Background and career
Karen Valencia Clark Sheard (née Clark; born November 15, 1960) is an American gospel singer and songwriter. Clark-Sheard is the youngest member of gospel group the Clark Sisters, which was formed in 1973. She is also the mother of contemporary gospel singer and actress Kierra "Kiki" Sheard, with whom she frequently collaborates. She has released seven solo albums and 17 with the Clark Sisters. During the hiatus of the Clark Sisters, Clark-Sheard recorded her debut studio album Finally Karen (1997), which spawned the single, "Balm in Gilead" (a re-recording of a song she originally recorded as part of the Clark Sisters in the 1980s for their Heart & Soul album) the R&B-tinged singles "Just for Me" and "Nothing Without You" (with Faith Evans). Finally Karen was among the highest-selling gospel albums of that year, and earned Clark-Sheard a Grammy Award nomination and a Soul Train Lady of Soul Award for "Best Female Vocalist". Clark-Sheard then was hospitalized in 2001 after a blood vessel burst during a bariatric surgery, resulting in doctors giving her a 2% chance of survival. The experience inspired the title for her second album, 2nd Chance (2002). Clark-Sheard recorded two more live albums—The Heavens Are Telling (2003) and It's Not Over (2006)—before releasing All in One (2010), her second studio album. It debuted at number two on the Billboard Gospel Chart and entered the Billboard 200, while its single "Prayed Up" peaked at number nine on the Gospel Songs chart. Singers Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, and Faith Evans have named Clark Sheard and her sister Twinkie Clark as musical influences.
Clark-Sheard was born Karen Valencia Clark on November 15, 1960, in Detroit, Michigan, the youngest child of Reverend Elbert Clark and Dr. Mattie Moss Clark, a gospel choral director. The youngest of six children, Clark-Sheard's siblings are Leo, Jacky, Denise, Elbernita "Twinkie" and Dorinda. Clark-Sheard began singing gospel with her sisters at age 5 in what became known as the Clark Sisters. For high school, Clark-Sheard attended Mumford High School in Detroit, Michigan, graduating in 1978.
Clark-Sheard's involvement in the Island Inspirational All Stars' "Don't Give Up" in 1996 (along with Donald Lawrence, Hezekiah Walker, and Kirk Franklin) led to her signing with Island Records. Clark-Sheard's solo career began with the release of her debut album Finally Karen in 1997. The album, consisting of half studio recordings and half live recordings, was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album in 1998, won Clark-Sheard the Lady of Soul award for Best Gospel Album that same year and peaked at No. 28 and No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and U.S. Billboard Gospel Albums charts respectively.
After Yolanda Adams, Clark-Sheard became the 2nd gospel artist to sign to Elektra Records. She released her Elektra debut album 2nd Chance in 2002 (so named because of the "second chance" she was given by God after her near-death experience – which is referenced in her daughter Kierra's song "You Don't Know"). The album was led off by the single "Be Sure". The album reached No. 82 on the U.S. Billboard 200, No. 27 on the U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart (her highest placements on those charts to date) and No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard Gospel Albums.
The 2003 follow-up The Heavens Are Telling (exactly six years after her heralded debut album Finally Karen) came when Elektra Records was being dissolved into Atlantic Records, and failed to match the commercial success of Clark-Sheard's previous albums, peaking 106 places below 2nd Chance at No. 188 on the U.S. Billboard 200 – though it managed to reach No. 44 on the U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, a high No. 3 on the U.S. Billboard Gospel Albums chart and was her first album to chart on the U.S. Billboard Christian Albums chart, where it peaked at No. 11.
In 2005, after a bidding war with several labels, Clark-Sheard signed with Word Records and issued It's Not Over (originally titled Finally Karen Returns), the sequel to her 1997 debut album Finally Karen was set to be released November 15, 2005, Clark-Sheard's 45th birthday, but was delayed and released the following year. Most of It's Not Over was recorded in 2005 at Karen's home church in Detroit, Michigan, while the last three tracks were studio-recorded. It was Clark-Sheard's first solo album not to feature guest vocals from her daughter (Kierra Sheard) and was the first to include production from Israel Houghton – who handled the majority of the project. It charted at No. 124 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and No. 4 on the U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. As the songwriter, on February 10, 2008, Clark-Sheard won the Grammy Award for Best Gospel Song for "Blessed & Highly Favored" sung by the Clark Sisters.
