Provident Label Group / Reunion Records
Release Date: February 17th 2023
Reviewed by: Jonathan Andre
Steven Curtis Chapman – Don’t Lose Heart – Single (Amazon mp3/iTunes)
Track Listing:
- Don’t Lose Heart (feat. Mitchell Tenpenny)
Steven Curtis Chapman is a legend in his own right. His songs like ‘More to this Life’, ‘For the Sake of the Call’, ‘Lord of the Dance’, ‘Let Us Pray’, ‘The Walk’, ‘All Things New’, ‘Cinderella’, ‘Heaven is the Face’ and more recently ‘Glorious Unfolding’, ‘Remember to Remember’, ‘We Remember’ and ‘Together (We’ll Get Through This)’ (to name a few) have all been melodies that have spoken to us (as a website) and me personally, throughout the years, as we hear these poignant and poetically heartfelt songs of hope, confession, heartbreak, healing and clarity being carried with us in our hearts. Steven’s music has impacted my life so immensely throughout my teenage years, that I even wrote a blog piece about him and his music in late 2019. He’s just an icon, and with 35 years + in this music business, it’s almost as though Steven is part of the ‘furniture’ of Christian music, don’t you think? He’s been able to write heartfelt songs over the years that have now become synonymous with a certain decade and a certain time in history, and throughout my own life, his songs have thus been instrumental and pivotal in some of my own experiences in both my teenage years and well into my 20s and 30s.
Prior to his musical ‘comeback’ in 2022, Steven’s most recent label-backed album was in 2016 (Worship & Believe), while in 2019, he unveiled the independently produced bluegrass album Deeper Roots, followed along by a live Gaither-produced album A Great Adventure. Added to his storied and prolific discography, a few singles of late (‘Remember to Remember’ in 2018, ‘We Remember’ in 2017, ‘That’s My Dad’ and ‘Together (We’ll Get Through This)’, both in 2020), and we see Steven remind us why he is consistently delivering lyrically challenging and musically engaging songs and albums all this time. He is indeed one of the greats, and with the unveiling of a ‘comeback’ album in Still (October 2022), we have continued to see Steven deliver flawlessly, songs that stir up our soul and challenge our very own hearts in the process as well. So…on the back of my riveting, enjoyable and powerfully positive review of Steven’s Still, we see Steven deliver another new offering this year- this time it’s a re-recording of ‘Don’t Lose Heart’, now imagined as a duet featuring himself, and the up-and-coming country artist Mitchell Tenpenny as well.
My brother wrote about ‘Don’t Lose Heart’ last year in our site’s review of the single, while I myself expounded on the song in my review of Still the album. Basically, the essence, message and heart of the song is this- that we ought not to lose heart in the situations that we face, because of the very fact that Christ Jesus has been there and has suffered greatly- thus we ought not to lose focus, perspective, hope, encouragement and yes, heart; because Jesus relates to us right where we are. And while ‘Don’t Lose Heart’ the song, can be very difficult to declare and proclaim, especially in the midst of trying to get through COVID-19, as well as seeing the effects of the Russia-Ukraine war, alongside the aftermath of the Taliban resurgence in Afghanistan, amongst many other country-specific turmoils; we are still nevertheless encouraged to utter these words of never losing the heart and tenacity, of spirit, courage and determination, even in the face of trials and tribulation. You look at everything in the world, and it’s easy to become despondent. And yet ‘Don’t Lose Heart’ encourage us to lift our eyes to heaven, to be reminded that regardless of what we see, that Christ has a bigger plan, far beyond our very own comprehension. Or as Steven himself so eloquently put it, in his Facebook post a few months ago- My new single “Don’t Lose Heart” is OUT NOW! I’m really excited to share this new song that I pray will be an anthem of hope and encouragement! There’s no way I’d be where I am on this journey without the people God has put around me who have cheered me on, encouraged me in the dark valleys and reminded me that I’m not alone. We desperately need each other on this journey, now more than ever, and I hope this song will be an anthem of hope and encouragement that we can sing to each other and help each other remember that God is with us and we are gonna make it home…together!
Steven’s new version of the song featuring Mitchell Tenpenny is powerful, enriching, emotive and poignant. I may have wanted Mitchell to have led a few more stanzas in the track, but what he did to enhance the song is not lost on me. ‘Don’t Lose Heart’ is heartfelt, emotive, but also fun, whimsical and toe-tapping at the same time. There is another dimension added to this already great song…who knows? Maybe more and more country artists can continue to collaborate with CCM artists both now and into the future? Maybe ‘Don’t Lose Heart’ can be the starting point of the journey of both country and CCM artists? Hopefully. Well done Steven for this powerful and compelling song. Looking forward to however the Lord uses this track both within the U.S. and abroad, in the upcoming weeks and months to come.
Score: 5/5
RIYL: Michael W. Smith, Danny Gokey, Tenth Avenue North, Amy Grant