We asked Natalie Grant to answer some questions about her brand new album, “Be One.” Check out what she had to say!
What was the most enriching part of creating this album?
I’ve never created a record in less than a year and we made this one in less than 6 weeks. We didn’t have time to obsess over every detail and it forced me to trust in what God was clearly doing in my life and doing in the creative process, and it allowed me to rest in those gut instincts that He gave me. So instead of questioning every detail and obsessing over every detail, I had to proceed with confidence and trust that God was in the details.
Pick a favorite song and tell us the inspiration and story behind it.
“Clean” is a song that I wrote 100% by myself and it flowed out of me in about 15 minutes. That’s happened very rarely in my writing process and in those moments it’s as if God is writing the song and I’m just holding the pen.
The song was written for a friend facing ghosts from her past, which we all have. Sometimes we fall for the lie that there are certain secrets of our past that are better left in our past than to ever be let into the light. This song is a simple message of the gospel and a reminder that there is nothing too dirty that He can’t make clean.
I remember performing a little snippet of the song and posting it on my social media channels and the response was truly overwhelming. It is such a reminder to me that there are so many people who have known Jesus for a long time, but still need to be reminded that He still makes all things new.
Describe an interesting behind the scenes story your team experienced while writing, recording, or performing this album.
I recorded a cover of the Bethel music worship song “Ever Be” – I decided to do so because the song is one of my children’s favorites. While we were recording, we decided to invite the girls into the studio to sing on the song. It turned out to be not only one of my favorite moments on the record, but one of my favorite moments in the studio ever. Nothing is sweeter than hearing your children sing “Your praise will ever be on my lips.”
Tell me more about your campaign surrounding “Be One” and the story behind that.
Kindness is contagious.
This song is a call to action to inspire believers to let kindness be the defining attribute of their life. No matter who you are and what your influence – every single one of us can make a difference in someone’s life. The greatest way to win this, is to love.
People can say that there seems to be a greater presence of darkness in the world, but I think there has been an absence of light. Jesus is the light of the world and He called His church to be the light of the world as well. I think the greatest impact for the kingdom of God would be made if more Christians would change their perspective from “I need” to “I will.” When we change our focus from what we need in our life to what we can give to someone else – our own struggles won’t go away, but they will sure seem to diminish.
The #beoneforsomeone campaign is a movement to inspire people to do just that – BE ONE – A small act of kindness, a loving gesture, a simple compliment, serving those in need – it’s a call for people to find every day ways to make a difference in a life. Everyone can be one for someone.