| I Choose Jesus | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 17, 2012 [1] | |||
| Recorded | 2011–2012 | |||
| Genre | Contemporary Christian music, pop rock | |||
| Length | 33:51 [1] | |||
| Label | Reunion | |||
| Producer | Ed Cash [2] | |||
| Moriah Peters chronology | ||||
| ||||
I Choose Jesus is the first studio album by contemporary Christian musician Moriah Peters, released on April 17, 2012 by Reunion Records.
 | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2013) |
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic (Andree Farias) |   [3] |
| The Christian Manifesto (Lydia Akinola) |  [4] |
| Christian Music Zine (Joshua Andre) | (4.25/5) [5] |
| Cross Rhythms (Tony Cummings) | (9/10) [6] |
| Indie Vision Music (Jonathan Andre) | [7] |
| Jesus Freak Hideout (Jen Rose) | [8] |
| Louder Than the Music (Jono Davies) | [9] |
| New Release Tuesday (Sarah Fine) | [10] |
| The Phantom Tollbooth (Michael Dalton) | [11] |
This album was met with mostly positive acclaim from the critics. The most positive review came in from New Release Tuesday that gave it a perfect five. Sarah Fine wrote for that publication, and said the album "is quite possibly the best debut from a female vocalist Christian music has seen since Francesca Battistelli's My Paper Heart back in 2008. Musically fun, relevant and inspiring, Moriah's passion is evident on each track and her personal convictions coming as the driving force behind the lyrics take each song and send it soaring to new heights. This will undoubtedly go down as one of my top 10 albums of 2012, and I hope to see this debut catapult her to the same level of success the aforementioned Battistelli found with hers." [10]
There were two four-and-a-half-out-of-five's of a nine-out-of-a-ten that were garnered by the album from The Christian Manifesto, Louder Than the Music and Cross Rhythms. To This, The Christian Manifesto's Lydia Akinola wrote that "I Choose Jesus is a packed full with insightful, thoughtful messages that a listener of any age could learn from. That makes it a debut that we should all choose." [4] Likewise, Jono Davies of Louder Than the Music wrote that "I wouldn't describe Moriah as bubblegum pop, that would be unfair. Yet she does have a very pop-feel to her music. I would describe her as sounding a bit like fellow female vocalists Kari Jobie [sic] and Audrey Assad." [9] Furthermore, Davies said that "The whole album is actually full of very pleasant songs, sung with Moriah's mellifluous voice that you can not help but like. Even if you're a rock lover or a dance raver, this is music that doesn't offend. The album has a mix of songs directly about Jesus and His love, to songs that have very positive messages about living a good life. It's taken me a whole review to work out who I think she sounds like, and it's Philippa Hanna who as you may know, I think very highly of as an artist. They both have rich and wonderful harmonious voices that you could just listen to all day." [9] Davies called it a "Great album." [9] Lastly, Cross Rhythms's Tony Cummings said "With Moriah rising to prominence on the US Christian scene through her vocals in the Veggie Tales DVD 'The Princess And The Popstar' I understandably expected some rather vacuous tweenie pop music on the singer's debut. In fact, there's not an autotuner or a predictable synth riff in earshot and thanks to the sure hand of producer Ed Cash (Chris Tomlin, Bebo Norman) the sound here is organic enough so that one has to take seriously the 19 year old's album." [6]
This album had one lone 4.25-out-of-five rating from Christian Music Zine, and Joshua Andre said that "Moriah Peters has skilfully crafted 10 gems with many treasures to find every listen. With a fresh and appealing outlook on life unlike other female mainstream artists, Moriah has exquisitely used her youth and creativity to her advantage, also dropping in personal stories into the songs making them more relatable to the listener." [5] Andre wrote "One of my favourite female artist pop albums this year along with Lindsay McCaul and Britt Nicole, Moriah will undoubtedly grow up to be a very influential artist in Christian music. Hats off to you Moriah, what a insightful bag of goodies you have released!" [5]
