Montell Jordan is aware of a factor or two about bringing individuals collectively. Whether or not it’s a congregation, a live performance crowd, or a neighborhood alongside Fort Lauderdale’s waterways, the Grammy-nominated musician, producer, and pastor thrives on connection. This December, he’ll do exactly that as co–Grand Marshal of the Seminole Onerous Rock Winterfest Boat Parade.
For Winterfest President and CEO Lisa Scott-Founds, Jordan’s participation provides a dynamic new vitality to the season. “Montell’s music has this infectious pleasure that crosses generations,” she says. “When he performs, individuals gentle up. He’s not solely an unbelievable entertainer however somebody who leads with religion, gratitude, and coronary heart—the whole lot Winterfest celebrates.”
“This occasion is about pleasure on the water,” Jordan says. “It’s individuals coming collectively from each stroll of life. That’s what I really like most—it’s neighborhood in movement.”
It’s a becoming position for a person whose music has lengthy been the soundtrack to celebration. Practically three many years after his breakout hit “This Is How We Do It” first topped the charts, Jordan nonetheless can’t escape its affect, and he wouldn’t have it every other method.
“I might go anyplace on this planet, and when that track begins, individuals smile,” he says. “It’s unbelievable that one thing I wrote so way back nonetheless brings individuals pleasure. That’s the present.”
A New Chapter in Concord
Immediately, Jordan’s stage is broader than ever, constructed on the identical ardour that first drove his music. He continues to put in writing, report, and carry out, however now his artistry shares the highlight along with his ministry. Collectively along with his spouse, Kristin, his associate in life and objective for greater than 30 years, he leads Marriage Masterpeace, a faith-based group that helps {couples} strengthen connection and rediscover objective.
“When individuals see us onstage now, it’s not simply music—it’s ministry,” he explains. “We discuss what it seems to be love to do life collectively, to like and serve one another the best way God designed. If our story can provide one other couple hope, that’s the best stage we might ever stand on.”
The 2 journey the world internet hosting conferences and workshops that mix music, storytelling, and religion. “Music and ministry are the identical to me,” he says. “Each are about therapeutic, each are about concord, each are about serving to individuals really feel seen.”
That sense of objective deepened after Kristin started filming their journey for a forthcoming documentary titled Sustained, which chronicles his expertise with honesty and hope. “We began filming as a result of we didn’t know methods to inform our household or who to let in,” he says. “For me, as a person of shade, it was uncharted territory—no one was actually speaking about it. However I knew I needed it to assist another person, to say, ‘You’re not alone.’”
Now a worldwide ambassador for ZERO Prostate Most cancers, Jordan makes use of his platform to lift consciousness and encourage males to get screened early. “Early detection is the factor that enables me to have a option to deal with it and dwell—and to maintain giving myself the very best quality of life doable,” he says. “It’s OK to cry. It’s OK to shake your fist at God. It’s OK to really feel concern, however doing nothing is just not an choice.”
As he nears the top of therapy, Jordan seems to be forward with renewed religion. “I’ll be a two-time most cancers survivor by the point we get to Fort Lauderdale,” he says. “One thing to have a good time for certain.”
The Sound of Celebration
And have a good time he’ll, via music. Jordan plans to carry out throughout Winterfest festivities, probably debuting a brand new vacation single that captures the season’s heat and wit.
“I’ve bought a brand new Christmas track referred to as ‘Santa Will Be Late’,” he says, smiling. “It’s playful and soulful. It’s about how pleasure doesn’t at all times arrive on time, nevertheless it at all times arrives. Possibly I’ll debut it throughout Winterfest. It simply feels proper.”
Although the co–Grand Marshals haven’t formally met, Jordan already feels a connection to his counterpart, pop artist Romero Britto. “I’ve met him via his work,” he says. “His artwork, his colours, his tradition—all of it comes out of him for us to expertise. I’m the man that’ll say, ‘Let me maintain your gentle when you shine.’ I’m the soundtrack to his brightness.”
For Jordan, the parade represents one thing bigger than spectacle—it’s a mirrored image of resilience, religion, and pleasure shared on a grand scale. “After I can attain the house the place I get to do what I really like, and it’s what God loves me doing, that’s leveling as much as the very best diploma,” he says.
One Evening, One Message
For Jordan, Winterfest mirrors his life’s mission—to remind folks that hope and religion can thrive in even the toughest seasons. “When artwork and music meet pleasure, that’s when actual connection occurs,” he says. “Winterfest is the proper instance of that. It’s the place individuals come collectively not simply to look at, however to really feel one thing. That’s how we do it.”
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