Table of Contents
Israel Houghton Quick Info
Height 5 ft 5 in
Weight 80 kg
Date of Birth May 19, 1971
Zodiac Sign Taurus
Spouse Adrienne Bailon

Israel Houghton is an American Christian music singer, songwriter, producer, and worship leader. Generally credited as Israel & New Breed, his discography consists of albums such as Whisper It Loud, Real, New Season, Live From Another Level, Alive in South Africa, A Timeless Christmas, The Power of One, A Deeper Level, Jesus at the Center: Live, Covered: Alive in Asia, The Road To DeMaskUs, Feels Like Home, and Love God, Love People. Over the years, Israel Houghton has won several accolades including at least 6 Grammy Awards – 3 for “Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album” and one for “Best Traditional Gospel Album” for Alive In South Africa.

Born Name

Israel Houghton

Nick Name

Israel, Iz

Sun Sign

Taurus

Born Place

Oceanside, California, United States

Residence 

Bel Air, Los Angeles, United States

Nationality

Education

Israel was brought up in Phoenix, Arizona where he finished part of his education till junior high school until the age of 13. After which, his family moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico where he finished the rest of his high school education.

He returned to Phoenix to pursue a college education but dropped out after studying for a couple of semesters.

Occupation

Musician (Singer / Songwriter), Music Producer, Minister, Worship Leader

Family

Manager

He has been signed with Don Wilkinson (Road Manager).

Genre

His music is broadly labeled as “Contemporary Christian Worship and Praise music”.

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

Instruments

Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards, Drums, Trumpet, Piano

Labels

Net Worth

His net worth had been $8 Million according to CelebrityNetWorth.com.

Build

Large

Height

5 ft 5 in or 165 cm (Approx)

Weight

80 kg or 176 pounds

Girlfriend / Spouse

Israel Houghton has dated –

  1. Before meeting his first wife, Meleasa, Israel had a relationship that led to the birth of his first child named Jordan. He has lived in Phonix, Arizona with his mother and the rest of his family. Jordan also has a son called, Carter.
  2. Meleasa Houghton (1994–2015) – Meleasa’s maiden name is unknown despite her divorce from Israel since she still uses his last name as a part of her identity. Israel met Meleasa during the early 90s’ in a church in Pittsburgh where he was addressing the local congregation as a minister. He noticed Meleasa in the gathering and after the service was introduced to her by her father who was also there at the church. Israel described his attraction to Meleasa as ‘love at first sight,’ in one of the interviews. The couple got married merely 4 months after getting to know each other. The former couple has 3 children together – Mariah (daughter), Israel Duncan nicknamed Sonny (son), and Milan Lillie (daughter). Before getting separated from Meleasa, Israel used to live with her and his kids in Houston, Texas.
  3. De Vawn Moreno (2011–2014) – Israel has admitted to cheating on his wife multiple times to ignore the problems in his marriage to Meleasa. He added that he was separated from Meleasa for the last five years of his marriage right before getting an official divorce in 2016. The child support division of the Texas State Attorney General’s office claims that it is confirmed he has fathered two sons outside wedlock named Kingston and Khristian born in 2012 and 2014 respectively and ensured that he paid child support for them after he was sued by the alleged mistress, namely, De Vawn Moreno.
  4. Adrienne Bailon (2016–Present) – Adrienne and Israel were friends for years before getting romantically involved. He was the executive producer of a romantic drama feature film starring Adrienne in the lead called I am in love with a Church Girl (2013). When Adrienne found out that Israel’s marriage is over, as a good friend, she tried to set him up on several dates with some of her female friends. When one of her friends did not find Israel attractive, Adrienne found herself defending Israel as a catch in the dating pool. In February-March 2016, they went on a vacation to Mexico to explore their feelings for each other. The paparazzi took their pictures which went viral all over the Internet creating a lot of hate against Adrienne for ending Israel’s marriage to Meleasa. Eventually, Israel took to social media to clarify that his marriage was over long before Adrienne became his girlfriend. Israel married her in an intimate ceremony attended by 70 guests organized at Hotel Plaza Athénée in Paris, France in November 2016. Adrienne wore a strapless, mermaid gown for the special occasion. In August 2022, the couple welcomed a baby boy named Ever James via surrogate.

Race / Ethnicity

Multiracial (Black and White)

Israel Houghton is of African-American descent on his father’s side and has European roots on his mother’s side.

Hair Color

Black

Eye Color

Dark Brown

Sexual Orientation

Straight

Distinctive Features

Shoe Size

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

Brand Endorsements

In May-June 2017, Israel joined the Shea Moisture Men campaign.

Religion

Non-denominational (possibly Evangelical) Christianity.

Best Known For

First Album

Whisper it Loud was released in January 1997 by Warner Brothers.

First TV Show

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

Personal Trainer

Israel Houghton Favorite Things

Source – Da Gospel Truth, CBN, Chron

Israel Houghton Facts

  1. At 19, Israel became a full-time minister in a church in Scottsdale, Arizona. The members there asked him to become a worship leader who also played full-time music for the local congregation.
  2. Israel’s mother got pregnant with him at the age of 17. Since, she lived in a very racially segregated society in Waterloo, Iowa; his mother was under a lot of pressure to have an abortion since the biological father was black.
  3. Israel’s mother ran away from home to the state of California to give birth to her child. When she was 8 months pregnant, his biological father broke up with her due to which she briefly turned to drugs. That could have taken Israel away from her care by the state department deeming her as an unfit mother. However, she changed her ways after hitting rock bottom by turning to the church.
  4. She named Israel after reading about the character in the Bible, Genesis 32.
  5. The musician’s favorite description of his family life while growing up is that “he was a black kid, raised in a white family attending a Hispanic Church,” since all his half-siblings from his mother’s second marriage are white.
  6. Israel revealed that his maternal grandfather did not feel any love for him as he did for his other grandkids which added to his identity crisis of constantly feeling different and out of place.
  7. He tried to start a career as a musician in Nashville, Tennessee but the racially divided music scene in that city prevented him from landing a big break.
  8. His career took off when he collaborated and went on tour with another successful Gospel Singer, Fred Hammond.
  9. He has formal training in playing the trumpet.
  10. Israel’s mother who was a brilliant concert pianist taught him to play the piano at a very young age.
  11. On March 24, 2009, he released his contemporary worship studio album The Power of One and it includes songs like Everywhere That I Go, I Receive, Just Wanna Say, Better to Believe, Moving Forward, My Name Iz, Sing Redemption’s Song (ft. Martin Smith), Saved By Grace, and My Tribute Medley. The album peaked at number #1 on the US Christian Albums (Billboard) chart as well as the US Top Gospel Albums (Billboard) chart and at number #34 on both the US Digital Albums (Billboard) chart as well as the US Billboard 200 chart.
  12. His step-father introduced him to rich and diverse genres of music that helped him find comfort in music and shaped his overall personality.
  13. He learned to play the guitar on his own because somebody bet him that he did not have the willpower and discipline to learn that instrument.
  14. He has served as a worship leader in Lakewood Church, Houston, Texas which is led by the celebrity pastor and best-selling author, Joel Scott Osteen.

Featured Image by Unknown / Wikimedia / CC BY-SA 2.5