The two four-out-of-five review scores came from AllMusic and Indie Vision Music. To this, AllMusic's Andree Farias wrote that "I Choose Jesus, sounds like nothing on the Christian pop airwaves in 2012, yet catches the ear with its quirky melodies, bright-eyed spirit, and pop sensibility reminiscent of Colbie Caillat, Sara Bareilles, and Brooke Fraser, but with exuberance very much her own. Peters comes across as a bubbly personality, and the childlike heart with which she sells these songs, many of them unabashed declarations of faith, makes it impossible to dismiss her as yet another dime-a-dozen girl with a guitar. Starlets her age often try to appear too cool for school, even in Christian music, but Peters seems unconcerned with appearances" [3] Furthermore, Jonathan Andre of Indie Vision Music wrote that the album being "Produced by Ed Cash, and with co-writes with Ed, the Write Brothers, Ian Eskelin, Cindy Morgan and Chris August; this is an album that will definitely fit into a playlist surrounded with Audrey Assad, Sara Groves and Jamie Grace. With the lyrical maturity beyond her years, Moriah incorporates smart songwriting with musical genius to create 10 tracks of easy-listening, yet at the same time, songs that will motivate and encourage the listener. This is a must album if you enjoy music from Audrey, Sara, Jamie, or even Dara MacLean and Rebecca St. James. This, along with Jamie Grace’s One Song at a Time and Lindsay McCaul’s If it Leads Me Back are my favourites from debut artists over the past 6 months." [7]
However, the critical reviews come in from Jesus Freak Hideout and The Phantom Tollbooth, who gave the album a three-and-a-half-out-of-five. The more hopeful of these was Michael Dalton, who wrote for The Phantom Tollbooth that the album "...reminds me of my first love. A faith in Christ that is fresh and vital energizes these songs." [11] Finally, Dalton wrote that "This is a fine debut that calls to mind the first release by an artist that shares some of the same ethnicity (Peters is of Mexican-French heritage), who has gone on to bloom in her own way. I write of Jaci Velasquez, who inspired Peters to become a Christian singer. Until she heard Velasquez, Peters thought she had a 'froggy' voice. On the contrary, her sound and style is reminiscent of her inspiration. She is a winsome combination of purity and craft." [11] Finally, the most critical review was from Jesus Freak Hideout's Jen Rose, which she said that "Beneath the pop shimmer and her lovely singing is an earnest collection of songs driven by an intentional, confident message. Proclaiming her faith and encouraging others spiritually is the goal from the start, but the message-heavy nature of the songs doesn't detract from their feel-good, catchy quality. Fans of soulful and summery pop music should find plenty to love in Peters' debut and a promising career that can only grow from here." [8]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Know Us By Our Love" | Seth Mosley, Juan Otero, Peters | 2:52 |
| 2. | "Well Done" | Chad Cates, Peters, Jason Walker | 3:16 |
| 3. | "Sing In The Rain" | Ben Glover, Cindy Morgan, Peters | 2:48 |
| 4. | "I Choose Jesus" | Chuck Butler, Ed Cash, Peters, Tony Wood | 3:38 |
| 5. | "Haven't Even Kissed" | Wendi Foy Green, Peters | 3:16 |
| 6. | "All The Way He Loves Us" | Cates, Peters, Ben Cooper | 3:43 |
| 7. | "Glow" | Mosley, Otero, Peters | 3:29 |
| 8. | "Miracle" | Chris August, Cash, Peters | 2:57 |
| 9. | "No Shame" | Morgan, Mosley, Tony Wood | 3:57 |
| 10. | "Bloom" | Ian Eskelin, Jeremy McCoy, Peters, Wood | 3:47 |
| Total length: | 33:51 [1] | ||
| Chart (2012) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard) [12] | 11 |
| US Christian Albums (Billboard) [13] | 23 |
| Year | Single | Peak chart position | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Christian [14] | |||||||
| 2012 | "I Choose Jesus" | 23 | |||||
| "Well Done" | 24 | ||||||
Need You Now is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Plumb released on February 26, 2013. The album was preceded by the singles "Drifting", with Dan Haseltine of Jars of Clay making a guest appearance, and "Need You Now ". A deluxe edition of the album was released on September 16, 2014 with six additional tracks.
Everything Sad Is Coming Untrue is a music album by Jason Gray released September 1, 2009. It is his seventh solo record and his second major label national release with Centricity Music. It was produced by Jason Ingram and Rusty Varencamp.
