Gospel recording artist, songwriter, and producer James Fortune is a two-time Grammy Award nominee, having been nominated in 2012 for Best Gospel Album of the Year and Best Gospel Song of Year. A graduate of the Kempner High School in Sugar Land, Texas, and attended California State University in Northridge, CA. Fortune is former choir director at Higher Dimension Church in Houston.
In April 1998, God gave Fortune the vision to start a youth ministry to focus on reaching youth through song and dance. Known as Youth for Christ (YFC), the group ministered throughout the Houston area through churches, workshops, youth events and conferences. In 2000, the Lord led Fortune to change the group’s name to James Fortune & FIYA (Free in Yahweh’s Abundance). Since the beginning, Fortune’s ministry has centered on the struggles young people face. He says: “The youth of today must realize that true happiness and fullness of joy is only found in the presence of Yahweh, our Heavenly Father.”
In 2005, Fortune & FIYA set the world ablaze with their breakthrough debut album YOU SURVIVED, and the lead single “You Survived,” which peaked at No. 2 on the R&B Gospel singles chart. Fortune also received the ASCAP Writer’s Award for Gospel Song of the Year in 2006. He amassed worldwide recognition in 2009, with his award-winning song, “I Trust You.” He continued to achieve success in 2010 with his hit song, “I Believe,” which earned him a second ASCAP Writer’s Award in 2011. Additionally, “I Believe”” received a 2011 Soul Train nomination for “Best Gospel Performance.”
James Fortune & FIYA have opened for celebrated artists such as Stevie Wonder, John P. Kee, Kim Burrell, and Fred Hammond in addition to being nominated four years in a row for the Texas Gospel Youth & Young Adult Choir of the Year.