Rebecca St. James

Contemporary Christian singer and songwriter Rebecca St. James was born Rebecca Jean Smallbone in Sydney, Australia on July 26, 1977. She began performing in Australia in the late 1980s and opened for Christian artist Carman during his 1990 Australian tour. She released her debut album, Refresh My Heart, in 1991 under the stage name Rebecca Jean. Shortly after the album’s release, her family relocated to Nashville, Tennessee. She signed with ForeFront Records, and changed to her St. James stage name at the label’s request. She released her self-titled album in 1994, bringing her to the attention of American audiences. Her next album, God, was a tremendous success, reaching Number 6 on the Top Christian Albums chart and was certified Gold. In 1997, she issued the holiday release Christmas. Her 1998 album, Pray, was another success, reaching Number 5 on the Top Christian Albums and Top Heatseekers charts. She released three additional albums – Transform (2000), Worship God (2002), and If I Had One Chance to Tell You Something (2005) – before taking a hiatus from recording. Over the next six years, she acted in a few independent films, wrote the novel The Merciful Scar (2013), and released several compilations and live CDs and DVDs. She also found time to marry musician Jacob ‘Cubbie’ Fink (Foster the People) in April, 2011. St. James released the album I Will Praise You in 2011. She took yet another hiatus but returned to touring and recording in 2017. She released the single “Battle is the Lord’s” in 2020.