Born name

Israel Houghton

nickname

Israel, Is

Sun sign

Trails

Place of birth

Oceanside, California, USA

Residence

Bel Air, Los Angeles, USA

nationality

training

Raised in Phoenix, Arizona, Israel completed some of his education through junior high school by the age of 13. His family then moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he completed the remainder of his high school education.

He returned to Phoenix to pursue college education, but dropped out after a few semesters.

occupation

Musician (singer/songwriter), music producer, minister, worship leader

family

• Father – unknown
• Mutter – Margaret Houghton (Pastorin)
• Siblings – 3 younger half-siblings from mother’s second marriage (two brothers and one sister) and 3 half-sisters from biological father’s side.
• Others – Henry Houghton (Stepfather) (Pastor), Carter Michael Jones (Grandson), Byron Matthew Rideau (Son-in-law) (DJ)

Manager

He is under contract to Don Wilkinson (Road Manager).

Genre

His music is commonly referred to as “Contemporary Christian Worship and Praise Music”.

Israel’s musical compositions are cross-hybrid creations that feature elements of the following genres:

• church music
• rock, rock
• Jazz
• Reggae
• Pop
• Latin
• R & B

instruments

Vocals, guitar, keyboards, drums, trumpet, piano

labels

• Warner Brothers
• integrity music
• RCA-Inspiration

Build

Big

Height

165cm (approx)

weight

80 kg or 176 pounds

girlfriend/spouse

Israel Houghton dated –

1. Before meeting his first wife, Meleasa, Israel, he had a relationship that resulted in the birth of his first child named Jordan. He lives in Phonix, Arizona with his mother and the rest of his family. Jordan also has a son named Carter.
2. Meleasa Houghton (1994–2015) – Meleasa’s maiden name is unknown despite her divorce with Israel as she still uses his surname as part of her identity. Israel met Meleasa at a church in Pittsburgh, where as a minister he addressed the local community. He noticed Meleasa at the meeting and after being introduced to the service by her father who was also there at church. Israel described his attraction to Meleasa as ‘ love at first sight ‘In one of the interviews. The couple married just 4 months after meeting each other. The former couple have three children together – Mariah (daughter), Israel Duncan nicknamed Sonny (son) and Milan Lillie (daughter). Before Israel was separated from Meleasa, she lived with her and his children in Houston, Texas.
3. De Vawn Moreno (2011–2014) – Israel has admitted to continuing to cheat on his wife several times to ignore the issues in his marriage to Meleasa. He added that he was separated from Meleasa for the last five years of their marriage before their official divorce in 2016. The Texas Attorney’s Office’s Child Support Division alleges that it was confirmed that he fathered two sons outside of marriage, Kingston and Khristian, born in 2012 and 2014 respectively, and arranged for him to provide maintenance for them after he was killed by alleged mistress De Vawn Moreno had been charged.
4. Adrienne Bailon (2016-Present) – Adrienne and Israel were friends for years before becoming romantically involved. He was the executive producer of a romantic feature film I’m in Love with a Church Girl (2013) starring Adrienne . When Adrienne, as a good friend, found out that Israel’s marriage was over, she tried to set him up with some of her friends. When one of her friends didn’t find Israel attractive, Adrienne defended Israel as a catch in the dating pool. From February to March 2016, they vacationed in Mexico to explore their feelings for each other. The paparazzi took their pictures which went viral all over the internet and sparked a lot of hate against Adrienne for ending Israel’s marriage to Meleasa. Eventually, Israel took to social media, clarifying that his marriage was over long before Adrienne became his girlfriend. Israel married her in an intimate ceremony attended by 70 guests at the Hotel Plaza Athénée in Paris, France in November 2016. Adrienne wore a strapless mermaid dress for the special occasion.

race/ethnicity

multiracial

Israel has a white American mother and an African American Jamaican.

hair colour

Schwarz

eye color

dark brown

sexual orientation

Just

distinguishing features

• Strong upper body with thin legs.
• Curly hair

measurements

His body specifications can be –

• Chest – 44 inches or 112 cm
• Arms/biceps – 38 cm or 15 inches
• Waist – 107 cm or 42 inches

shoe size

He is presumed to be wearing a shoe if size 8.5 (US) or 8 (UK) or 42 (EU)

brand promotion

From May to June 2017, Israel participated in the Shea Moisture Men campaign.

