosed with nodules, which is calluses on you vocal chords in 2003, and it wasn’t until the end of 2004 that I was able to go back into the studio and finish my second album… I am talking about January of 2003 to almost November of 2004: a period of two years where I couldn’t work. I couldn’t travel. I couldn’t sing… [A]very frustrating, hard, hard time; and it’s almost like this is the people of Israel in the wilderness. If you don’t learn how to worship God in this moment you are going to be stuck here for forty years. I didn’t want to be stuck, and I decided if something is going to happen, if I am going to be healed or if something is going to change, God is going to have to do it. So, I am going to have to leave that in his hands and have a good attitude and worship God with my life, worship God with my attitude. Little by little, it’s like the more positive I got, the more I stopped complaining the more I stopped focusing on myself and my issue and my problem… the more I saw God beginning to even physically change my voice… It didn’t happen in a day or a month it took almost a process of two years and still on some days it’s harder to sing then on other days… but it’s still a miracle nonetheless, a long process miracle, but it’s still a miracle.

Was there a particular scripture or story in the bible that encouraged you along the way?
Job! Absolutely, he had the nerves and the guts to say, ‘though he slay me, yet will I worship’… He lost more than I lost at that point and he was still able to look at God and say I’m going to worship you in spite of my situation. I felt like I didn’t have the right to cop out. I didn’t have the right to not press through and not really, truly believe that God was going to bring me through that situation. Was it always easy to do that? No, but with the help of my family, and friends and people that emailed me saying ‘we’re believing God with you, we’re praying with you, don’t give up, just keep praying and keep staying in God’s face’. With that kind of support system it made it easier to go through that.

Is there a song that came directly out of that test?
Quite a few different songs. I was working on the second album at that time…There’s a song on there called I hear you say and it talks about the things that you hear God say, to you, even in the midst of your trials…Even in the midst of the moments when you’re going through a difficult time. It’s like, I hear God telling me. I hear you say ‘I’ll fight your battles I hear your say ‘you’re not alone’…It was almost like I could see myself having a conversation with God and him speaking to me... Also, there’s a song… called ‘Beautiful Son’, which is on Joyous Salvation…I wrote that song when I was working on my second album, but was kind of afraid to let anybody hear it. So, I just held on to it and kind of put it in the vault and carried it around in my head for quite a few years. By the time it came out on the third album it was the right time. My voice was in the right place. The producer was right for it; I worked with Chris Rodriguez. It was just right. It just really, really fit.

Why were you apprehensive about sharing that song?
It’s a process. Especially when you work around brilliant people that have been doing song writing for years and years…It’s like taking your newborn baby to somebody and not knowing if they are going to say ‘Aww your baby’s beautiful’, or… ‘Hmm’? I had to learn how to be comfortable, trusting what I hear. And trusting, ‘hey this has potential to be a good song’ or be honest with myself and say I need to work on this a little bit more. It’s not always easy to receive that criticism, so it can be a little intimidating.

Is there another song on the album that is very dear to you, perhaps a favorite?
I love the entire album, honestly. I have a lot of favorites, if you can say that... Another song that I actually wrote here in Nashville, is a song called ‘Beyond’, it has a great arrangement, but I like the message of the song. The first line says, ‘It’s not enough to know our name, it’s not enough to read the stories on the page, desperately I’m seeking to find another way to move beyond the place I am today’. Basically that’s a reflection of the Christian life, the Christian walk. You may have grown up in church your entire life but there’s more to God than what you’ve seen. There’s more to God than what you’ve known. Sometimes you’ve got to take your pride and put it to the side and say, ‘hey I don’t know everything’, but I’m willing to humble myself and come to you and say I don’t know everything, I don’t know how to work out everything, show me… like David used to say ‘teach me your ways o Lord’. We should have that same humble posture and be willing to put everything to the side, our preconceived ideas, our pride, our selfishness, whatever it is and say [I’ll] move beyond and go further in you.

Why did you title the album Joyous Salvation and what do you hope people receive as they listen?
I want people to be encouraged. I want them to feel happy… to have a sense of hope… The second album, for me way a very difficult album to finish because of the recovery of my voice and the time I was going through that [was difficult], but by the time we got to the third album I felt like my whole life had done a 360. My voice was doing great. The pieces were coming together. I had more control on this album that any of the previous before. I had more of a say on what the style should be or what the sound should be... It’s like one of those moments where you feel like all of the pieces are coming together… and that’s what came to me, joyous salvation! Salvation is confidence in knowing who God is, and who he is in your life…It’s something that should fill you with joy; it should fill you with peace, knowing he is right there. He’s working everything together for your good.

Well, that was all that I had, unless you have anything else to share.
Nope, I think we have covered a lot of good things. I’m still very active in my church, working with the singles, working with the music department. My dad has probably 400 churches under his ministry, [in] Central and South America. So, it’s given the opportunity not to just sing and minister here in the states but abroad. That has been a blessing because, I think sometimes when we are only experiencing one dimension of the church or the body of Christ you think that it’s like that everywhere… When you are able to see people’s passion, and their hungry for God, and how they are willing to walk miles and miles to get to church, it’s like okay I need to step my passion up. You know? Have a little more fire and it kind of keeps your priorities in line. So, I am really grateful for that opportunity. Even though, my albums are in English they are like we support and we’re proud of you.

Wed, May 07, 2008 @ 06:44 AM