ZOEgirl

ZOEgirl
ZOEgirl at the Jump5 tour in spring 2005. From left to right: Chrissy, Alisa, and Kristin.
Background information
Origin	U.S.
Genres	Pop and Rock
Years active	2000–2006
Labels	Sparrow Records
Past members
Chrissy Conway-Katina Alisa Childers Kristin Swinford-Schweain

ZOEgirl was a Christian pop rock band. It was formed of singers Chrissy Conway-Katina, Alisa Childers and Kristin Swinford-Schweain. In 2002, ZOEgirl received a GMA Dove Award for New Artist of the Year. Before disbanding, the band released three more studio albums, as well as a remix album and a limited edition single.^[1] More recently, they reunited for a two-hour interview on The Brian Mason Show.^[2]

Name meaning

This graphic, found on early versions of ZOEgirl's website, explains the band name's meaning.

The name ZOEgirl comes from the greek word zoe, which, in the New Testament, means life. Through their music, ZOEgirl talks about life in Christ.^[3]

History

Making the group (1999)

Norman Miller, an artist manager for groups such as Avalon, said one day: "I see a need for a girls pop group." He knew Alisa Childers since 1977, when she was two years old, and "decided to build the [girl] group around her." Together with Lynn Nichols, a writer and executive producer, they approached Kristin Schweain, who was then part of a jazz group. Nichols said: "She [Alisa] had a real writing sensitivity. Then we heard Kristin sing and play the piano. She had a pure pop voice, and it was a really interesting mix with Alisa’s more gritty style. Then we said, ‘Let’s just see what unfolds.’" Schweain felt that it was a difficult decision for her to choose between her jazz group and this new opportunity in a girl group: "I felt like I was betraying them [her previous group], but at the same time I felt a pull to ZOEgirl and felt led to meet Alisa." She ultimately decided to join the girl group.

They wanted a third member, so Kristin remembered that her friend had "a friend in Atlanta who was playing in a band and working with some musicians." Nichols recalls: "It sounded kind of flaky, but I told Kristin to give her a call." This girl from Atlanta was Chrissy Katina, who "was on the verge of signing a major record deal." Katina said: "My lawyer thought I was crazy for wanting to join a Christian group. He told me I’d never make any money." Regardless, she chose to become the third member of the group, which has yet to be named.^[4]

ZOEgirl (2000)

Main article: ZOEgirl (album)

The girl group signed to Sparrow Records but needed a name. Their original name was simply "ZOE", all in capital letters, their favourite from a list of possible names they have made. However, there was already a trademark for this name, so they added the suffix "girl" in minuscule letters to form the name "ZOEgirl."^[4]

ZOEgirl's first, self-titled release was released on August 15, 2000. While most of the songs talk about their relationship with God, "Give Me One Reason" is about refusing to choose someone else over God, and "Stop Right There" is written to Satan about not being his property, and instead walk towards Jesus.

"I Believe" and "Living For You" both obtained the #4 position on the Adult Contemporary chart, while "Anything Is Possible" obtained the #8 position on the Contemporary Hits chart.

The album itself peaked at position #8 on the Billboard Heatseeker's Chart and sold over 350 000 copies by the end of 2003.^[4]

Life (2001-2002)

Main article: Life (ZOEgirl album)

The release of Life on November 20, 2001 was better acclaimed than the self-titled album. Christian Music Today said that it "may well be the best Christian teen pop album released to date".^[5]

The single "With All Of My Heart" obtained the #1 position for 3 weeks on the CHR Charts, and featured in the top 5 on AC radio charts.

Over 120 000 copies of this album were sold during the first six weeks of its release, and nearly 370 000 copies were sold by the end of 2003.^[4]

Different Kind of FREE (2003-2004)

Main article: Different Kind of FREE

After a drastic musical change from bubblegum pop to pop rock, Different Kind of FREE was released. This is the most critically acclaimed album from ZOEgirl, mainly due to its lead single "You Get Me" and the Radio Disney single "Feel Alright". Another factor leading to this album's success is the music video filmed for "You Get Me".

Room to Breathe (2005)

Main article: Room to Breathe (ZOEgirl album)

ZOEgirl released their final album, Room to Breathe, on January 1, 2005. The album peaked at position 108 for the Billboard 200, and at position #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart,^[6] making this the most successful ZOEgirl album ever.

However, the single "About You" was not as successful as "You Get Me"; it peaked at position #5 on both the Hot Christian Songs and AC chart.^[7] "Scream" was on the AC charts only for a week, where it peaked at position #40.^[8] On the CHR charts, it reached position 25.