Religion

Non-denominational (possibly evangelical) Christianity.

Known for

• A multiple Grammy Award-winning musician, he creates gospel music using diverse cross-cultural musical influences.
• With its music, Israel seeks to bridge the cultural divide between different types of churches, shaped by racial differences.

First album

Whisper It Out released January 1997 by Warner Brothers.

first movie

Israel has never been part of a feature film.

First TV show

In 2005, Israel appeared on the music talk show Praise the Lord as himself.

Personal trainer

• As a musician, Israel travels extensively, and his physical condition makes it clear he’s not particularly into diet and exercise.
• However, 2 months before his marriage to Adrienne Bailon in 2016, he joined his fiancee for her personal workouts and followed the prescribed diet routine to lose 25 pounds.
• They were mentored by well-known personal trainer Massy Arias.
• She offered them 4 hours of personal training. The weekly sessions, which focused primarily on training quickly at racetracks to get the maximum productivity out of that limited time, looked through the diaries of the celebrities to learn how successful people became productive. In addition to personal training sessions, Israel and Adrienne had to do 30 minutes of cardio alone in the morning and had a special predefined workout as homework for themselves for every fifth day of the week.
• In terms of nutrition, Israel could have a plant-based protein shake first thing in the morning and just before bed alongside a regular breakfast and lunch. He had cashews and yogurt as a pre-workout snack.
• He specifically gave up alcohol and dairy to lose weight.

Israel Houghton favorite things

• Movie – Brave Heart (1995)
• Dish of the day – breakfast
• Song (among his own) – I Shall Not Forget (2005), To Worship You I Live (2005)
• Album (among his own) – Lives in South Africa (2005), which earned the musician his first Grammy
• Musical influences – Andre Crouch, The Beatles, Stevie Wonder

Israel Houghton Facts

1. At age 19, Israel became a full-time minister at a church in Scottsdale, Arizona. Members asked him to become a worship leader who also played music full time for the local church.
2. Israel’s mother became pregnant at old ageSince then she lived in a very segregated society in Waterloo, Iowa; His mother was under a lot of pressure to have an abortion as the biological father was black.
3. Israel’s mother ran from home to the state of California to give birth to her child. When she was eight months pregnant, his birth father broke up with her, which briefly turned her into drugs. Israel could have taken that out of the custody of the State Department because they consider her an incompetent mother. However, she changed her behavior after hitting rock bottom by turning to church.
4. She named Israel after reading about the character in the Bible, Genesis 32.
5. The musician’s favorite description of his family’s childhood life is that “he was a black kid raised in a white family who attends a Spanish church,” as all of his half-siblings from his mother’s second marriage are white.
6. Israel revealed that his maternal grandfather didn’t feel love for him like he did for his other grandchildren, which contributed to his identity crisis of constantly feeling different and out of place.
7. He attempted to begin a recording career in Nashville, Tennessee, but that city’s racially segregated music scene prevented him from taking a major break.
8. His career began when he collaborated and toured with Fred Hammond, another successful gospel singer.
9. He has formal training in trumpet playing.
10. Israel’s mother, who was a brilliant concert pianist, taught him to play the piano from an early age.
11. His stepfather introduced him to rich and diverse musical genres that helped him find solace in music and shape his overall personality.
12. He learned to play the guitar himself because someone bet him that he didn’t have the willpower and discipline to learn the instrument.
13. He serves as worship leader at Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, led by renowned pastor and best-selling author Joel Scott Osteen.
14. To learn more about the music of Israel, visit his official website @ newbreedmusic.com.
15. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, iTunes.