Anne Wilson
Don’t let the headline fool you. Christian music artist Anne Wilson has no plans on bending her signature faith message and lyrical content to enter another music universe and trade her “Church Out of Me” music for honky-tonk songs that currently dominate Country radio.
Wilson has toured with Christian music powerhouses Crowder, Casting Crowns, Phil Wickham, to name a few, but could be the first successful artist to be in direct support for a major Country music tour. She is currently the opening act for the “Cab in a Solo” tour with Country artist Scotty McCreery, and is set to release a new album, “REBEL,” in April.
The album’s current release, “God & Country,” is a big and bold, right-down-the middle faith-based country song – and it’s very, very good. The song was written alongside some of Country music’s biggest songwriters.
To drive that point home about Wilson’s mindset, she has made it clear there isn’t intentional writing going on behind the scenes for Christian or Country radio. She doesn’t write for anyone else – the 21-year-old just writes, and the lyrics and melodies her fans hear in a final product are a reflection of her upbringing in the state of Kentucky.
Wilson shares that recording for the country format wasn’t on her radar, but it was on the radar of the president of Universal Music Group in Nashville (parent company to Wilson’s Christian Music label) who heard something special in her singing and artistry. He eventually called and asked her to sign an expanded recording contract that would open new doors and expose her talent to a new audience that hadn't heard her previous music.
“I got a call in January of last year, and the [Universal Music Group] president asked if we would be willing to partner with them in a joint-venture, and record an album with both labels behind it, so we’re set to release that record in April of this year, and I couldn’t be more excited to share this new music,” said Wilson.
In 2021, Wilson built a massive fan-base in Christian music with the platinum selling song, “My Jesus,” the first single ever released by the artist. But Wilson faces some unknowns by introducing a new format.
In the 1990’s, Christian artist Amy Grant crossed over to pop music with an international best-selling song, “Baby, Baby,” from her 1991 “Heart in Motion” record which entered the Billboard top 200 and peaked at #10. Grant admitted years later that many of her fans questioned whether Christian music was intended to be a stepping-stone, and wondered if pop music was the format she was after from the very beginning.
Other Christian music artists have attempted “Christian Country” altogether and failed almost instantly.
However, music formats are dying hard and fast, and Wilson is up for the challenge of whichever arena her music falls into. “My view of success is not the way the world views success, and when people ask me what my goals are, the only response I have is that I want to create music that people love and [music] that inspires them,” said Wilson.
Going REBEL:
Even before the new record deal came to fruition, many working in Christian radio would tell Wilson that they loved her songs, but they were too Country and decided not to play her music despite the overt faith-based lyrical content being prevalent on every song released to Christian radio.
Frustrated with that feedback, Wilson says she drilled down on the music she was making.
“I was getting this feedback, and it was fueling me to do my own thing and not apologize for it. This is who I am, and I had this song title, “REBEL”, for years, and I got together with some writers, and we wrote the song which ultimately will serve as the theme and name of the upcoming album set to release April 19,” explained Wilson.
Wilson wants to be clear – she isn’t ditching Christian music in any way, and anyone who listens to the first four songs on “REBEL” can’t argue against what drives the artist – Jesus and the Christian faith are a central theme to every song. Anne Wilson’s REBEL-ness is found in her recording a song the way she wants it to sound, but still focused on positive things that make a difference for the listener.
“I thought I would get a lot of hate after signing this record deal, but I haven’t at all. Yes, there are artists who have ditched Christian music for bigger successes, and it’s happened before, but I’m not here to prove myself right or wrong, and my music speaks for itself in that I’m very clear about my faith, and have no plans to move on from Christian music because my faith is in me and I’m writing about what’s in me,” said Wilson.
With music format barriers dissolving with rapid pace, and recent announcements of hip-hop artists crossing over to Country music, Wilson has timing, team and songwriters set in the right direction to chart a course for things to go quite well for her in 2024.
Anne Wilson’s 16-song “REBEL” album comes out April 19 and is available for pre-order now everywhere streaming music is sold.
Anne Wilson