Jekalyn Carr has a lot to celebrate right now. A Grammy Award, 13 Stellar Awards, sold-out tour dates, a role in Tyler Perry’s The Gospel of Christmas and an upcoming appearance at Carnegie Hall. Whew, sis has been booked and busy!
But when I sat down with the gospel powerhouse, actress and entrepreneur, I discovered that one of the things she’s most excited about isn’t another award or career milestone. It’s simply enjoying her life.
We’re talking vacations, spa days, concerts, spending time with family and learning that being there for everybody else doesn’t mean forgetting about herself.
“My motto for the past two years has been living life like it’s golden,” Carr told me. “Because I just choose to have a well-rounded life.”
And that right there? That’s a word.
For someone who has been sharing her gift with the world since childhood, Carr is entering a chapter where she’s embracing everything that makes her who she is. The ministry, the music, the movies, the laughter and yes, even a fabulous fur moment.
Why I Wanted to Have This Conversation With Jekalyn Carr
I’ve been a fan of Jekalyn Carr’s music for years. Her songs have carried me through some personal moments, and her voice is familiar in my family, too. So getting the opportunity to sit down and talk with her was special for me, both personally and professionally.
As a fashion and culture journalist at The Curvy Fashionista, I’m interested in the stories that show us who women are beyond their public accomplishments. I love celebrating women who are building careers, finding their confidence and defining success for themselves. And as someone who has experienced the encouragement that gospel music can provide, I wanted to understand the woman behind the songs that have meant so much to me.
With The Gospel of Christmas bringing together celebrated gospel voices and Carr’s own career expanding across music and film, there was plenty to discuss. But I also wanted to know how she was growing as a woman, what she was learning about herself and how she was making room for joy.
And trust me, we got into all of that. We even talked about the Carr family’s competitive Christmas Uno games. More on that later!
From the Gospel Stage to Tyler Perry’s The Gospel of Christmas
Now, let’s talk about this Christmas movie!
The Gospel of Christmas, premiering Nov. 11 on Netflix, brings together Fantasia, Tank and a lineup of gospel artists, with music produced by Kirk Franklin.
The story follows a pastor who inherits his family’s church in a struggling New York neighborhood and must navigate challenges involving his faith, family and community.
Before our interview, I’d been reading reactions to the trailer. One viewer was particularly excited about seeing Jekalyn Carr, CeCe Winans, Erica Campbell and Fantasia connected to the same film.
And I understood the excitement. That’s a whole lot of vocal talent in one project!
When I asked Carr what it felt like to be surrounded by so much gospel history, she took me back to the first table read.
“When I walked in the room during the table read, before I walked in, I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t know who was gonna be my husband. I didn’t know any of those things,” she recalled.
Then she saw who was in the room.
“When I walked in and I saw just gospel greatness, it was just beautiful. It’s a beautiful sight to see. And to see all those legends in one room, like the room just felt so golden.”
But Carr isn’t simply there to sing. She’s playing Lilly, a woman who has some feelings about how her family is being treated. And by feelings, I mean she’s not exactly pleased!
“She’s a little bitter because she felt like her husband had put the time in,” Carr explained.
According to Carr, Lilly believes her husband should have been given the responsibility his father instead passed to another son.
“She kinda felt some type of way about it,” Carr said, before adding, “Hopefully y’all still like me by the end of the movie.”
Now, Jekalyn! You can’t say something like that and expect me not to be curious about what Lilly gets into!
Beyond her character’s family frustrations, Carr sees the film as an opportunity to encourage viewers who may be questioning their abilities or navigating difficult circumstances.
“There’s so many people who’s trying to navigate through life while trying not to give in to temptation,” she explained. “You’re trying to do what God has called you to do. Or you feel inadequate.”
For Carr, the message is about trusting that your circumstances don’t determine what you’re capable of becoming.
She also shared something she learned through playing Lilly.
“Don’t count anybody out just because you feel like they’re not qualified or they haven’t been through what you’ve been through, done what you’ve done. God can use who he wanna use.”
It’s a lesson that reaches beyond the church and into everyday life. How often do we decide someone isn’t ready for an opportunity because their experience doesn’t look like ours?
