Born in Oklahoma, religious singer Madison Ryann Ward (b. September 16, 1994)
has developed a style that spans pop, soul, folk, blues and gospel. She came
into contact with music through her mother, who sang soul and blues classics in
church and worked in her father's restaurant. A student at the University of
Oklahoma, she then set her sights on a career as a top-level volleyball athlete,
when she changed her mind to write songs after the viral success of her version
of Aretha Franklin's "Chain of Fools ". Her growing notoriety led producer Rick
Rubin to sign her to his American...