Jason Champion - Reflections

By Peggy Oliver

Jason Champion - Reflections Brooks Entertainment/EMI Gospel

As a promising young singer out of high school, Jason Champion met a legendary R&B vocalist who guided him to his first taste of the big musical stage. However, the tables turned over a decade later, where the singer/songwriter is now answering God’s call. Reflections marks the debut solo and gospel recording phase for this former member of the R&B duo Men At Large. The icon that made the initial career connection possible was Gerald Levert, who also produced both CDs that primarily targeted the adult R&B audience.

Champion could have chosen the brighter lights and adoring female fans, but God was ready to snatch the Cleveland native from those secular music temptations. Times were not always ideal for this talented man of God, including sexual prosmicuity during those after hours parties while in the R&B industry, and a near divorce. Ironically, during his successful run with MAL, Champion was introduced to another influential artist, this time gospel producer extraordinaire Kirk Franklin, whose reputation in gospel circles was already on solid ground. Eventually Champion was invited to sing background for Franklin’s CD Hero and a subsequent tour.

This debut CD covers a lot of territory, inspired by Champion’s Christian transformation. The first single, Always, is already a gospel radio favorite, with its underlying rhythms based on The Emotions’ eighties R&B hit, The Best Of My Love.

Think of this catchy piece as a hug for those days where everything seems to crumble: "Just because you had yourself a couple of bad days, don't mean it's going to be this way always."

Find A Reason, wrapped up with warm acoustic guitar strums, reminds us to put ourselves together in reaching out when we see others struggling.

The Life speaks upon our old self dying and our new life where we no longer bear heavy burdens like we use to: "No matter what it is, you can fix it all."

Champion revisits his nineties sensual R&B roots on I’m Sorry. The lyrics, of course, chart a different course, as an opportunity to unload all our apologies for blaming people unnecessarily: "I'm getting tired of blaming everybody else," or disrespecting friends and loved ones.