Album: Different Lifestyles (Capitol)
Songwriters: Keith Thomas, BeBe Winans and CeCe Winans
Hit #1: August 31st, 1991 (2 Weeks)
One of the handful of gospel-soul acts of the '80s and '90's to achieve consistent simultaneous success in both inspirational and mainstream formats, BeBe & CeCe Winans, a fraction of the many acts to emerge from the Winans clan, hit a commercial peak in 1991 with the release of the platinum-selling Different Lifestyles. The album, thanks to the talents of producer Keith Thomas, placed their Christian sentiment (though casual listening could misinterpret their lyrics to be more romantic) under the trendy sheen of urban contemporary flavors, helping get them support on R&B stations alongside the secular sect.
After overcoming the opening seconds' oft-putting dissonance in which Thomas sounds like he's attempting various time signatures all at once, "Addictive Love" finds a home amongst synth/ drum machine "edginess" as the singing siblings explain why they carry so much devotion for Him. The interaction between the two is infectious and light-hearted, a major reason why they were so welcomed in the mainstream market. More often than not gospel can get quite elitist and turn off secular music lovers, but BeBe & CeCe's warm personalities and modern production help push the notion that loving Jesus doesn't make them better than anyone else. All they want to do is celebrate their feelings and if you care to jump on board in their appreciation for a Higher Power, it's all good. If not, you can still enjoy their lovely vocal interplay.
The song's success on the R&B charts helped keep them the biggest thing in gospel music, breaking all kinds of records along the way. And it wouldn't be long before they were gracing the summit position once again...
Best Moment: The playful exchange between brother and sister on the verses: when Bebe thinks they've said all they needed to ("Now that we've evened up the score"), his sister quickly interjects that she has "so much more" to get off her chest.
Download: "Addictive Love" (YFH)
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