Browse Artists
St. James, Rebecca
In a sense, her new worship record, has returned the Sydney, Australia native to her musical roots. At age 13, St. James made her foray with Refresh My Heart, a worship album independently released in her homeland. Though each subsequent release after her Australian debut has retained an overall vertical focus, worshipGOD finds St. James recording an album packed with the music and songs that began and continue to nurture her own journey of faith. St. James believes the 12-song project admonishes listeners to live a life of worship, a biblical tenet integral to her life.
"Probably my best definition of worship is our love response to God's love for us," she says. "It's that living in the celebration of the fact that I get to have a relationship with the Creator of the world. Just like prayer, worship isn't reserved for one or two days a week. It's a constant part of our lives."
Along the path, deserved accolades have come. Her five projects with ForeFront Records (Rebecca St. James, God, Pray, Christmas, Transform) have sold more than a million albums combined and generated nine #1 Christian radio singles. In 1997, she earned a Grammy Award for Pray and has had numerous Grammy and Dove nominations through the years.
But more importantly to Rebecca, the last 11 years have helped to define and hone in on her role as a creative artist with a strong Christian faith. St. James is known for reaching out to her peers and teens, using her signature blend of modern rock/pop sensibilities and lyrics of unwavering devotion. Now, with worshipGOD, produced by Matt Bronleewe (St. James, Natalie Imbruglia, Jars of Clay, Jennifer Paige), she delivers another project that blazes straight to the hearts of youth - an age group that has grown increasingly worship-focused. Yet the album's pop stylings, she says, are far-reaching, allowing a broad spectrum of ages to make the songs their own. Rebecca's 200-plus concerts a year draw families representing three, sometimes four generations.
"If there's one thing we wanted to do on this album, it was to impact young people and portray passion they can relate to through the music and lyrics, but still reach families," Rebecca explains.
The new album offers a mix of five original songs written or co-written by St. James, and seven reinterpretations of familiar worship classics. Choosing from the existing plethora of songs was far from easy, Rebecca says. Ultimately, she settled on her personal favorites, like "Breathe" and "Better Is One Day" that portray intimacy with God. Perhaps one of the most intimate is a modern interpretation of one of the most renowned church standards, "It Is Well." Over the centuries, this song has offered comfort to thousands of hurting souls. In 1873, Horatio Gates Spafford penned the words in a boat as he was passing over the same waters where his four daughters drowned several years earlier.
Ironically, St. James recorded this song on Sept. 11, 2001. "I remember being in the studio, watching those scenes on TV and thinking, How on earth can I be joyful in my vocals when all this pain is happening?" she recalls. "I picked 'It Is Well With My Soul' to sing that day because it seemed so appropriate. When the world was falling apart, I could sing those words strong and with joy because I have God in my life."
That day, she also finished "Quiet You," an original driving modern rock anthem, complete with jangly guitars and pulsating hooks. Based on Zeph. 3:17 - "I'll quiet you with my love and rejoice over you with singing," the song ranks as one of St. James' favorites.
"It's really God's love song to us," she says. "I experience His love through these lyrics because they're so biblical. I get this picture of God just saying, 'I'm your Father. Rest in my arms. Let me hold you.'"
Another original song, "Lamb of God," also finds its origins in Scripture. For lyrical inspiration, Rebecca went to the book of Revelation.
"I was in the studio reading Revelation, and was just hit by the idea that one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we'll all cry out, 'Holy is the Lamb,'" she explains. "So this song is a celebration in preparation for that day."
But it is "Song of Love" that is destined to become part of church worship services worldwide. Similar in message as the well-known worship favorites, "Shout to the Lord" and "Great Is the Lord," St. James' "Song of Love" declares Christ's majesty and our collective adoration for Him: "The heavens declare You are God/And the mountains rejoice/The oceans sing alleluia/As we worship You Lord/This is our song of love."
To give what she calls a "Rebecca twist" to worship classics, St. James enlisted the sole producing talents of Matt Bronleewe whom she worked with during the making of Transform.
"In most cases," St. James explains, "we listened to the original arrangement, then deliberately tried to go a different direction musically." Bronlewee added lush strings to several songs, such as "Let My Words Be Few," giving the cuts an almost cinematic feel.
Though hearing the final project brings its own set of thrills for her, in true Rebecca fashion she is most excited to see how these songs will impact listeners. Following up her successful 46-city Fall 2000 "Wait for Me" tour that generated 26 sold-out dates and 3,000 Compassion International child sponsorships, St. James is taking worshipGOD on the road as she embarks on the "Wait for Me Encore Tour."
"I'm excited about having 10 worship songs to add to my shows," she says. "Apart from the altar call, I think the most powerful part of my concert is during the worship segment when I sing with the audience. I'm very pumped about leading in worship with these songs," St. James says with excitement. In addition to a March tour here in the States, Rebecca is planning to cap off 2002 with a world tour.