Disestablishment (2006)

On September 2006, by means of their now-defunct ZOEgirl fan club site, the group announced that they would quit recording music as a group so that members could tend to their personal objectives.

• Chrissy Conway-Katina had a baby, and was writing and recording for a solo album titled Beautiful Redemption, though this album was never released.
• Alisa Childers has released her own self-titled album on December 1, 2007.^[9]
• Kristin Swinford-Schweain gave birth to a baby on February 13, 2007, and recorded her own album, "Days Of Eden".

COLMANblue (2008-2010)

In 2008, Chrissy formed a new group, COLMANblue, with Kelli Trontell. On September 3, 2008, the group announced that a third member would be part of the band, without mentioning her name. Three days later, it was confirmed that Kristin Schweain was the third member.^[10]

They participated in a "Hope 4 Samoa" concert on October 8, 2009.^[11] They sang on The Katinas Friends and Family cruise to Mexico in 2010^[12] before disbanding, probably because Kristin Schweain was expecting a child. On September 22, Kristin gave birth to her first son, Callum Ryan Moses Schweain.^[13]

Radio interview (2011)

After more than four years of inactivity and separation, ZOEgirl reunited on February 27, 2011 for an interview on The Brian Mason Show. The group made no plans to create music together, but says that it is still possible.^[2]

Discography

Main article: ZOEgirl discography

• ZOEgirl
• Life
• Different Kind of FREE
• Room to Breathe

Remix Album

• Mix of Life

Remixes of two other ZOEgirl songs can be found on the Life single

Awards

Awards
Preceded by Plus One	GMA's New Artist of the Year 2002	Succeeded by Paul Colman Trio

See also

• Christian girl group
• Chrissy Conway
• Alisa Childers

References

1. ^ Chris Unthank. "ZOEgirl Says Goodbye". World of Christian Music. http://worldofcm.com/news/more.php?id=P977_0_3_0. Retrieved 2007-07-20. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Brian Mason. "The Brian Mason Show". http://www.brianmason.com/photos.htm. Retrieved 2010-03-13. 
3. ^ Shaun Stevenson. "Life review". Jesus Freak Hideout. http://www.jesusfreakhideout.com/cdreviews/ZoegirlLife.asp. Retrieved 2008-08-10. 
4. ^ ^{a b c d} ZOEgirl | Three of a Kind |CCM Magazine. Written in 2003. Retrieved on October 30, 2011.
5. ^ Russ Breimeier. "Life review". Christian Music Today. http://www.christianitytoday.com/music/reviews/2001/life.html. Retrieved 2008-11-07. 
6. ^ "Artist Chart History — ZOEgirl". Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.chartFormatGroupName=Albums&model.vnuArtistId=407082&model.vnuAlbumId=671970. Retrieved 2008-11-02. 
7. ^ "Hot Christian Songs — About You". Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=355&cfgn=Singles&cfn=Hot+Christian+Songs&ci=3059549&cdi=8365720&cid=07%2F09%2F2005. Retrieved 2008-11-02. ^{[dead link]}
8. ^ "Hot Christian Adult Contemporary — Scream". Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=354&cfgn=Singles&cfn=Hot+Christian+Adult+Contemporary&ci=3061635&cdi=8447815&cid=10%2F15%2F2005. Retrieved 2008-11-02. ^{[dead link]}
9. ^ Alisa Childers.Download my music NOW! Official MySpace blog. Retrieved on May 4, 2008
10. ^ ColmanBlue. "Exciting News and a little quiz". http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=342625193&blogID=429750437. Retrieved 2008-10-16. 
11. ^ @COLMANblue. "Tweet". http://twitter.com/colmanblue/status/4724771077. Retrieved 2010-10-30. 
12. ^ @COLMANblue. "Tweet". http://twitter.com/colmanblue/status/8242002315. Retrieved 2010-10-30. 
13. ^ @COLMANblue. "Tweet". http://twitter.com/KristinSchweain/status/25275792781. Retrieved 2010-10-30. 

External links

• ZOEgirl's Official Web Site at the Wayback Machine

ZOEgirl Press

• ThoughtQuotient.com Interview with ZOEgirl (archive)
• About.com Interview with ZOEgirl
• 30-CC Interview with ZOEgirl (video)
• InTheTimes.com Interview with ZOEgirl (video)
• Brio and Beyond Interview with ZOEgirl (archived)
• Freak Magazine Interview with ZOEgirl (video)
• ZOEgirl's Passionate Heart for Missions