We recently connected with Vincent Powell and have shared our conversation below.

Vincent , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

My desire to be a performer started in high school. My first instrument is percussions and I played in band, middle school/ High school. In high school, once I decided sports wasn’t going to be my career path, I started focusing on music. I sung in Madrigals, Concert and Gospel Choir.

After high school I wanted to go to Howard University, but parents wanted me to stay in state so I decided to take full scholarship to Texas Southern University (Bernadine Oliphant came and found me).

During college I started to explore my event planning skills with an event titled : Praise Party. We invited local gospel groups from around the city / state to come perform. After 8 years I went into the fashion world and created a fashion show titled : Dress Houston (expanded to Dress Dallas, San Antonio & Austin). This show showcased local designers / Local music artist / Models. We also gave out scholarships to designers enrolled in school.

After 10 years of auditioning I finally made it to Hollywood on American Idol, twice. The second time I was a finalist and it opened up my eyes and career to the world. From American idol I’ve been able to perform all over the world (S Korea, Canada, Mexico, USA)

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Im a graduate of Texas Southern University with a BA in Music (musical theater/ Jazz/ Fine Arts).

I teach voice online and in the houston Area. My students have been signed to major labels, Featured on Broadway and have been on charted / Grammy records.

Since 2008, i have served as the Minister of Praise & Worship at Fallbrook where the church membership is 20,000. In 2013, i was a Top 10 Male Finalist for Season 12 of American Idol on Fox. My live national performance of “Cause I Love You” by Lenny Williams garnered national attention from the likes of Lenny Williams, Rolling Stone Magazine, Billboard Magazine, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez, Nicki Minaj, Randy Jackson, Keith Urban and many more.

I have sung background for Whitney Houston (Arista), Kim Burrell (Sony), Regina Belle, Letoya Luckett (Capital) and many more. I have been on various stages and programs with such artists as Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj, Janet Jackson, Fantasia, Sheryl Crow, Kelly Rowland, Yolanda Adams, Kirk Franklin, Mary Mary and many more.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Im in stage 5 renal failure and I have to do dialysis every night for 9hours. It’s been a struggle to maintain a lifestyle as a working artist and give the required attention to my sickness.

But …. I’m still pressing on because still pursuing my dream.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I wish I knew about saving money, investments and credit. These resources help you get we things done quicker and more affective.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://vincentpowellmusic.com/
• Instagram: @vincentpowellamericanidol
• Facebook: Vincent Powell
• Twitter: Vincentai12

Image Credits
Jack Potts