Kelontae Gavin

Gavin was born in Charleston, SC but raised in Summerville, South Carolina where he began to sing at Favor Ministries, a non-denominational church in Ridgeville, SC, at the age of four. He was a member of Bold Ministries International in Moncks Corner, South Carolina.[3] He attended Summerville High School.[4] Upon graduation, Gavin stated he planned to serve as a minister at the Ark of Salvation Church in Atlanta, Georgia and pursue a degree in divinity and theology.[5]

He developed notoriety when a 2014 YouTube video of him singing the hymn, “I Won’t Complain,” to a cafeteria worker at his former high school, went viral with over one million YouTube views.[2] In 2016, Gavin was discovered by star-maker manager, Marquis Boone of Marquis Boone Enterprises, who formed a partnership with Tyscot Records to issue the radio single “Higher” in the fall of that year. It was produced by Myron Butler, a Grammy® Award-winning singer and songwriter. The song reached the Top 20 on Billboard Magazine's Gospel Indicator chart in the spring of 2017. The song also earned the singer a Stellar Gospel Music Award nomination in the category of Youth Project of the year in January 2018.[6]

Gavin's radio single, "No Ordinary Worship," reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot Gospel Songs chart in March 2019 while his debut album, "The Higher Experience," made its debut at No. 2 on the Top Gospel Albums chart in spring of 2018. ”[7] The project was given 4/5 stars by Bob Marovich in a Journal of Gospel Music review that spotlighted the radio single. “`No Ordinary Worship' is no ordinary worship song and is likely to become Gavin’s signature song," Marovich wrote. "The most robust piece on the album, it’s a deep southern soul-style ballad that benefits greatly from impassioned singing, sassy responses from the BGVs, and an over-the-top sax solo." [8]

Kelontae Gavin

• Official website