# Virtue (musical group)

Virtue is an American gospel music group. The group currently consists of Ebony Holland, Karima Kibble and Heather Martin.

## History

Virtue was formed in 1994 by Karima Trotter (Kibble), Ebony Trotter (Holland), Negelle Sumter, and Shavonne Sampson. All four women attended the historically Black Seventh-day Adventist institution, Oakwood University (then Oakwood College).
Their self-titled debut album, Virtue, was released on April 29, 1997 by Verity Records. The album peaked at number 18 on Billboard's Christian Albums, and number 6 on Billboard's Top Gospel Albums.
Virtue released several other albums throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, including Get Ready (1999), Virtuosity (2001), Free (2003), and Testimony (2006).
After Testimony, no new content was released by the group for over 9 years. On the 26th of February 2016, the group released the album Fearless, their 7th studio album, which charted at number 3 on Billboard's Top Gospel Albums, their highest charting album to date.

## Discography
### Studio albums

| Title | Album details | Chart positions | Chart positions | Chart positions |
| Title | Album details | US Gospel | US Christ. | US Heat. |
| Virtue | Released: April 29, 1997 Label: Jive (#CHIP 188), Verity (#43020) | 6 | 18 | — |
| Get Ready | Released: May 18, 1999 Label: Verity (#43122) | 4 | 10 | 22 |
| Virtuosity | Released: September 11, 2001 Label: Verity (#43170) | 4 | 23 | 33 |
| Free | Released: August 19, 2003 Label: Verity (#53729) | 10 | 34 | — |
| Testimony | Released: June 20, 2006 Label: Darkchild Gospel, Integrity Gospel (#682184) | 23 | — | — |
| Fearless | Released: February 26, 2016 Label: eOne, Virtue Girls (#115) | 3 | — | — |

### Re-issued albums

| Title | Album details | Chart positions | Chart positions | Chart positions |
| Title | Album details | US Gospel | US Christ. | US Heat. |
| Testimony Reloaded | Released: February 3, 2015 Label: Mixed Bag Entertainment (#MGB-CD-14) | 21 | — | — |

### Compilation albums

| Title | Album details | Chart positions | Chart positions | Chart positions |
| Title | Album details | US Gospel | US Christ. | US Heat. |
| Nothing But the Hits | Released: July 27, 2004 Label: Sony Music (#771634), Verity (#82876599982) | — | — | — |

### Singles
#### As a lead artist

| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Album |
| Title | Year | US Gospel | US Gospel Airplay | Album |
| "Greatest Part Of Me" | 1997 | — | — | Virtue |
| "Let the Redeemed" | 1997 | — | — | Virtue |
| "I Must Tell Jesus" | 1997 | — | — | Virtue |
| "My Heart's With You" | 1999 | — | — | Get Ready |
| "Get Ready" | 1999 | — | — | Get Ready |
| "Love Me Like You Do" | 1999 | — | — | Get Ready |
| "Angels Watching Over Me" | 1999 | — | — | Get Ready |
| "Put Your War Clothes On" | 1999 | — | — | Get Ready |
| "He's Been Good" | 2001 | — | — | Virtuosity |
| "Till You Believe" | 2001 | — | — | Virtuosity |
| "Gotta Worship" | 2001 | — | — | Virtuosity |
| "Down on My Knees" | 2001 | — | — | Virtuosity |
| "Healin'" | 2003 | — | — | Free |
| "Lord. I Lift My Hands" | 2003 | — | — | Free |
| "You Just Be You" | 2003 | — | — | Free |
| "Follow Me" | 2006 | 4 | 4 | Testimony |
| "You Are" | 2014 | — | 17 | Testimony Reloaded and Fearless |
| "Walk it Out" | 2015 | — | — | Fearless |
| "Miracle" | 2016 | — | 23 | Fearless |
| "—" denotes items which were not released in that country or failed to chart. |||||

### Other appearances

Virtue performed on the Sisters in the Spirit tour with Shirley Caesar, Yolanda Adams and Mary Mary. They also performed on the Evolution II Tour 2003 with Byron Cage, Percy Bady Tonex, Lisa McClendon, and Corey Red & Precise.
They appeared on the album Bridges: Songs of Unity and Purpose in a duet with Clay Crosse and sang background for Darwin Hobbs on the song So Amazing from his album Vertical.
List of album appearances, showing year released and album name :
| Title (Artist) | Year | Album |
| "The First Noel" (Virtue) | 1998 | The Real Meaning of Christmas, Vol. 2 |
| "Together" (Clay Crosse & Virtue) | 1999 | Bridges - Songs of Unity and Purpose |
| "Can You Hear the Angels?" (Virtue) | 1999 | The Real Meaning of Christmas, Vol. 3 |
| "So Amazing" (Darwin Hobbs featuring Virtue) | 2000 | Vertical |
| "So Amazing" (Oakwood University USM Compilation featuring Virtue) | 2008 | The Experience |

## Music videos

* "Greatest Part of Me"
* "Follow Me"

## Award history

| Year | Award-giving body | Award Category | Song /Album Title |
| 2003 | Dove Awards | Urban Album of the Year | Free |
| 2006 | Grammy Awards | Nominated for Gospel Album of the Year | Testimony |