Where is Stacie Orrico Now?

By Timothy Yap Jun 14, 2015 01:08 AM EDT

Many of us remember Stacie Orrico for her smash hits such as "Stuck" and the searching "(There's Gotta Be) More to Life." However, after three albums, Orrico hasn't had a new album since 2006. In 2013, Orrico posted a video on her YouTube account to explain her hiatus and announce plans to return to the studio.

Orrico revealed she had been studying women's literature and acting. She announced that she is working on an R&B album, slated to be released in 2014. However, the record is yet to be released. Her new album will include variety of collaborators, including producers Allen Stone, Hal Linton, Gabe Cummins, and The Lion's.

Orrico got her start in 1998, at the age of 12, by attending a Christian music festival, Praise in the Rockies, held in her then-home state of Colorado. Orrico inadvertently entered a high-stakes talent competition, and won. A ForeFront Records executive was on hand and approached her for a record deal. She later signed with them. In 2001, she toured with Destiny's Child on their Survivor US tour.

Since then, she has released two albums. The first was "Genuine" (2000), which she recorded at age 14. It sold over 13,000 copies in the first week, the highest debut week sales ever for a female Christian artist. The album produced the hit single "Don't Look At Me" which topped Christian charts for ten consecutive weeks. The album had two #1 hits, as well as three more Top Ten singles. Genuine eventually sold 500,000 copies, giving the album Gold certification on word-of-mouth alone.

In 2001, 15-year-old Stacie released her only Christmas album, "Christmas Wish." The 6 tracks were: "Christmas Wish," "Love Came Down," "O Holy Night," "What Child is This," "O Come All Ye Faithful," and "White Christmas."

Her next effort, the more mainstream and self-titled album "Stacie Orrico," was released in 2003 and charted on the US Billboard 200 (debuting at number 67), Australian ARIAnet and the UK Albums Chart. The first mainstream single from this album was "Stuck", which became a worldwide hit, reaching the Top 5 on the majority of the world's charts. This was followed by the single "(There's Gotta Be) More to Life", which peaked in the Top 20 in Australia (#11) and the UK (#12), although, overall, "Stuck" charted better, the exception being in the US.

This was then followed by "I Promise", written by Diane Warren (top 30 in the UK), and the final mainstream single "I Could Be the One" (top 40 in the UK on June 2004). Both singles were given limited releases and limited promotion, meaning they did not fare as well as the first two singles. The last three singles were only released to Christian radio in addition to "Strong Enough", which reached #1 as the CD's very first single. Stacie Orrico sold over 500,000 copies in the US, enough sales for a Gold certification. The album also sold 600,000 in Japan and an estimated 3.4 million copies worldwide.

Her next studio album A Beautiful Awakening, released in 2006, did not chart as well as her previous releases. The album features production from Dallas Austin, Dwayne Bastiany, KayGee, and The Underdogs, and writing duties are performed by notable songwriters like She'kspere, Track & Field, Anthony Dent, Nate Butler and newcomer Novel and Orrico herself. The album sold 100,000 copies in Japan.

The first single, "I'm Not Missing You", went for radio adds on June 20, 2006, but due to little promotion was re-released in October. The song peaked at #19 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. The second single from the album, "So Simple," was released in Asia in October 2006 and was released in Europe on January 27, 2007. The album release in the US and Canada was canceled and Orrico has no sign of an official US release. "Beautiful Awakening" is available to purchase on iTunes.