There's nothing like life experience to take an award-winning artist to a whole new level of creativity. Just ask Jaci Velasquez. Much has happened since she first burst on the scene as a fresh-faced teenager possessing an emotionally-charged voice that breathed life into such hits as "Every Time I Fall" and "On My Knees." These days she's a multi-tasking singer, songwriter, actress, radio personality, wife and mother of two adorable young sons, yet at the core there remains that passion to serve God with the gifts He's given her.

The title track of her new collection, Diamond, is appropriate for Velasquez. Just as pressure, depth and intense heat lead to the formation of the world's most precious gem, Velasquez's artistry has been shaped by pressures of early success, the unrelenting glare of the spotlight and her unyielding desire to serve God even as He was shaping the young artist. "It's interesting how things evolve," Velasquez says. "You evolve as a person, and all the stories that happened when you were younger, you still could tell them, but you view them differently. I look at everything differently now.'

Even though she's barely out of her 20's, Velasquez is a seasoned artist who brings nearly two decades of experience to her latest venture. She's won seven Dove Awards, including new artist of the year in 1997 and two consecutive female vocalist titles. She's scored hits on both Billboard's Christian music charts and Latin charts. She's starred in films and appeared on more than 50 magazine covers. On Diamond she still possesses the youthful exuberance that Christian music fans fell in love with early in her career, yet has matured as an artist and a woman. That maturity resonates throughout the songs on Diamond.

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