‘The Voice’ winner Jordan Smith releases Christian music, wants people to experience the Holy Spirit
Pop singer and "The Voice" season 9 winner Jordan Smith says he's “returning” his gift back to the Lord by releasing his first Christian single and album to follow.
"It's really special for me to take this moment and say back to the Lord, let everything I am declare your glory, to help tell your story, the story of your Gospel. Let everything I am point the world back to you,” Smith told The Christian Post of where he is right now.
The powerhouse vocalist and songwriter recently inked a deal with Provident Label Group/Sony Music and dropped his first Christian single, "Great You Are."
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Smith was the highest-selling artist to ever emerge from “The Voice,” and following his time with the mainstream competition, he released two pop albums and a Christmas record. His faith has always been in the DNA of his music, but now his beliefs will take center stage.
"When we wrote this song ... I knew it was special. But I didn't take a moment and stop and think about how special it was for me as an artist and the journey that I've been on since 'The Voice,'” Smith said of his new single.
“Great You Are” was co-written by Smith, Jeff Sojka and Matt Armstrong. The song was inspired by the Scripture that declares that the rocks will cry and praise Jesus if people fail to do so.
"The song itself just says, 'Everything I am I lay it down here at your feet, and I'm returning this to you,’” he echoed.
Smith has written pop music, Christmas music, worked with world-class producers, and now says he is lending his gift back to God.
"It's really special for me to be able to have the moment to return my gift to the Lord and to point the glory back to Him,” he continued. “We are all just that; we're just reflections of God's love to the world.”
Smith penned his new single right before the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Kentucky native said it was important for him to keep his eyes on God through it all.
"The last year, year-and-a-half, it's been so easy to be distracted by the waves, by the things that are going on, by the political climate. It's just easy to get sucked in and become so fearful and worried,” he said. “Anxiety is at an all-time high. Even in my own life, I find myself feeling anxious and concerned about things that are happening. I'm feeling a bit out of control because I don't have control over everything that's going on. I'm kind of a control freak, so that's an issue for me.
"But just in that time of feeling out of control and feeling anxious and feeling worried about all of this — that's coming at us constantly — I think it's so important to slow down for a moment and say, 'Wait, I can experience heartbreak, I can experience failure, I can experience bad things. I can experience blessing and success and good things. Yet all of it fits into God's plan, and all of it is in His hands. It doesn't change who He is,” Smith added.
The singer said people change and experience all types of highs and lows, but God doesn't have those moments.
"He's always faithful, He's constant, He's good, and He loves us unconditionally,” he declared. “It's important to stop and remind ourselves of just how good He is and how faithful He is in our lives. Whenever we lay down all of those heartbreaks, all of those trials, all of those, even blessings, down to Him, it's just refreshing. It brings new life to our spirit, and I hope that that's what the song can do for people.”
Smith assured that he wants his new music to help the world experience the Holy Spirit.
"I've had a really fun journey where I have gotten to make pop music and music of all different kinds with people from all different walks of life. The cool thing about it is that I feel, personally, like people were able to experience connection through that,” he explained.
The singer said that, with all of his music, he's always sought to create a connection with God and with each other. In doing so, Smith said his music has reminded others that they're loved and that there's someone that's “looking out for them, and that cares for them.”
"I have constantly tried to create moments in music where people can experience the Holy Spirit, and the closeness of God, even if maybe they don't know that's what they're feeling,” Smith detailed.
“Maybe if they've never felt that feeling before, and they just say, 'Oh, I feel that something in my chest pulling at my heart whenever you sing.' Now I get the opportunity with a song like 'Great You Are' to just openly tell them. 'Hey, that feeling in your chest, that thing that you experience sometimes when you hear a song that moves you, or you hear someone say something that your spirit connects with, that's the Holy Spirit, and He's reaching out to you, and He loves you.'
"I just want people to feel that I know the power of the feeling of the Holy Spirit whenever God is at work in your life, and He reminds you that He loves you, and He wants the best for you. I want as many people as possible to be able to experience that feeling and that connection with Him,” he continued.
Since his time on “The Voice,” Smith said his life has been “quite the roller coaster.”
"There have been peaks and valleys. I've had some pretty incredible mountaintop moments,” he shared. “I got married since I was on the show to my incredible wife, Kristin. I bought a home. I recorded three full-length albums. I've toured all across the world with myself and with other artists like Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant. I've had the opportunity to make Christmas music. I have written tons of songs, one of which I got to write for Celine Dion, which was an incredible opportunity. One of those like pinch-me moments that didn't feel real. So I've gotten to do quite a bit of really cool, fun, awesome things since the show.”
Smith's mainstream success has also greatly impacted his faith in God.
"My entire life changed really quite literally overnight. That caused me to really have to lean in and lean on the Lord, because in myself, you don't know how to handle that. You don't know how to handle the attention, you don't know how to handle the opportunity, you don't know how to handle the platform,” Smith admitted.
"It really enhanced my prayer life and my trust in the Lord because I had to lean on him and not my understanding. I had to lean into His peace, and I had to lean into praying for His will in my life and using His wisdom,” he added.
Since then, he now says he does his best to stay in that place of freedom, knowing that God has everything in His control.
"I just have to walk in the favor of God, I have to walk in His blessing, and I have to know that He wants good things for me. I don't have to worry about how it's all gonna happen. I don't have to worry about figuring everything out on my own because He's totally in control. I think it really strengthened and reinforced that trust of Him in my life,” Smith explained.
Smith was raised in the Christian faith and said he had to discover God's love and faithfulness in his life for himself.
His personal faith is now solidified in Christ, and following the new single, Smith said he will be releasing a full-length Christian album.
“I have a lot of new songs. I have a whole project that's pretty much ready to go, and this is just the first of many,” he added. “So I'm really looking forward to continuing in the same direction as ‘Great You Are’ with a full project and getting that to you very soon.”
"I've just been so grateful for the opportunity to write this music. In a time when so much was happening, I was able to steal away, and I worked on this project in the studio, with no musicians, just me and a producer and social distancing,” he illustrated.
“It was such a weird process to make a project in the middle of a pandemic, but it was so heart-inspiring and uplifting to be able to make music during that time. Now I'm excited and grateful to be able to share it with everybody and hope that it encourages them just like it's encouraged me.”
For more information on Smith and his upcoming release, visit his website.
