Lady A’s Hillary Scott honored by Grammy nomination for Christian song: 'World needs this message'
Singer Hillary Scott of the country band Lady A, formerly known as Lady Antebellum, walked the red carpet with all smiles Sunday at the Grammy Awards, glad to spread a message of hope through her Grammy-nominated Christian song collaboration.
Scott, who collaborated with Christian pop duo For King & Country on a 2021 song called "For God is With Us," expressed gratitude for the Christian song receiving a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song as she walked the red carpet at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards.
Although the 36-year-old musician and the pop duo did not win the Grammy, losing to Maverick City Music & Kirk Franklin's "Fear Is Not My Future," she took to social media to express her gratitude for the nomination.
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"Happy to have gotten to spend this weekend celebrating a special nomination with these two and our families. Joel and Luke [Smallbone], thank you for your continued kindness and friendship," Scott wrote in an Instagram post. The post included a picture of her on the red carpet with the two Australian Smallbone brothers from For King & Country.
"What a journey from recording For God Is With Us to tonight. I'll celebrate this collaboration forever."
In an interview with Fox News on the red carpet, Scott said "For God is With Us" sends a message about God that needs to be heard today. She said, "she's grateful to be part of such a hopeful song."
"This song is just an important message. It's about the bringer of hope, where we find our hope, and to be able to tell this story and hopefully point others to finding that hope themselves just really is important," she said. "Now more than ever, the world needs this message."
The song features lyrics that appear to be about the awe and wonder of the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The song tells a story about how the Lord always remained with humanity throughout the nativity, crucifixion and Jesus' ascension to Heaven and how the Lord will return again "in glory."
Throughout the song, the chorus repeats the words "For God is with us" to emphasize the Lord's continuous presence as people navigate the state of the world and await the second coming of Jesus Christ.
In a statement to The Christian Beat, the Smallbone brothers said the song is relatable to any situation in life.
"This song speaks to all circumstances. No matter hardship or great delight, we can all take great comfort in God being with us," the Smallbones shared.
The Grammy website reports that Scott and For King & Country have had a friendly rivalry as they competed against each other for Grammy awards in recent years.
Since 2015, For King & Country won four Grammy awards and lost twice.
One of the losses was to Scott & The Scott Family, who won a Grammy in 2017 for Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song with their song "Thy Will."
The Smallbone brothers and Scott met for the first time at the 2017 Grammys.
"It wasn't on great terms, because, you know, we were nominated in the same categories and she won everything," Joel Smallbone said.
They are friends who often cross paths in Nashville and Sunday church services.
The Smallbone brothers recruited Scott for their collaborative version of "For God Is With Us," which is on For King & Country's fifth studio album, What Are We Waiting For?
"Honestly, it was a call that I was so honored to receive from Joel and Luke, just gauging my interest in a collaboration," Scott said. "Over the years, we've run into each other at so many different events."
Joel Smallbone said they envisioned the song as a way to minister the message of the Gospel to the world.
"[It] became maybe the most spiritually overt song that we've ever written, about the journey of the birth, the death, and the redemption of Jesus Christ. We just stayed sensitive to what the song wanted to be," said Joel Smallbone, according to the Grammy website.
"The ultimate [version] of the song was when Hillary's voice was on it. It was like, 'Ah, that's what it was always meant to be.' Our only frustration may be that she's not on the original version."
Nicole Alcindor is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: nicole.alcindor@christianpost.com.
