Clear path to stardom
Source: The Indianapolis Star
Moral compass guides newcomer Krystal as she takes to the stage.
By David Lindquist
Indianapolis Star
ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Kevin Richardson is speaking on overhead video screens at Allstate Arena, but screams of delight drown out almost everything he says.
Richardson is a member of the Backstreet Boys, the frenzy- inducing main attraction for this room filled with 19,000 youngsters and their parents. It will be another hour before the crowd sees Richardson in the flesh.
Right now, his recorded image is heaping praise on a newcomer named Krystal -- the opening act for tonight's mid-February concert and every date of the Backstreet Boys' 2001 world tour.
"A voice like an angel" is one of the few phrases that can be heard during the clip, which is an unprecedented testimonial in teen pop's modern era.
Richardson does have a vested interest in promoting this 1999 graduate of Anderson High School, the first signee to the Backstreet Boys' new record label.
But as soon as his face fades and Krystal appears at center stage, it's apparent that the 19-year-old vocalist is worthy of whatever nice things Richardson said about her.
Projecting an unusually commanding stage presence, Krystal stalks left and right with her microphone stand and leads the audience in sing-alongs and clap-alongs.
She belts out one number while standing on top of a white baby grand piano -- the visual focal point of her 20-minute performance.
She also plays the piano quite a bit, and her aptly described angelic voice holds the crowd's attention (no mean feat, considering that Backstreet audiences routinely heckle female warm-up acts). After her performance and before the headliner's, she signs several hundred autographs for her own freshly minted fans.
All this, and Krystal has no video on MTV, no single on the radio and no album in stores.
During a preshow interview backstage, Krystal talks about the benefits of being aligned with Richardson, A.J. McLean, Brian Littrell, Nick Carter and Howie Dorough -- a fivesome she simply calls "the Boys."
"Their support for me as a person -- for me to be myself -- has been worth more than money or any of the other stuff," she says. "You usually don't get that as a new artist. You usually do what you've got to do. With this, it's been like a family on the road. It's like I'm their little sister, their little project."
The stakes for this project are expected to elevate on March 12, when Krystal's debut single Supergirl will be added to playlists at Top 40 radio stations across America. Regardless of what happens next, she appreciates the fairy-tale ride so far.
Instead of struggling to make a name on the nightclub circuit, she's playing to sold-out arenas (and, in some cases, stadiums) every night.
"I still say, 'Gee, I wonder why it all happened to me,' " says Krystal, who grew up singing in her family's traveling ministry.
The discovery
The link between Krystal and the Backstreet Boys begins with South Carolina-based songwriter and producer Jonathan "Mook" Morant.
In late 1999, Morant came to Indianapolis to supervise some preliminary recordings by a local singing group. Although that session proved to be fruitless, he was introduced to Krystal during his stay.
"I'm always talking about finding a church when I'm going to be in a place (for a while)," says Morant, who co-wrote Let's Have a Party for the European edition of the Backstreet Boys' 1996 debut album. "Krystal said, 'Oh, a church? Well, I know plenty.' That led to a whole night of talking about Jesus. That was our bond. There was no music talk at all."
Within a few days, the pair convened for their own informal recording session at Brooks Street Music on the city's Northwestside. Krystal worked on You're the Reason, a song written by Mook's brother, J. Morant. (Another brother, Obie Morant, is an ex-member of the Backstreet Boys' touring band).
"We just did it in a few hours and walked away with gold," says Mook, who was quickly installed as Krystal's manager.
The demo for You're the Reason generated interest at several major recording companies, but Morant's relationship with Richardson gave the Backstreet Boys the inside track. Krystal signed with their label, which will be distributed by Interscope Records.
The group unveiled Krystal in stealthy fashion, adding her song My Religion as an uncredited track on last summer's Burger King collector's discs.
Her debut album will feature a new version of You're the Reason, restructured as a duet with the Backstreet Boys.
Meanwhile, Krystal has every intention of integrating her religious background with her mainstream pop career.
"She doesn't go up there with a Bible and a pulpit," Morant says. "She just sings and gives her heart and spirit. These kids and parents are really embracing it. They're enjoying it as something new -- but it isn't anything new. Maybe it's new as opposed to what's been recent, I don't know. For some reason, it's not threatening and it's cool."
