My name is Yonette Odessa Hall-Williams (my stage name is Y.O.). I am a Christian singer, songwriter and recording artist. Born in Guyana, South America, I migrated to the U.S.A. with my parents and siblings when I was 14 years old.
My gift of singing was discovered and nurtured by my mother, with whom my siblings and I spent countless hours rehearsing. Ah, those were some of the most amusing times of my life as a kid! At some point in almost every rehearsal someone would get upset and the rehearsal would come to an abrupt end. I was always forgetting the correct lyrics for the songs and would substitute my own words. I guess I was displaying early evidence of the gift of song writing. From a very young age my mom had my siblings and I singing in church and at various events in our community.
I have grown much since then, and for the past several years I have been diligently working on my solo career. In the process, I have collaborated with other musicians and singers such as Sir Hall, Redeem, Davidic Praise and Richie Righteous.
Additionally, I regularly express my passion for music and the arts by leading Manifestation of His Praise, the dance group at my local church, and I am also a member of the praise and worship team. As if those endeavors were not time consuming enough, I still find the time to be a devoted wife to my dear husband, and mother to my four beautiful children.
As a singer/songwriter I bring a very unique musical flare to my generation. Although my roots are confidently placed in contemporary gospel, my style has been compared to several of my musical inspirations: Cece Winans, Yolanda Adams, Mandisa, Jennifer Hudson.