Faith Renée Evans (born June 10, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter, re… Read Full Bio ↴Faith Renée Evans (born June 10, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, actress and author. Born in Coral Gables, Florida and raised in Newark, New Jersey, Evans moved to Los Angeles in 1993 for a career in music business. After working as a backing vocalist for Al B. Sure, she became the first female artist to be signed to Sean "P. Diddy" Combs' Bad Boy Records label in 1994, on which she released three platinum-certified studio albums between the years of 1995 and 2001. In 2003, she left the label to sign with Capitol Records.

Next to her recording career, Evans is widely known as the widow of New York rapper Christopher "The Notorious B.I.G." Wallace, whom she married in 1994 two months after meeting at a photoshoot. The turbulent marriage led to Evans' involvement in the East Coast-West Coast hip hop feud, dominating the rap scene at the time, and ended with Wallace's murder in a yet-unsolved drive-by shooting in Los Angeles in March 1997. A 1997 tribute single featuring Puff Daddy and 112, entitled "I'll Be Missing You," became Evans' biggest-selling hit to date and won her a Grammy Award in 1998.

After marrying Todd Russaw and having a third child, named Joshua, Evans released her long-awaited follow-up, Keep the Faith in 1998. Unlike the solemn approach to her first album, this album spoke of optimism, good times, and love. Among its biggest hits include the Chic-sampled track "Love Like This" (#7 US), the P. Diddy helmed "All Night Long" (#9 US), and Babyface lent her a number-one R&B hit song with "Never Gonna Let You Go". Outside of her own albums, Evans found another hit that year with Whitney Houston and Kelly Price on the song "Heartbreak Hotel".

Evans released her third album, 2001's Faithfully, which included the hit singles "You Gets No Love" (#8 R&B) and "I Love You" (#2 R&B). For the album's promotion, Evans went through a transformation in her physical appearance. Always a slightly full figured woman, Evans shed over fifty pounds and presented a sexier image that was present for the videos to "I Love You" and "Burnin' Up". Fatman Scoop also sampled her vocals on the song "Be Faithful" in 2003, which reached number one in the UK. Although the album wasn't as largely promoted as her first two, it was a moderate success. The album was certified platinum in January 2002, with over 1 million units sold.

Evans rebounded with a record that many of her fans have proclaimed as her strongest record to date, The First Lady (released on April 5, 2005) her Capitol record debut album. After finding success with her Twista collaboration, "Hope", Evans released her first song of new material in three years with "Again", a biographical account of her life struggles. Faith recorded "Say A Prayer" with gospel music star Donald Lawrence on his "I Speak Life" album in 2004. The First Lady came out commemorating her tenth anniversary in the industry and her first record on Capitol Records after leaving Bad Boy in 2003. With the help of "Again" reaching the top ten of Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, and appearances on David Letterman, BET, Later... with Jools Holland and MTV the album entered the Billboard 200 at number two with 160,000 copies sold in its first week, marking the largest first-week total of her career. The First Lady was RIAA certified Gold selling over 600,000 copies to date. The second single, "Mesmerized", saw Faith going with a 70's retro-funk soul vibe. The track failed to crack top fifty R&B despite numerous remixes; however a dance remix by the Freemasons went on to hit number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart.

At the end of 2005, Evans released her fifth studio album, A Faithful Christmas, a Christmas collection of new material and covers of seasonal classics. She also made lots of appearances on holiday TV programming. In early 2006, Faith Evans' third single, "Tru Love" (produced by Jermaine Dupri and Bryan Michael Cox), gradually gained ground on urban/urban AC radio without any assistance from her label since they never promoted (sent to radio) or had a video for "Tru Love", becoming her twelfth solo R&B hit (Top 30). Also in 2005, Evans appeared along with Jessi Colter and Cece White as a feature vocalist on the Shooter Jennings song "Southern Comfort" from the album "Put the O Back in Country".

On October 5. 2010, Evans' sixth album, "Something About Faith." The album debuted at #4 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and #15 on the Billboard 200 with sales of 23,586 copies in its first week. The albums' lead single "Already Gone" peaked at #22 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart. The albums' second single and music video "Right Here" was released on February 14, 2011.
In 2012, Evans became a cast member of TV One reality show R&B Divas Atlanta alongside Nicci Gilbert, Syleena Johnson, Keke Wyatt and Monifah. Evans also co-executive produces the show.[25] The album R&B Divas Atlanta, led by Evans was released on October 2, 2012. Proceeds from the album will benefit the Whitney E. Houston Academy of Creative & Performing Arts in East Orange, New Jersey.

On August 6, 2013, Evans confirmed she had begun work on her 6th album, tentatively titled Incomparable. Evans also revealed guest appearances for the album are slated to include Missy Elliott, KeKe Wyatt, B.Slade and Karen Clark Sheard of The Clark Sisters. "I Deserve It", a record featuring recurring collaborator Missy Elliott and her protégée Sharaya J, was released via iTunes on August 25, 2014 as the album's lead single. Incomparable was released on November 24, 2014. On TMZ, Evans had announced that she is working on a posthumous Notorious B.I.G. album titled The King & I, which will feature duets with the two. She plans to release it sometime in 2015.

Happy Holiday
Faith Evans Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Happy holiday
Happy holiday

While the merry bells keep ringing
May your every wish come true

Happy holiday
Happy holiday

May the calendar keep bringing
Happy holidays to you

If you're burdened down with trouble
If your nerves are wearing thin
Pack your load, down the road
And come to Holiday Inn

If the traffic noise affects you
Like a squeaky violin
Kick your cares, down the stairs
And come to Holiday Inn

If you can't find someone
Who will set your heart a whirl
Take your car and motor too
The home of boy meets girl

If you're laid-up with a breakdown
Throw away your vitamin

Don't get worse, grab your nurse
And come to Holiday Inn

Overall Meaning

Faith Evans's song Happy Holiday is a song that celebrates the holiday season. The repetitive lyrics "Happy holiday" convey a sense of joy and excitement for the season, while the rest of the song talks about the various ways people can de-stress and enjoy the holidays. The stanza "While the merry bells keep ringing, May your every wish come true" speaks to the hope and anticipation that comes with the season. It's a time to believe in miracles and to dream big dreams.

The second stanza encourages listeners to take a break from their troubles and visit a Holiday Inn. The lyrics "If you're burdened down with trouble, If your nerves are wearing thin" speaks to the stress and anxiety that often accompany the holiday season. The song suggests that taking a break and finding respite in a place like Holiday Inn can help rejuvenate and recharge. The third stanza veers into a more romantic theme, with lyrics like "Take your car and motor too, The home of boy meets girl." It's a time of year where people often connect with loved ones and make new connections, and the song acknowledges this sentiment.

Line by Line Meaning

Happy holiday
Wishing you a joyful holiday season!

Happy holiday
Once again, wishing you a happy holiday!

While the merry bells keep ringing
As the festive bells chime all around,

May your every wish come true
We hope each of your desires is fulfilled.

May the calendar keep bringing
Throughout the year, we want you to have continuous happy holidays.

Happy holidays to you
May you always have an enjoyable holiday season!

If you're burdened down with trouble
If life's problems are weighing heavily on you,

If your nerves are wearing thin
If your nerves are frayed and close to breaking point,

Pack your load, down the road
Don't carry your worries with you, leave them behind and head out.

And come to Holiday Inn
Visit the Holiday Inn, and take a break!

If the traffic noise affects you
If loud traffic noise bothers you,