For gospel singer Tasha Cobbs, her career began with an unplanned opportunity.
Cobbs who was part of a youth choir in her hometown Jesup, Georgia, was suddenly thrust into the spotlight when the lead vocalist was unable to make a performance. The group decided Cobbs, who was just 15 years old at the time, would fill in.
“I got up that night and I sang ‘Now, Behold the Lamb’ and when I opened my eyes people were crying,” she said. Everyone in the room knew Cobbs had a special gift and from that moment on she would realize it, too.
She would take on a position as worship leader of Jesup New Life Ministries, a church founded by her father Bishop Fritz Cobbs, who died away three years ago. During her time of grief, Cobbs said she grew spiritually.
“My heart was broken and a lot of times we withdraw," she said. "We just want to be alone. The Lord said to me, 'the peace that you need, it’s in my presence.'”
Now, as a gospel recording artist whose album "Grace" landed on Billboard’s top 10 gospel album chart for a year -- she hopes others find comfort in God.
“I would tell anyone who is in a low place, run to Him because sometimes people don’t have the words to encourage you," she told "Good Morning America" co-anchor Robin Roberts. "But there’s a peace that you’ll find in the presence of God that you’ll find nowhere else."
The singer made an appearance on "Good Morning America" in January performing “I’m Getting Ready” for a live studio audience in Times Square. The single features hip-hop artist Nicki Minaj who reached out to Cobbs via social media to express her interest in the album.
“God is connecting people through social media,” Cobbs told Roberts on "GMA." “One day, she [Minaj] just reached out to me and told me how much my ministry has blessed her life.”
Minaj isn’t alone. Cobb’s music resonates with listeners all around the world.
“It introduces God to people in a situation where they might have thought they were alone,” Cobbs said when asked what it is about her music that is so engaging. “I think there’s something on this album for everybody no matter where you are in life. If you’re at a high in your life, there’s something on there to celebrate. If you’re at a low in your life, there’s something on there to encourage you.”
Shortly after its debut in 2017, her latest album "Heart. Passion. Pursuits," which features “I’m Getting Ready” went on to top Billboard’s top gospel albums chart.
In an exclusive interview with Robin Roberts on Dressing Room Reveal, Cobbs described the unifying effects of music.
“One of the things about this album, we called different worship leaders from around the world, different cultures, different nationalities," she said. "One of the things that God said to me is ‘you know, those things that make you different, those are things that you're allowed to pull you apart.’ But He told me, I designed you that way so that you can never live without one another.’ We’re all forever learning from each other.”
