Jennifer Judy "JJ" Heller (born October 19, 1980, née Kellner) is an American Christian folk singer. After releasing multiple albums, she had two songs that charted. "Your Hands" from her 2008 album Painted Red and "What Love Really Means" from the album When I'm with You both peaked at number 13.
JJ Heller | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Jennifer Judy Kellner |
| Born | October 19, 1980 San Jose, California |
| Genres | Folk music, contemporary Christian music |
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Labels | Stone Table Records |
| Website | www |
Career
editHeller grew up in San Jose, California in a family with strong Christian values.[1] She didn't listen to music much as a child.[1] She attended high school at Valley Christian High School[2] and then went on to attend college at San Jose Christian College (now William Jessup University)[3] and began writing songs in her second year.[1] She joined a band which played at coffee shops in the area; the band included her future husband Dave Heller.[1] He continues to collaborate with writing, recording and producing her works.[4]
Heller released multiple albums before she had her first chart appearance in 2009. Her song "Your Hands", from her album Painted Red hit number 13 on the Billboard Christian Songs chart.[5]
Heller released her next album When I'm with You in 2010 and it charted, peaking at number 33 on Billboard's Christian Albums.[6] She released "What Love Really Means" as the first single from the album and it peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Singles chart.[5] In 2011 she released her Deeper album, which is a collection of acoustic songs, which were put aside to allow her to release the more pop-oriented When I'm with You.[7] When I'm With You was covered by Jennifer Love Hewitt's character Riley Parks on Season 2 Episode 6 of The Client List entitled "Unanswered Prayers". The shortened cover was released on iTunes on April 9, 2013.
Heller released Loved on March 12, 2013.[citation needed] Her song "Control" was featured on Season 7 Episode 19 of One Tree Hill.[citation needed]
Heller performed "Find Me in the River" with KJ Apa on the soundtrack for the 2020 film, I Still Believe.
Since 2018, Heller has released several full length albums featuring covers and re-imagined versions of her own songs for her passion project titled "I Dream of You".[8] With each album produced by her husband David Heller, each song contains production elements of orchestral, chorale, and minimalist pop-rock flavors. [9]
Heller released "I Dream of You: HOME" in October 2024. This album features covers of "Fix You" by Coldplay, "Home" by Phillip Phillips, and "Two of Us" by The Beatles.
Musical style
editShe credits Damien Rice and Patty Griffin as influences to her style.[10] AllMusic describes her sound as being comparable with Jewel, Alison Krauss, Sara Groves and Griffin.[4]
Discography
editAlbums
edit| Year | Album | Chart | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Christ |
US Folk |
US Heat |
US Kids | ||||||
| 2004 | Songs That I Know | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 2005 | Collection of Thoughts (EP) | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 2006 | Only Love Remains | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 2007 | Wake Up the World (Christmas EP) | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 2007 | The Pretty & The Plain | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 2008 | Painted Red | — | 12 | 50 | — | ||||
| 2010 | When I'm with You | 33 | 9 | 19 | — | ||||
| 2011 | Deeper | 38 | — | 22 | — | ||||
| 2013 | Loved | 42 | 10 | 6 | — | ||||
| 2014 | I Dream of You | — | 23 | 43 | — | ||||
| 2015 | Sound of a Living Heart | 15 | 16 | — | — | ||||
| 2016 | Unto Us (Christmas album) | 23 | 24 | 11 | — | ||||
| 2018 | I Dream of You Vol. II | — | — | — | 19 | ||||
| 2021 | I Dream of You Vol. III | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
Singles
edit| Year | Single | Peak | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Christ | |||
| 2010 | "What Love Really Means" | 13 | When I'm with You |
| 2009 | "Your Hands" | 13 | Painted Red |
| 2014 | "The Perfect Gift" | — | non-album single |
| 2015 | "This Year (Happy New Year)" | 43 | Sound of a Living Heart |
| 2015 | "Meant To Be" | 31 | Sound of a Living Heart |
| 2017 | "This Little Light of Mine" | — | non-album single |
| 2017 | "Paving the Runway (You're Gonna Fly)" | — | I Dream of You (Volume II) |
| 2018 | "God Is Still Here" | — | non-album single |
| 2019 | "A Mother Like You" | — | non-album single |
| 2019 | "Even Here" | — | non-album single |
| 2019 | "Born In Me" | — | non-album single |
| 2020 | "Missing Peace" | — | non-album single |
Guest appearances
edit| Year | Artist | Album | Song |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | The City Harmonic | I Have a Dream (It Feels Like Home) |
"Holy (Wedding Day)" |
References
edit- ^ a b c d "JJ Heller Interview". ChristianMusic.com. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
- ^ "Alumni in the News". Valley Christian Schools Alumni. Retrieved October 4, 2017.
- ^ "Live in Concert – Josh Wilson, Jason Gray, JJ Heller". William Jessup University. Retrieved October 4, 2017.
- ^ a b c "Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
- ^ a b c "Billboard singles". AllMusic. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
- ^ "JJ Heller album charts". AllMusic. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
- ^ a b Barbee, Ryan. "Deeper Review". Jesus Freak Hideout. Retrieved February 23, 2012.
- ^ https://www.jjheller.com/home-1
- ^ https://open.spotify.com/artist/7dq8KEwf0kQXJhM79iwcPh?si=vw5BvVEHSECAUFS73sIrJg
- ^ Jones, Jennifer E. "JJ Heller: The Pen of A Ready Songwriter". Christian Broadcasting Network. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
- ^ a b Wilson, Holly. "J.J. Heller's poetic style noted on secular folk chart". Christian Examiner. Archived from the original on February 3, 2012. Retrieved February 23, 2012.