Riley Clemmons – Broken Prayers (Single)

Capitol Christian Music Group

Release Date: December 8th 2017

Reviewed by: Joshua Andre

Riley Clemmons– Broken Prayers (Single) (Amazon mp3/iTunes)

Track Listing:

  1. Broken Prayers

“…The song ‘Broken Prayers’ truly came from a place of brokenness; from a place of wrestling with not feeling like the broken pieces are good enough to bring to God. But as believers, we can find peace in the fact that God takes us when we are most broken, He delights in us when we bring that brokenness to Him and He loves us enough to take that brokenness and make it beautiful…” 18 year old Riley Clemmons has an extremely bright future ahead of her, as she steps into the doors God has opened for her. Relatively new in the CCM industry, I think the first time I, or for that matter anyone, heard her voice on the radio, or internet, or wherever you can hear music these days, is her duet with Social Club Misfits on “Misfit Anthem” early this year. Since then, Riley has released various cover videos (which you can check out on her youtube page), but the day has finally come. Riley recently signed to Capitol Christian Music Group, and has unveiled her first single “Broken Prayers”. A tad over 3 minutes, this poppy yet impacting electronic synth and guitar led melody is sure to encourage, as we move into the new year, and open our hearts to God, no matter how broken our prayers seem to be, and no matter if we think we are worthy of love or not.

There’s a misconception around that world, that we need to get good enough in order for God to accept us. But that is heaps far from the case, and Riley emphasises this in this song, proclaiming that Jesus wants us to come the way we are, so that He can change us from the inside out. We don’t have to change on our own efforts- in fact we can’t, as it’s impossible. But if we surrender our entire broken selves to our Father and Saviour, then God will begin a work in us that we could never have imagined in our wildest dreams. As Riley emphatically sings out that ‘…You want my tears, every messy word, every scar and every fear, You want all I have with no holding back, when I’m hurt, at my worst, You meet me there, ’cause You see the beauty in my broken prayers…’, we are presented with an emotional, personal, honest and vulnerable melody, that is sure to gain lots of radio airplay in 2018.

“…Scripture is my foundation, especially in songwriting. I take scripture that is universal for everybody, and I write about it in a way that’s specific to me. I’ve found that by doing that, people are able to relate, because everybody has something going on, and that spiritual foundation is such a connector…” With the music video of “Broken Prayers” also releasing this past week, Riley Clemmons will hopefully be the name on everyone’s lips in maybe both Christian and mainstream markets very soon. “Broken Prayers” has surely landed one of the bonus track spots on WOW Hits 2019 (I reckon the others will go to Aaron Cole’s “Right On Time” and The Young Escape’s “Good Life”), and this song is one of my favourites of 2017 ever! What more can I say? So check out the track pronto! Well done Riley, can’t wait for more and more new music!

3 songs to listen to: Broken Prayers, then maybe Riley’s covers for Hills And Valleys, and What A Beautiful Name, then Broken Prayers again!

Score: 4.5/5

RIYL: Kari Jobe, Britt Nicole, Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift, TobyMac, Natalie Grant, Cimorelli, Hillsong Y&F

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