Around the same time that Alisa Childers’ first album was being released, Chrissy Katina posted an ad on her MySpace page. She was looking to form an all-female vocal group, rather than releasing a solo album as originally planned. In early 2008, she announced that she and Kelli Trontell, an aspiring singer, had formed a new band, which she named ColmanBlue, but also mentioned she was searching for a third member. Chrissy explains the word “Colman” means dove, and she added the blue to symbolize water, such as baptismal water. In the biblical story of the baptism of Christ, we are told the Holy Spirit descended as a dove, so she was convinced this was a divine name appointed by God.
Videos of ColmanBlue performing were soon uploaded on YouTube. Their sound can be best described as ZOEgirl-meets-Point Of Grace. It was a more mature, less exuberant pop. Later in 2008, Chrissy announced that she had found the third member of ColmanBlue, which turned out to be fellow ex-ZOEgirl, Kristin Schweain, who had released her solo album, Days of Eden, earlier that year. Many fans were ecstatic at the idea of two thirds of ZOEgirl being reunited again.
In order to raise money to record an EP, the members of ColmanBlue made jewelry which they then sold online. Their first single, “Hey (Not Worth the Worry)” was released on tangle.com as a free download in 2009. They performed for Mercy Ministries, led worship at various churches, and released another song “Love Is” through MySpace. They were even featured in Crossroads magazine. There was word of yet another song, “Saved to Live”, but it was never released. In early 2010, they announced they were joining the Katinas’ annual cruise as performers.
In March 2010, through their Myspace and Twitter accounts, ColmanBlue asked fans to pray for them as they were, “going through a lot.” Since then, no update has been made. In September 2010, Kristin Schweian gave birth to her second child after a complicated, life-threatening pregnancy. ZOEgirl fans have pieced together that Kristin’s difficult pregnancy led to a sabbatical for the trio and eventually their disbanding. Even though fans have never been formally told that ColmanBlue was over, Chrissy announced in June 2010 that she will be focusing on her photography and she and Kristin avoided the topic during the Brian Mason Show reunion interview, leading us to infer that ColmanBlue has disbanded.