And when it came to working with Tyler Perry, Carr was especially interested in watching how he moved between his creative and business responsibilities.
“It’s not easy wearing multiple hats,” she said, reflecting on his ability to manage different roles.
As an artist and entrepreneur herself, she could relate.
Acting Lets Us Meet Another Side of Jekalyn Carr
Here’s something I didn’t expect to learn during our conversation: Jekalyn Carr comes from a funny family.
And apparently, she and her mother are competing for the title of funniest person in the house!
When I mentioned a YouTube comment from someone who missed seeing her in movies and plays, I asked what acting allows her to express that music doesn’t always reveal.
“My personality,” she answered.
She explained that performing onstage requires a particular kind of focus, while acting gives audiences an opportunity to see other parts of who she is.
“I come from a very comical family and I love to laugh,” she said.
She even recalled how people reacted to her performance in Praise This.
“A lot of people would say, she’s playing a role. My family’s like, no, she’s playing herself.”
Listen, there’s something delightful about discovering that the woman who can deliver a powerful gospel performance also loves a good laugh.
Carr wants people to recognize that she has multiple sides, and acting gives her another opportunity to share them.
Jekalyn Carr Wants You to Experience More Than a Concert
Carr’s A Night of Breakthrough Tour has included sold-out dates in Tampa, Florida, and Albany, Georgia, with its final stop scheduled for Nov. 15 in Memphis, Tennessee.
When I asked whether she’d had time to process everything happening in her career, she shared that she had been reflecting on her blessings just the night before our conversation.
“I was literally just writing and thinking last night of just how grateful I am,” she said. “God has been so good and it’s a blessing to be able to wake up every day knowing that you’re living in purpose, that you are helping people and you are giving people hope through your gifts, no matter what they are.”
That sense of purpose is also why Carr approaches her concerts differently.
“For me, it has always been bigger than just singing a song,” she explained. “I think that you can listen to the record if that is the case.”
She wants the people who attend her shows to leave with something that lasts longer than the excitement of hearing their favorite song.
“They don’t just leave saying, I got the chance to sing and to hear my favorite song, but they leave, you know, knowing that their spirits have been restored, their homes have been restored, that they’ve been healed, that they feel empowered to be the best person that they could be inside out and live a life according to God’s purpose and will for them.”
During our conversation, Carr recalled a tour stop in Pensacola, Florida, where she said audience members who arrived using mobility aids later came onstage demonstrating movements they previously couldn’t perform.
She described those moments as experiences of healing and breakthrough through her faith.
“I love when we don’t just sing, but God gives us evidence of breakthrough,” she said.
For Carr, the tour’s name isn’t simply a catchy title. It reflects what she hopes audiences experience when they walk into the room.
And while she has plenty of songs to choose from, she told me “History Breakthrough” sits at the top of her list of favorites to perform, alongside “Yahweh Has Been Good” and “You Will Win.”
Why Jekalyn Carr Is Giving Gospel’s Legends Their Flowers
Jekalyn Carr X The Legends | Jekalyn Carr X The Legends
One of the things I wanted to explore with Carr was the cultural importance of gospel music.
So much of the music we love today carries gospel’s influence. From R&B and soul to hip-hop, its musical traditions have shaped generations of performers.
And Carr believes that history deserves to be celebrated, both inside and outside the gospel community.
“I think mostly that we continue to understand the richness that’s in gospel music,” she told me. “And it’s just so golden.”
She pointed to artists including the Clark Sisters, Yolanda Adams, Fred Hammond and John P. Kee as examples of gospel performers whose influence reaches beyond the genre.
“We have people, legends who are literally the blueprint of music in general,” she said.
But she also believes the gospel community has a responsibility to appreciate its own history.
“I just pray that, you know, people continue to see that and honor that and celebrate that. And that not only people from the outside, but the inside, the gospel people, gospel itself, we celebrate what we have because it’s priceless.”
That appreciation is central to her album JEKALYN X THE LEGENDS, which earned Traditional Artist of the Year and Traditional Album of the Year at the Stellar Awards.
When I asked what working with gospel pioneers had taught her, I expected a conversation about vocal techniques, career longevity or perhaps the business of music.
Instead, Carr talked about humility.
Despite everything the artists had accomplished, she said they were willing to listen to her creative vision.
