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PLU Alumna and Gospel Music Superstar Returns to Campus
PLU Alumna and Gospel Music Superstar Returns to Campus
Image: Crystal Aiken ’97 returned to PLU in December 2013 to perform at the annual holiday luncheon. (Photo: John Froschauer/PLU)
By Matthew Salzano ‘18
PLU Marketing & Communications
TACOMA, Wash. (Feb. 10, 2015)—On Thursday, Feb. 12, Pacific Lutheran University alumna and gospel music star Crystal Aikin '97 returns to campus for a signing of her sophomore album, All I Need.
Aikin will sign copies of All I Need from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 12 at Garfield Book Company.
Aikin’s new album was released Feb. 3, 2015. It already has reached the top of iTunes’ Gospel Music charts.
This album is her first in six years. Since her first release, she says she has become more comfortable with creating music, and she believes this album reflects her.
“There’s a lot of energy in this [album],” Aikin told Black Entertainment Television. “I feel like I was actually able to put my voice, my words and my thoughts into this one.”
Aikin has won awards with her powerhouse voice, including two Stellar Awards for her previous release, a self-titled album from January 2009.
While a student at PLU, Aikin performed in University Chorale and the Choral Union under Director Richard Nance. Aiken graduated in 1997 with a degree in Biology and Psychology.
After working as a nurse in the greater Tacoma area for several years, she decided to try out for the first season of the American Idol-esque BET reality TV show Sunday Best in 2007. She was the inaugural winner— awarded a 2008 Toyota Camry, a record contract with Zomba Gospel (now RCA Inspiration) and a Tide “Loads of Hope” community prize package.
“I didn’t grow up knowing this is what I wanted to do, but I love singing and I love seeing God get the glory,” Aikin said in an October 2008 interview with Tacoma Weekly. “That’s big for me. It isn’t about me being the famous one; it’s really about Him being the famous one.”