'' 2nd Chance '' is the second studio album by American gospel musician

Karen Clark Sheard Karen Valencia Clark Sheard (née Clark; born November 15, 1960) is an American Grammy Award–winning Gospel singer, musician, songwriter, and businesswoman. Clark-Sheard is the wife of the current Church of God in Christ Presiding Bishop J. Dre ...

. It was released on July 30, 2002 on

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the ...

. The release was much ballyhooed for several reasons. Sheard was only the second

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

artist signed to

, and this was her debut for the label. It was also her first release since the success of her

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

-nominated debut ''Finally Karen'', and a long bout with illness had delayed any releases from her since. The album peaked at #2 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' Gospel Charts, #3 on the Billboard Contemporary Christian Charts, #27 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Charts, and #82 on the Billboard 200. In 2001, Clark-Sheard was faced with a life-threatening crisis when a

blood vessel The blood vessels are the components of the circulatory system that transport blood throughout the human body. These vessels transport blood cells, nutrients, and oxygen to the tissues of the body. They also take waste and carbon dioxide awa ...

burst during a scheduled

hernia A hernia is the abnormal exit of tissue or an organ, such as the bowel, through the wall of the cavity in which it normally resides. Various types of hernias can occur, most commonly involving the abdomen, and specifically the groin. Groin her ...

surgery. Her doctors only gave her a 2% chance of survival due to her complications. After the

blood clot A thrombus (plural thrombi), colloquially called a blood clot, is the final product of the blood coagulation step in hemostasis. There are two components to a thrombus: aggregated platelets and red blood cells that form a plug, and a mesh of cr ...

was surgically removed, Clark-Sheard fell into a

coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. Coma patients exhi ...

. The coma lasted three and a half weeks, but Clark-Sheard says she made a miraculous Christian Music Planet
/ref> recovery. Despite citing

surgery, fans continue to speculate Clark-Sheard underwent a

gastric bypass Gastric bypass surgery refers to a technique in which the stomach is divided into a small upper pouch and a much larger lower "remnant" pouch and then the small intestine is rearranged to connect to both. Surgeons have developed several differ ...

operation which led to complications of

and

brain aneurysm An intracranial aneurysm, also known as a brain aneurysm, is a cerebrovascular disorder in which weakness in the wall of a cerebral artery or vein causes a localized dilation or ballooning of the blood vessel. Aneurysms in the posterior circ ...

since after the ordeal Sheard returned in 2001 having lost a significant amount of weight. This was later confirmed in the 2020 Clark Sisters biopic. Though the release performed well on the charts and Clark-Sheard's vocals were in excellent form, the slick contemporary R&B production was not openly embraced by Sheard's core audience of traditional gospel music listeners. The 2003 follow-up release ''

The Heavens Are Telling ''The Heavens Are Telling'' is an album by the multiple Grammy and Stellar award-winning gospel singer Karen Clark Sheard, released on November 4, 2003. In the USA, the album peaked at #3 on the ''Billboard'' Top Gospel Charts, #11 on the Billbo ...

'' returned to the formula of her hugely successful, well-received, and Grammy-nominated debut ''

Finally Karen '' Finally Karen '' is the debut solo album of gospel singer Karen Clark Sheard of The Clark Sisters, released on November 4, 1997. The live portion of the album was recorded at Bailey Cathedral in Detroit, Michigan. The album was Grammy-nominat ...

'' by offering half of the album as a collection of live tracks, and half as a collection of upbeat studio productions.

Track listing

Notes * denotes co-producer

Charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control Karen Clark Sheard albums 2002 albums Albums produced by Missy Elliott Albums produced by Tim & Bob