“No matter how much you have done, it is okay to sit back and to listen to someone else’s vision,” she shared.
Their willingness to collaborate without making the process difficult left a lasting impression.
“They made this process extremely easy for me,” she said. “And it’s a blessing to be loved by them as well. I love them so much, every single one of them. I’d do it again.”
There’s something meaningful about that. These are artists whose work helped shape the very genre Carr grew up loving, and they were willing to make room for her vision.
That’s what celebrating a legacy can look like when respect goes both ways.
The Advice Shirley Caesar Gave Jekalyn Carr Before the World Knew Her Name
Of all the stories Carr shared with me, this one stayed with me.
On Dec. 4, Carr is scheduled to honor gospel legend Pastor Shirley Caesar at Carnegie Hall as Caesar receives the 2026 Agape Award during A Night of Inspiration.
But their connection goes back much further than this upcoming celebration.
Carr recalled meeting Caesar when she was still a young girl from the Memphis, Tennessee, and West Memphis, Arkansas, area.
At the time, the world didn’t know who Jekalyn Carr was.
But Caesar gave her a piece of advice she still carries.
“She said, I don’t care what happened. She said, ‘Don’t let people change you. Stay true to who you are.'”
And Carr took those words seriously.
“I am so confident in who I am that it doesn’t matter what sound comes out and who does this and who does that, I’m going to stay in my lane. And I’m going to be happy about that.”
What makes that advice even more meaningful is that Carr has watched Caesar live it.
“We all know Pastor Shirley is gonna be Pastor Shirley no matter where she is,” Carr said.
She recalled seeing Caesar at premieres and award shows, always carrying herself with the same conviction.
“She doesn’t apologize for that, and that’s something that I love and I pay attention to.”
During our conversation, I shared something my first lady, Dr. Carrie Bryant, often says: “She is who she says she is.”
And that’s exactly what came to mind as Carr described Shirley Caesar.
There’s a certain freedom that comes with knowing who you are and refusing to change yourself to make other people comfortable.
It’s a lesson Carr learned early, and one she’s continuing to practice.
Jekalyn Carr Is Learning That Living Life Is Part of the Assignment, Too
As our conversation shifted from her career to her personal life, I wanted to know how her relationship with confidence, femininity and style had evolved.
Her answer was immediate.
“It gets stronger and stronger and stronger by the year, by the day, by the minute.”
Carr explained that her confidence isn’t limited to her career or her sense of purpose.
“I am very, very confident in who I am, not just my purpose, but who I am as a woman.”
And she’s intentional about enjoying that womanhood.
“I love being a woman. I love, you know, catering to myself,” she said.
For Carr, that means taking vacations, going to the spa, attending concerts and spending time with the people she loves.
But it also means understanding that career accomplishments, while meaningful, aren’t the only things that make a life fulfilling.
“All these things and these accomplishments are amazing and God will continue to do great things in my life,” she said. “But however, they are not what’s most important to me.”
Instead, she values time with family, including her nieces, nephew and godchildren.
“What’s most important to me is living a fulfilled life.”
I also wanted to ask about something many women can relate to: the pressure to always be available.
For women whose work involves encouraging and supporting others, that expectation can become especially complicated.
Carr has learned that protecting her time doesn’t mean abandoning her purpose.
“My no is my no,” she told me.
She explained that she doesn’t allow other people’s expectations to dictate every part of her life.
And when she’s at the movie theater?
“I’m just Jekalyn.”
That doesn’t mean she’s turning away from her faith or ministry. Carr made it clear that those remain important parts of who she is. But she’s learned to recognize the difference between being called to serve and feeling obligated to meet every demand.
“People always, they’re gonna always pull on you,” she said.
Her response is to maintain boundaries.
And when I asked what makes her proud of the woman she’s becoming, she didn’t mention an award.
She talked about balance.
“I started when I was five years old,” Carr explained. “And I have to allow myself to … tell myself it’s okay for you to enjoy life, be who you created to be, operate in your assignment and your purpose.”
Her advice to herself is refreshingly simple.
“Smile more, laugh more, live more.”
She added that even when you’re already enjoying parts of your life, you can still feel restrained.
“But now I’m just happy,” she said. “I love life. I love people.”
