Background and career
Israel Houghton (; born May 19, 1971) is an American contemporary Christian music singer, songwriter, producer, and worship leader. His worship team is credited as Israel & New Breed.
Houghton produced an album by Michael Gungor, Bigger Than My Imagination, which was described as "one of the year's best worship albums" in a 2003 Christianity Today review.
New Breed is the backing band of Israel Houghton. Many of Israel's album releases are credited to Israel & New Breed. Houghton initially planned to held a concert of Indonesia as part of his "Heal the Whole World Knows Tour 2026" concert, but the country's authorities denied him to do so, citing security concerns and his constant support of Israel.
Houghton is biracial; he was born to a white mother and Jamaican father. Houghton and his college girlfriend had a son together. In 1994, Houghton married Meleasa Houghton, with whom he had three children: Mariah in 1996, Israel Jr. in 2001, and Milan in 2003. They separated in 2015 and their divorce was finalized in February 2016. During his marriage, Houghton fathered two sons with his mistress, DeVawn Moreno: Kingston in 2012, and Khristian in 2014. On November 11, 2016, Houghton married singer and TV personality Adrienne Bailon in Paris, after several months of dating. In 2022, the couple welcomed their first child together, a son.
The Daytime Emmy Awards are awarded yearly by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) for artistic and technical merit for American daytime television programming. Houhgton has received 1 nomination.
The Dove Awards are awarded annually by the Gospel Music Association. Houghton has won 15 awards from 40 nominations.