Matt Hammitt is an American singer, songwriter, speaker and author. He was the lead singer for Sanctus Real, which has released seven studio albums with Sparrow Records, toured internationally and released 14 top five and number one singles to Christian radio. Hammitt left Sanctus Real effective December 2015 to spend more time with his family. He also pursued a solo career. He has since released one solo album, Every Falling Tear.
You Got My Attention is the first studio album by contemporary Christian-soul musician Dara Maclean, released on July 5, 2011 on iTunes and nationwide on July 12, 2011 by Fervent Records.
If It Leads Me Back is the first studio album by contemporary Christian musician Lindsay McCaul, released on January 17, 2012 by Reunion Records.
The Rescue is the first studio album by contemporary Christian-rock musician Adam Cappa, released on March 13, 2012 by BEC.
Moriah Smallbone is an American actress, and Latin country artist from Nashville, Tennessee. Working previously under the name "Moriah Peters", she is a singer and songwriter born in Pomona, California who was raised in Chino, California and Ontario, California. Since 2023, she has been a cast member of the streaming television series, The Chosen, portraying Bathsheba, one of the wives of King David.
The Alignment is the first studio album by Christian alternative-rock band Samestate, released on February 28, 2012, by Sparrow Records.
Where I Find You is the second studio album release by Kari Jobe, which was released January 24, 2012, but was her first album on the Sparrow Records label. The song "We Are" is the only radio and charted hit off of the album, so far. The album has charted on three Billboard charts: No. 10 on Billboard 200, No. 1 on Christian Albums and at No. 5 on Digital Albums. All of the peak positions occurred on February 11, 2012 selling 25,000 copies in the first week. Where I Find You earned a Grammy Award nomination in 2012, making Jobe a first-time Grammy nominee.
Clear the Stage was the fourth studio album from Christian contemporary Christian musician Jimmy Needham, which was released on March 27, 2012 by Inpop Records, and was produced by Ed Cash and Jimmy Needham. The album has seen commercial charting successes, as well as, positive critical attention.
"Here Goes" is a song by contemporary Christian musician Bebo Norman from his eighth studio album, Ocean. It was released on August 31, 2010, as the first single from the album.
All Things Possible is the seventh studio album by contemporary Christian musician Mark Schultz. The album is the first with Columbia Records and Fair Trade Services. This album was released on September 4, 2012, and the producers were Pete Kipley and Seth Mosley.
Christmas is the first Christmas album by American contemporary Christian music artist Francesca Battistelli. The album is her third release with Fervent Records, and her fourth album overall including her first independent release. The album was produced by Ian Eskelin, and was released on October 16, 2012. The album charted in the Top Five on the Billboard Holiday Albums chart and has received critical acclaim.
The Becoming is the debut studio album from contemporary Christian musician Jenny Simmons, which was produced by Paul Moak, and released on February 5, 2013 by Fair Trade Services. The album has seen commercial charting successes, as well as positive critical reception from music critics.
Not Myself Anymore is the first studio album by contemporary Christian musician Jessa Anderson produced by Kevin Bruchert, Peter Kipley and Brandon Perdue, released on September 13, 2011, by BEC Recordings.
We Won't Be Shaken is the eighth studio album by Christian rock band, Building 429 and their sixth with a major label in Essential Records. The producers on the album are Rob Hawkins and Jason Ingram. It was released June 4, 2013 through Provident Music Group distribution. It was nominated for "Best Contemporary Christian Music Album" at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards. It lost to Overcomer by Mandisa.
All the People Said Amen is the first compilation album by contemporary worship music recording artist Matt Maher, released on April 23, 2013. It is his fourth album with Essential Records, and his seventh overall release. The album was produced by Matt Maher and Paul Moak.
The Hymns Sessions, Vol. 1 was the first hymns album by contemporary Christian musician Jimmy Needham, released independently by Needham through NeedHim Music on September 10, 2013, and it was produced by Needham. The album has seen commercial charting successes, as well as garnered critical acclamation.
If We're Honest is the third studio album by American Christian singer and songwriter Francesca Battistelli that was released on April 22, 2014 by Word Entertainment and Fervent Records. The lead single from the album was "Write Your Story", which was released before the album on January 3, 2014 to radio and on January 14, 2014 as a commercially available single for download.
Brave is the second studio album by contemporary Christian musician Moriah Peters, released on July 14, 2014 by Reunion Records.