And I loved hearing her talk about that joy with such certainty.
Christmas at the Carr House: Matching Pajamas, Uno and a Fabulous Fur Moment
Now, you know I couldn’t let Jekalyn Carr leave without getting into a little holiday business!
We played a round of Christmas at the Carr House, and I learned that her family takes its games very seriously.
First, I needed to know whether she was a matching pajamas girl or someone who gets fully dressed up on Christmas morning.
Her answer?
“Matching PJs. Uh-uh. I done done enough red carpets, enough getting dressed for things that I have earned my matching PJs big time.”
Fair enough! After all those red carpets, sis deserves to be comfortable.
But don’t confuse her love of Christmas pajamas with a lack of appreciation for holiday fashion.
When I asked whether she preferred velvet, sequins or a full fur moment, she didn’t hesitate.
“Full fur moment for me. Big time. I love it.”
And she’s not interested in keeping her holiday wardrobe understated.
“I love the fashion. I love being extra. I love the furs. I love all of it. It’s so cute.”
Listen, as someone who has a few pieces in the closet waiting for the weather to cooperate, I understood exactly what she meant.
Then we got into the Carr family Christmas traditions.
Apparently, games are nonnegotiable. And so is a little friendly cheating!
“One thing my family gonna do, we’re gonna play games, but they also gonna cheat,” she laughed. “They even cheating karaoke. How you cheating karaoke?”
I had questions, too!
And when it comes to the family’s signature game, Carr made it clear that nobody gets special treatment.
“We don’t care if you two years old, if you 200 years old. You sit at that table to play Uno.”
Not the toddlers and the elders catching Draw cards!
“I’m not … we’re not sparing you,” she added. “Like, yeah, draw that 10.”
Now that’s the kind of Christmas gathering where you need to leave your feelings at the door.
As for the holiday music, Carr believes everyone should at least be familiar with “Silent Night.”
And when I asked which Christmas song brings back childhood memories, she immediately thought of the Temptations.
But the one tradition she refuses to let disappear has nothing to do with presents or decorations.
It’s the food.
“When I go back home for the holiday, I want to eat some good old Southern food,” she told me.
She explained that although she enjoys trying restaurants while traveling, there’s something about the food she grew up eating in Arkansas that she can’t find everywhere.
“I want the food that I got when I was little.”
And honestly? I get it. Sometimes you just want the turkey wings, macaroni and cheese and all the dishes that remind you of home.
Jekalyn Carr Wants Her Legacy to Be About Going for It
As our conversation came to a close, I asked Carr one final question: What does she want her legacy to be?
Her answer brought us right back to the confidence, purpose and personal freedom we’d been discussing throughout the interview.
“I would say that I went for it. Didn’t allow people to hold me in the box. Even didn’t allow myself to hold me in the box.”
For Carr, that means embracing the gifts and opportunities she believes God has given her, even when they take her beyond what people might expect.
“Whatever gift God gave me, when He gave me the permission, the green light to go for it, I went for it.”
She hopes her example encourages others to recognize their own potential rather than limiting themselves.
“That you don’t limit yourself. As long as there’s potential, there’s greatness there, do it. Go for it.”
Then she offered one final reminder.
“You owe it to yourself.”
I told her during our conversation that I was going to carry those words with me, and I meant it.
Because after nearly 30 minutes of talking about her music, acting, family, faith and the women who helped shape her, something became clear.
Jekalyn Carr isn’t interested in choosing between being a woman of faith, a successful artist, an entrepreneur or someone who simply wants to enjoy a vacation and laugh with her family.
She wants to experience all of it.
And if there’s one thing I took away from our conversation, it’s that making room for yourself doesn’t have to mean making less room for your purpose.
Sometimes it means finally giving yourself permission to live the life you’ve been working toward.
And as Jekalyn would say, live it like it’s golden.
This article, Jekalyn Carr Talks The Gospel of Christmas, Gospel Royalty and Living Life Like It’s Golden first appeared on The Curvy Fashionista and is written by Jerilyn Harper.
Never miss the latest in plus size fashion news, trends, and conversations! Sign up for Curvy Fashionista Newsletter!
from The Curvy Fashionista https://ift.tt/FdRkWXg