Biography Wikipedia
Wikipedia:
Moriah Castillo Peters (born October 2, 1992, in Chino, California) is an American contemporary Christian singer-songwriter born and raised in Chino, California. In 2012, Peters released the album entitled I Choose Jesus, her first full length studio album.
Background
Peters started writing songs at the age of 13 and played the guitar since she was young. Peters "had dedicated herself to the leadership of God at the age of 14 and can still remember her heart's genuine prayer of, 'God, I just want to be used by you.'"
Peters attended Don Antonio Lugo High School in Chino, California, where she had a 4.1 Grade Point Average, and this got her a scholarship to Cal State-Fullerton. She was going to use this to pursue a law degree to allow her to become an entertainment lawyer.
She said that God told her to become a Christian singer, but she was uncomfortable with this because of her "froggy" voice, but after hearing Jaci Velasquez, she never felt that way about her voice again. McKay compared her voice to that of Natalie Grant and Nichole Nordeman. Because her dad is a Jazz bass player, her musical influences are varied and include Chaka Khan, Stevie Wonder and Steely Dan.
Peters auditioned for American Idol, but they were harsh to her because of her wholesome image, telling her to experience life ("kiss a boy") before entering the music industry. Peters has a 'no kissing' rule for those she isn't dating and believes this is a standard God wants her to uphold. (BarlowGirl has this similar standard in making sure she uphold the Godly standards, when it comes to dating, insisting that her dates have a strong relationship with God.) Peters was introduced at the audition by a random stranger to Wendi Foy, and this was because the stranger was touched by the values she portrayed at the audition. Foy helped her make a three-song demo to market to record labels in Nasbville.
So, this allowed Peters join Reunion Records on August 11, 2011. On April 17, 2012, Peters released the album I Choose Jesus. Now, Peters attends Grand Canyon University, while being a recording artist.
Peters was the singing voice of Vanna Banana on the VeggieTales movie Princess and the Popstar.
Tour
Peters is on The Hurt & The Healer tour with MercyMe and fellow artist Chris August, which she is the opening act for the two.
Album
During the writing phase of the album project I Choose Jesus, Peters wrote 50 songs. Her inspiration for the album came from a myriad of places such as "including her family, her own relationship with Christ and experiences she’s walked through with other young girls while leading her high school Bible study."
Personal life
Peters is of Mexican-French heritage. Her father is Anthony M. "Tony" Peters, Jr., and her mother is Patricia C., and she has an older sister Bianca Peters.