Biography
James Todd Smith, performing as Todd Smith, built his reputation as a vocalist and composer through his foundational role in the contemporary Christian music ensemble Selah. Michigan served as his birthplace, and Detroit hosted his earliest years. At age five his parents relocated the household to Central Africa to pursue missionary activities, and the family stayed overseas until his teenage period prompted their return to the United States. After completing coursework at Belmont University in Nashville, he launched Selah in 1997 with his sister Nicol Smith, later known as Nicol Sponberg, and their associate Allan Hall; the Dove Award-winning trio debuted its first project, Be Still My Soul, in 1999. Their reinterpretations of longstanding hymns and familiar sacred material occasionally drew on African choral traditions. Three subsequent albums appeared before Nicol departed in 2004 to concentrate on her solo work. That same year Smith issued his own debut, the Christian rock album Alive, through Curb Records. Amy Perry later joined as Selah’s stable third member. In addition to frequent entries on Christian charts, the group reached the Top 50 of the Billboard 200 with its 2006 release Bless the Broken Road: The Duets Album. Three more studio albums followed across the ensuing decade, each placing inside the Top Five of the Christian albums chart. Smith’s next solo album arrived in 2016 when Curb issued There’s a Light that August, anchored by the anthemic single “Calling All Fathers.”
Albums