"Somebody asked me the other day, 'As a Christian singer, what do you feel most called to do?' I said that I feel like I'm an encourager, someone who encourages people to stand for God or to live radically for him, or to live a life of worship. I pray this new album will encourage people to see the beauty in worshipping God."
Visit Official Website.
"Probably my best definition of worship is our love response to God's love for us," she says. "It's that living in the celebration of the fact that I get to have a relationship with the Creator of the world. Just like prayer, worship isn't reserved for one or two days a week. It's a constant part of our lives."
Along the path, deserved accolades have come. Her five projects with ForeFront Records (Rebecca St. James, God, Pray, Christmas, Transform) have sold more than a million albums combined and generated nine #1 Christian radio singles. In 1997, she earned a Grammy Award for Pray and has had numerous Grammy and Dove nominations through the years.
But more importantly to Rebecca, the last 11 years have helped to define and hone in on her role as a creative artist with a strong Christian faith. St. James is known for reaching out to her peers and teens, using her signature blend of modern rock/pop sensibilities and lyrics of unwavering devotion. Now, with worshipGOD, produced by Matt Bronleewe (St. James, Natalie Imbruglia, Jars of Clay, Jennifer Paige), she delivers another project that blazes straight to the hearts of youth - an age group that has grown increasingly worship-focused. Yet the album's pop stylings, she says, are far-reaching, allowing a broad spectrum of ages to make the songs their own. Rebecca's 200-plus concerts a year draw families representing three, sometimes four generations.
"If there's one thing we wanted to do on this album, it was to impact young people and portray passion they can relate to through the music and lyrics, but still reach families," Rebecca explains.
The new album offers a mix of five original songs written or co-written by St. James, and seven reinterpretations of familiar worship classics. Choosing from the existing plethora of songs was far from easy, Rebecca says. Ultimately, she settled on her personal favorites, like "Breathe" and "Better Is One Day" that portray intimacy with God. Perhaps one of the most intimate is a modern interpretation of one of the most renowned church standards, "It Is Well." Over the centuries, this song has offered comfort to thousands of hurting souls. In 1873, Horatio Gates Spafford penned the words in a boat as he was passing over the same waters where his four daughters drowned several years earlier.
Ironically, St. James recorded this song on Sept. 11, 2001. "I remember being in the studio, watching those scenes on TV and thinking, How on earth can I be joyful in my vocals when all this pain is happening?" she recalls. "I picked 'It Is Well With My Soul' to sing that day because it seemed so appropriate. When the world was falling apart, I could sing those words strong and with joy because I have God in my life."
That day, she also finished "Quiet You," an original driving modern rock anthem, complete with jangly guitars and pulsating hooks. Based on Zeph. 3:17 - "I'll quiet you with my love and rejoice over you with singing," the song ranks as one of St. James' favorites.
"It's really God's love song to us," she says. "I experience His love through these lyrics because they're so biblical. I get this picture of God just saying, 'I'm your Father. Rest in my arms. Let me hold you.'"
Another original song, "Lamb of God," also finds its origins in Scripture. For lyrical inspiration, Rebecca went to the book of Revelation.
"I was in the studio reading Revelation, and was just hit by the idea that one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we'll all cry out, 'Holy is the Lamb,'" she explains. "So this song is a celebration in preparation for that day."
But it is "Song of Love" that is destined to become part of church worship services worldwide. Similar in message as the well-known worship favorites, "Shout to the Lord" and "Great Is the Lord," St. James' "Song of Love" declares Christ's majesty and our collective adoration for Him: "The heavens declare You are God/And the mountains rejoice/The oceans sing alleluia/As we worship You Lord/This is our song of love."
To give what she calls a "Rebecca twist" to worship classics, St. James enlisted the sole producing talents of Matt Bronleewe whom she worked with during the making of Transform.
"In most cases," St. James explains, "we listened to the original arrangement, then deliberately tried to go a different direction musically." Bronlewee added lush strings to several songs, such as "Let My Words Be Few," giving the cuts an almost cinematic feel.
Though hearing the final project brings its own set of thrills for her, in true Rebecca fashion she is most excited to see how these songs will impact listeners. Following up her successful 46-city Fall 2000 "Wait for Me" tour that generated 26 sold-out dates and 3,000 Compassion International child sponsorships, St. James is taking worshipGOD on the road as she embarks on the "Wait for Me Encore Tour."
"I'm excited about having 10 worship songs to add to my shows," she says. "Apart from the altar call, I think the most powerful part of my concert is during the worship segment when I sing with the audience. I'm very pumped about leading in worship with these songs," St. James says with excitement. In addition to a March tour here in the States, Rebecca is planning to cap off 2002 with a world tour.
"Somebody asked me the other day, 'As a Christian singer, what do you feel most called to do?' I said that I feel like I'm an encourager, someone who encourages people to stand for God or to live radically for him, or to live a life of worship. I pray this new album will encourage people to see the beauty in worshipping God."
Visit Official Website.
Albums
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God
Pray
Transform
Worship God
Christmas*1
Rebecca St. James
Wait For Me
