By Shaina Street ’25
Following the success of a recently charting single, the USC Upstate Gospel Choir is gearing up for the release of its first album.
The album, “Elevate,” a title inspired by the university campaign “Reach Greater Heights,” was recorded in the Humanities Performing Arts Center (HPAC) theatre in March 2024 with a live audience.
“This project is so grand in my eyes,” said choir director Alphaeus Anderson. “Major artists don’t get to this point that we are, where we’re at right now. I mean, like, one Top 100 on Billboard, the quality of it, the feel of the production. It felt like a class project, but it’s way more than that.”
The album consists of two songs written by Anderson, the single “Already Done” written by Jared White ’11, and cover songs such as “Worthy of it All,” “Alpha and Omega,” and “Who You Say I Am.”
The album’s single “Already Done” (featuring CJ Marquís) was released on Black Friday of last year. Anderson says they chose it because of its “Caribbean Afrobeat” sound and its message to leave worries behind.
The single recently charted No. 94 on Billboard in the Gospel music category. In February, it charted No. 98 on Mediabase Gospel Charts.
Anderson has called this a “groundbreaking achievement,” adding college gospel choirs rarely chart.
Billboard charts are weekly rankings of the most popular songs and albums in the U.S., and Mediabase charts track the most played songs on monitored radio stations across the country.
“When I got the notification last week saying, ‘Congratulations, you are now No. 94 on Billboard,’ that was probably the biggest excitement we have gotten from the single,” he said in a Feb. 24 interview.
The choir director, who calls himself a “dreamer,” says the university administration has been supportive of his idea to record an album.
As soon as he got the go-ahead for the project, he started the preparations. He says it was not easy, as he had to find professional musicians, a recording engineer, and a video crew and spend many hours rehearsing for the session.
After the recording, the singers worked in a roughly six-hour session recording additional vocals in a process called overdubbing to enhance the sound and make it fuller, he explains.
Anderson praised his singers’ performance, and credited them for the success of the project.
“We would not be here if it wasn’t for them,” he said. “They are ingredients for the dream. They are the catalyst for the dream.”
He says he sees many of the students coming to the class for a “midweek uplift” or “midweek inspiration.”
One of the choir students, senior Kennedy Schaffer, described the choir as her home away from home.
“I never felt like an outsider or an outcast when I first started coming around, even with me being somewhat of an introvert,” Schaffer said.
The gospel choir consists of about 40 students. Support singers were among the professional musicians hired to join them during the recording process.
The gospel choir began in 1979, but 2024 was the first time the choir has ever been recorded or produced, according to its director.
And Anderson is ready to take the group to even greater heights.
“I’m dreaming bigger,” he said. “I would love to put legs to the ideas, and ultimately, I’ve noticed that I like to dream because I know that there’s going to be a recipient that actually fulfills their dreams through my dreams. Being here at USC Upstate, it’s a perfect match.”
The choir has its sights on the Stellar Awards, an awards show that is the gospel music equivalent to the Grammys. Anderson has officially been qualified to submit the album for nomination, helped by the rankings on the Billboard and Mediabase charts.
If the album is nominated, he plans to take as many students as he can to the ceremony, which is traditionally held in Las Vegas.
“Elevate” will release on all platforms March 28. A release party will follow on March 29 from 4-7:30 p.m. in the Campus Life Center (CLC) Ballroom. To wrap up, the choir will have a concert at 4:30 p.m. March 30 in the University Readiness Center (URC).
— UMC staff member Christina Cleveland contributed to this story