"I'm into being myself," Krystal says of her spirituality. "That's such a big part of who I am that there's no way I could deny that."
The message
By age 21/2, Krystal had joined her parents, Phil and Shelley Harris, in their interdenominational music ministry. She remembers learning to sing the Rich Mullins standard Awesome God at age 7.
The Harris family, featuring Phil on vocals and guitar with Shelley on vocals and piano, traveled the United States extensively. If their only child didn't make it to a particular performance, Phil recalls that she would be greatly missed.
"People would say, 'Where's Krystal?' " Phil says. "She picked up friends everywhere she went. She quickly was liked, and I don't think we ever paid for baby-sitting. The people that wanted to sit for Krystal just wanted to be with her. They didn't want any money."
Her father, who holds a master's of divinity degree and a master's degree in Christian counseling, customarily delivered a sermon after the trio sang and played.
"We used to go to a lot of different types of places," says Krystal, who also has visited maximum security prisons with her father's contemporary Christian band. "We'd go to some that you'd call 'tighter' churches, and we'd go to 'looser' ones. All believers are believers."
Rick Seaver, Krystal's show choir director at Anderson High School, hails her ability to be comfortable in various settings.
"I think the greatest thing about Krystal is that she's outgoing, and she can talk to anybody," says Seaver, a Noblesville resident who's been an educator for 41 years. "She's always smiling. Very seldom did I see the kid not smiling."
Under Seaver's direction, Krystal was named top soloist at 1999's Showstoppers -- an international high school competition held each year in Orlando, Fla.
"I tell you, it had you spellbound," Seaver says of her performance of Sandi Patty's For All the World.
If Krystal is able to share anything with adolescents who see her perform or hear her music, she says she hopes to convey a message of unconditional love.
"Everybody's got their stuff to deal with," she says. "But even in the midst of that, when you see that somebody loves you, you can see something better for yourself.
"It doesn't make the problem go away, but it gives you a new set of eyes."
Her father, who characterizes Krystal's mission as "taking light to the darkness," says the timing is right for a brave foray into the mainstream.
"I think today we have come to the point where many people are saying, 'God help us. I don't care what it takes, we have got to get something to these kids,' " Phil Harris says.
The moment
When people see Krystal's Supergirl video in the next few weeks or catch her certain-to-be-scheduled performance with the Backstreet Boys in Indianapolis this summer, they'll discover an artist who seems to break the mold.
She wears a ring in her nose, sports a tattoo on her left shoulder and has triangular tufts cut into her short, jet-black hair (which is naturally blond).
She likes to read devotional texts by televangelist Charles Stanley, and she declares The Matrix to be her all-time favorite movie.
She speaks in youthful jargon, slipping the word "dopest" into conversation as a positive adjective ("Carson Daly is one of the dopest anchors MTV has ever had," she says).
She cites Prince as a major influence on her music, yet credits Jon Bon Jovi as the inspiration for her onstage energy.
"Can I have a hug?" is the thing she most likes to hear when meeting a fan.
In the official logo for her name, the letter "t" is designed to resemble a cross.
And no one in her life is particularly surprised that she's on a fast track to stardom.
"This is what she wants to do," says Seaver, the elder statesman of show choir. "She could have gone to any college, as far as I'm concerned, and done anything. She was a very good student. But music was her life. I know her parents support her tremendously."
Phil Harris, who first envisioned a career in gospel singing for his daughter, expresses faith in Krystal's moral compass.
"Hopefully, young people will have sort of a mascot in Krystal and maybe a mentor to follow," he says. "That will only be good as long as she continues to follow God. I would be inhuman to tell you that it isn't a mother-and- father concern. But we certainly have confidence that this is a good step for her."
From her own perspective, Krystal says life feels as normal as ever. She's aspiring, though, to make a superheroic impact.
"I guess I would compare the idea of Supergirl to Superman," Krystal says of her debut single. "Clark Kent was a regular guy who had his regular problems. On the other hand, he was confident enough to help people and changed when he needed to change.
"The song can be an anthem for people. There's a Supergirl inside you, too. You can conquer what you need to conquer."
Contact David Lindquist at (317) 444-6404 or via e-mail at [email protected]
Official website is http://www.krystalthesupergirl.com.
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