R.J. Helton | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Rolando Alberto de Jesus Rivas, Jr. |
| Also known as | Richard Jason Helton |
| Born | May 17, 1981 Pasadena, Texas |
| Origin | Cumming, Georgia |
| Genres | Christian pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | vocals, singer-songwriter |
| Years active | 2002–2014 |
| Labels | GospoCentric |
Richard Jason Helton (born May 17, 1981; as Rolando Alberto de Jesus Rivas, Jr.) is an American Contemporary Christian music artist, who first came to prominence as the fifth place finalist on the first season of American Idol. The first Wild Card contestant in the history of the series, they initially failed to reach the Top 10, but they were brought back by the judges to compete in the finals. In 2004, they released the album Real Life with GospoCentric Records, which peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Christian Music chart and number 19 on the Heatseekers Albums chart. Helton's song "My Devotion" was nominated for Urban Recorded Song of the Year at the 36th GMA Music Awards in 2005.