All posts by Jonathan Andre

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MOMENTOUS MONDAYS: INFLUENTIAL ARTISTS OF ALL TIME – WEEK 45: CHRIS TOMLIN

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‘…the thing I’m most proud of is the songs that find their way in the church. I don’t know if any of them will last down the way, but what I do strive for is playing a song people can sing. I love that songs find their way on the radio, as well. I think it can be both. I was pushing for that years ago and I just kept being turned down when I’d sing songs to radio. They were like, “We don’t play worship songs.” I sent “Forever” and I sent “Enough,” and “Famous One,” and they just didn’t get any traction. There wasn’t this cohesion between what was happening in the church and what was happening on the radio. But now it’s completely shifted. So I’m not trying to write a pop song that lasts for three months. I really want to write things that find their way into church…’ I guess everyone has their role within the music industry- both mainstream and Christian alike. U2 have always been the go-to band to listen to if you want to hear something brutally honest, something blunt, or as a matter-of-fact. Switchfoot would be a band to check out if you love music that teeters on the edge of faith-based songs, and songs that challenge the status quo and aren’t afraid to speak about issues that may be a bit touchy in the society in which we live. Rascal Flatts and Lady Antebellum both bring that country-music flair and flavour to the table, while an artist like Skililet serves the cravings of hard rock by anyone who wants to hear songs that are just head-banging and rocking. Backstreet Boys and One Direction have this boy-band thing happening that has its appeal in the market they have inserted themselves into, while you can never forget an artist like Josh Groban, incorporating pop and opera into a fusion-of-genres, something that seems to a little bit underappreciated in a world where straight-up pop seems to be the way to go. Now here we are, in April 2020. Easter is approaching- the biggest day in the calendar for people who profess to be of the Christian faith (of which I am), and upon looking at my blog list, and glancing over the last 44 artists I have delved into thus far, one thing is common- I have yet to tackle an artist whose music is heavily focused upon the genre of music titled ‘worship music’- if ever worship is a genre to begin with.

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MOMENTOUS MONDAYS: INFLUENTIAL ARTISTS OF ALL TIME – WEEK 44: ONE DIRECTION

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How long do you reckon someone needs to be within the music industry for them to be influential or impactful to people of generations old and young? Do you have to be within the realms of music for ages and ages like U2 and release years upon years of chart-topping songs, or can you just be a year in your career, someone like Billie Eilish or Lewis Capaldi, and still have an impact on music and/or society as a whole? Well, I guess the truth is…I don’t really think it matters how long you’re in the music industry- 2 years or 20 years. What matters, I reckon, is the artist’s ability to create music of a nature that is able to inspire, impact, affect people, challenge societies, give hope and become a catalyst for positive change- if the song does that, regardless of how old the artist is (or maybe in artists like Billie Eilish’s case, how young the artist is!), then they are in for stardom quicker than anyone can ever believe. The trick is to maintain that grounding- physically, spiritually, psychologically and mentality, when you’re constantly under the microscope of the media, 24/7. The pressure can sometimes get to you, just understanding the full gravity of how outside people are always looking at you to see if you can slip up in your performances in any way. The stage is set, and people, no matter how kind or good-natured they can be, are often passing judgement, unintentionally, I’m sure. Nevertheless, more often recently, artists have been coming to the table which is ‘the industry’ younger and younger, and frankly, there seems to be a ‘throwing-out’ of these artists on a regular basis, as well. So to come back to my original question- preferably I reckon artists need to have a few albums underneath their belt for them to be called ‘influential’- otherwise anything less, I believe, is often framed as a ‘fad-of-the-times’- harsh but true.

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MOMENTOUS MONDAYS: INFLUENTIAL ARTISTS OF ALL TIME – WEEK 43: LECRAE

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I’ve never been in a box. It’s really the irony of it, but publicly I didn’t realize how much of a box I was in. Personally, I was able to navigate in a million different spaces, but I remember [author/theologian] Christena Cleveland challenged me by saying I was an evangelical mascot. I said, “Wow, is that really how I’m perceived?” When I saw that, it really made me do some internal soul searching and say, “Wow, I didn’t realize that was the perception.” I had to ask friends. I was in the dark. By placating people so often in certain circles, you’re viewed as an advocate. If you hang out at the biker club so many times, people will say, “He’s a biker.” I’m way more complex and nuanced than that. It’s not to say that I hate that world or anything like that; I have great friends over there and everywhere. Now I’m just content with saying I’m just a follower of Jesus. That’s it. I don’t belong in any camp. I guess to drive it home for me, it’s not being worried if I disappoint the box people thought I was in in the first place. Because it’s like, “Oh, you’re hanging out with this person? You must be liberal. No, wait. Why are you hanging out with this person? Are you conservative?” It’s like, “No, because I’m nuanced and complex and I like both of them.” I’m not going to worry about the way people perceive me because if you meet me you’ll say, “Oh, OK, I didn’t realize that there was this lane in the middle here that people could run in.” But that’s what you’re going to have to deal with.

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