From Gospel Royalty To Global Inspiration, BeBe Winans Continues Spreading Peace In A World Filled With Noise.

May 26th, 2026

Long before the awards, chart success, books, sold out venues, and crossover acclaim, BeBe Winans was simply Benjamin Winans, the youngest boy in one of gospel music’s most influential families. Decades later, despite a career that has stretched across gospel, R&B, soul, literature, acting, and motivational speaking, that grounding still feels very much intact.

And apparently, so does the chaos of cat ownership.

Before diving into discussions of faith, legacy, and healing through music, Winans laughed about recently returning home to two Bengal cats who immediately reclaimed his attention.

“I didn’t know these cats was as needy before I purchased them years ago,” he joked. “They will jump in the way.”

The conversation quickly shifted into the shared understanding that cats are lovable chaos, the kind of animals you learn to trust specifically because you know better than to fully trust them.

That warmth and humor carried throughout the conversation, even while touching on deeply personal topics including grief, spirituality, purpose, and the emotional responsibility that comes with creating music that people attach to life’s biggest moments.

For someone born into gospel royalty, finding his own voice could have easily become intimidating. Instead, Winans credits his parents, particularly his father, with encouraging individuality from the beginning.

“My father used to always tell us, ‘Don’t try to sound like your brother. Don’t try to do like your brother. Find your voice,’” Winans explained. “When you find that, you become very relaxed in who you are.”

That confidence became foundational, especially when eventually working alongside legendary artists. Winans recalled producing and recording with Stevie Wonder during sessions for his Love & Freedom album.

“It was like, how do I tell Stevie Wonder what to do vocally?” he said with a laugh. “But it was that foundation and confidence my father placed in us from the very beginning.”

Despite decades in the spotlight, Winans still approaches performing less like a polished production and more like an invitation. He credits much of that mentality to one of his lifelong inspirations, Gladys Knight.

“When she walks on stage, before she even sings a note, she invites everybody in,” Winans said. “Her hello, the way she walks across the stage, you already feel welcomed.”

That philosophy now shapes the way he approaches every audience, whether performing for ten people or ten thousand.

“You want people to feel invited,” he said. “When I step on stage, you’re going to know I’m glad to be there.”

Over the years, Winans has witnessed firsthand how deeply his music has attached itself to people’s lives. Fans regularly approach him with stories about songs helping them through grief, weddings, heartbreak, uncertainty, and healing.

“Somebody will tell me, ‘Your music helped me through losing my mom and dad,’ or ‘I walked down the aisle to your song,’” Winans shared. “It reminds you how much what you do plays a part in people’s lives.”

While gospel music has often fought for space in mainstream music conversations, Winans never viewed the mission as genre driven. He and his sister simply wanted to communicate what faith meant in their lives. The broader success came naturally afterward.

“We didn’t plan for it to chart on R&B charts or pop charts,” he explained. “What we realized was wherever people were, there were hurting people. Those people needed to hear what we had to say.”

Ironically, Winans remembers record labels struggling to categorize the duo early on because they weren’t strictly traditional gospel.

“We confused the record company,” he laughed. “They didn’t know where to put us.”

In hindsight, that crossover freedom helped open doors that many artists now move through freely. Winans actually welcomes today’s increasingly genreless music landscape.

“In certain countries, they don’t even have genres,” he said. “If your music is good enough, people listen.”

Even after decades of success, Winans still speaks with the humility of someone who sees himself first as “Benjamin.” Fame may have expanded the résumé, but it has not fundamentally changed who he is.

“I’m still that same Benjamin,” he said. “Just wiser, slower, with more gray hair.”

Wellness and self care have become increasingly important with age, something he openly embraces while laughing about maintaining style and fashion “appropriate for 64.”

But underneath the humor sits a deeper sense of clarity. Winans does not separate his faith from his performances because, in his eyes, the songs themselves are extensions of his own life story.

“The songs I sing are mostly songs I’ve written, and that’s the blueprint of my life,” he explained. “The songs that helped people helped me first. That’s why I wrote them.”

That emotional transparency extended into writing books as well, particularly The Whitney I Knew, which chronicled his relationship with Whitney Houston following her passing.

“It was one of the most difficult losses for my family,” Winans admitted. “Writing about it became therapeutic.”

Unlike songs, which must condense emotions into a few minutes, books allowed him to dive deeper into grief, healing, and personal reflection.

“A song is a three minute experience,” he explained. “A book lets you go deeper.”

As the conversation shifted toward today’s world, Winans became more reflective. Asked what people seem most hungry for right now, his answer came quickly.

“Answers,” he said. “But more importantly, love.”

For Winans, the increasing noise, anger, and division across society only reinforces the importance of leading with compassion and faith.

“There’s so much hatred,” he said. “The definition of love is God, and God is love.”

Then, in one of the interview’s lighter but surprisingly profound moments, one of his Bengals climbed into frame, prompting Winans to point out how completely unbothered cats seem by the chaos of the world.

“This cat knows nothing about what’s going on in the world,” he laughed. “He doesn’t worry about what he’s going to eat. He rests knowing his needs are going to be met.”

The observation became an unexpected metaphor for faith itself.

“That’s how I’ve learned to rest in the God I love,” he explained. “No panic. No fear.”

As for audiences attending his upcoming performances, Winans hopes they leave with something much deeper than simply enjoying a concert.

“It’s an experience,” he said.

Quoting Maya Angelou, Winans reflected on the lasting emotional impact he hopes his music creates.

“It’s not what you say people remember. It’s how you made them feel.”

For Winans, the goal is simple.

“I want people to leave feeling they have hope,” he said. “Feeling they have peace. Feeling they can make it.”