Anne Wilson Talks New Album ‘Rebel’ & Blending Country With CCM

Earlier this month, reigning CMA Awards entertainer of the yr Lainey Wilson stood alongside modern Christian music star Chris Tomlin at Nashville’s Bridgestone Area as a part of Tomlin’s eighth annual Good Friday Nashville live performance.

Standing between them onstage was “My Jesus” hitmaker Anne Wilson. The trio of artists enjoying to the Nashville viewers served as a literal illustration of Wilson’s new album, Insurgent, with its purpose of absolutely intertwining the 2 genres by way of a rustic sound enmeshed with faith-filled lyrics. Each Tomlin and Lainey seem on Insurgent, whichcomes out Friday (April 19) by way of Capitol Christian Music Group and Common Music Group  Nashville.

In 2021, Kentucky native Wilson broke by way of with “My Jesus,” a track she wrote following the loss of life of her older brother Jacob. The track spent six weeks atop Billboard’s Christian Airplay chart, making Wilson the primary feminine soloist to high the Christian Airplay chart with a debut single because the chart’s launch in 2003. Subsequent singles included the highest 5 Christian Airplay hits “Sunday Sermons” and the highest 25 hit “Hey Lady.”

After she launched her debut Capitol Christian Music Group album, My Jesus, which sonically dipped into the grooves between CCM and nation, Wilson recalled getting messages from each nation and Christian music followers.

“Some would say, ‘We don’t hearken to Christian music, however we love your music. It sounds nation.’ After which others would say, ‘We love nation music, however we don’t play it within the automotive as a result of we don’t need our youngsters listening to it, however we allow them to hearken to you — the in between,’” Wilson tells Billboard, whereas seated at UMG Nashville’s workplace. “That was encouraging for me to listen to, and confirmed me that’s the place we have been heading.”

As she started writing for the album in late 2022, Wilson says “the songs that have been coming from my coronary heart have been leaning extra nation.” To that finish, she’s set about increasing upon her CCM radio success, releasing music aimed toward each nation and CCM audiences, along with her present high 5 Christian Airplay hit “Sturdy,” in addition to country-aimed “Rain within the Rearview.” The songs filling out Insurgent flit between themes well-known to nation listeners, resembling household (“My Father’s Daughter”), Sunday morning church, rural dwelling and the struggles of life on the highway (“Milestones”), but additionally songs that delve deeper into religious themes of prayer (“Sinner’s Prayer,” “Praying Lady”), redemption (“3:16”), and worship (“The Cross,” that includes Tomlin).

UMG Nashville Chair/CEO Cindy Mabe additionally noticed the potential in a CCM-country connection and reached out to Wilson’s workforce in 2023.

“She stated, ‘We wish to give her a possibility to take a track to nation radio and to develop her attain,’” Wilson remembers. “It was out of the blue, however it made sense. I mainly have two report labels, which is wonderful. Double the individuals, double the concepts. It’s been nice having so many alternative individuals serving to with this album.”

Wilson, Zach Kale, CCM singer-songwriter Matthew West and The Cadillac Three’s Jaren Johnston wrote ‘Rain within the Rearview’ in August 2023 and launched it the next month.

“Writing it, producing it and releasing it in like 5 weeks was very quick, however it’s been cool to see the response and the way my music has been in a position to go to each nation and Christian platforms and be appreciated in each,” Wilson says.

Definitely, songs of religion have been mainstays in nation music from its inception, from the gospel basic “Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” made well-known in nation circles by The Carter Household in 1935, to Hank Williams’ “I Noticed the Gentle” and Carrie Underwood’s Grammy-winning “One thing within the Water.” However the previous 5 years has seen a specific surge, with greater than a dozen country-CCM collaborations launched from artists together with Dolly Parton, Zach Williams, Florida Georgia Line, Thomas Rhett and Colton Dixon. Tomlin teamed with FGL for a CCM album that includes nation artists, whereas Steven Curtis Chapman launched a bluegrass-tinged venture and Underwood issued a hymns album.

With Insurgent, Wilson absolutely fuses the 2 genres. She co-wrote each track on the 16-track venture, reuniting along with her core workforce of co-writers in West and Jeff Pardo, who crafted “My Jesus” with Wilson, and increasing her writing circle, bringing in top-tier nation writers together with Nicolle Galyon, Emily Weisband, Trannie Anderson and Casey Beathard.

“It was actually life-giving as an artist; this album felt very free-spirited, like I can write about my religion, but additionally about various things, too,” say Wilson, who’s a part of each the Opry’s NextStage Class of 2024 and the CMT Subsequent Ladies of Nation Class of 2024.

She groups with “Wildflowers and Wild Horses” singer Lainey Wilson (no relation) on “Praying Lady.”

“I cherished working along with her,” Anne says. “I met Lainey on Instagram in 2020. Then we met [in person] final yr, and we wrote the track the identical day … We have been speaking about our mothers, and we each bear in mind our mothers praying loads once we have been youngsters, getting on their knees and praying for issues, and we acquired to write down a track to honor our mothers and discuss what it means to be a lady who prays and religion.”

She says Lainey is “like a giant sister,” explaining, “The factor I really like about Lainey’s story is she labored for therefore a few years, lived in a camper and all this stuff and by no means modified who she was. She trusted that she was going to maintain being herself and one thing was going to occur someday, and it did. She’s advised me a number of instances, ‘Don’t change for anybody or something.’”

“Subsequent Factor You Know” hitmaker Jordan Davis joins on “Nation Gold,” a young, breezy ode to the riches discovered within the simplicity of household, associates and rural dwelling. They first collaborated throughout the ACM Honors final yr, performing Davis’s hit “Purchase Dust.”

“He’s such a very good man,” Wilson says. “Once I wrote ‘Nation Gold,’ and it felt prefer it could possibly be a collaboration, the primary individual I considered was him. He stated, ‘Sure,’ and I believe his voice provides the right contact. It’s one of many extra straight-forward nation songs, simply with valuing small-town life.”

“Milestones,” written with Galyon and Hungate, delves into the trade-offs that include life as a musician on the highway. “I bear in mind Nicole asking me, ‘How are you?’ And I used to be like, ‘Good,’ however she was like, ‘No, how are you actually?’ And I simply began crying, and telling her all this stuff that I’ve been going by way of, and the ache of lacking milestones. You maintain it in a single hand, the unbelievable alternatives I’m getting, after which within the different hand is all of the milestones it’s a must to miss; it’s simply this trade. However I believe anyone can relate to that in a way. My workforce’s actually good about giving me grace for that, too. I’m a people-pleaser; I don’t wish to disappoint. However I believe it’s about determining what are a very powerful moments in my life and ensuring these keep on the calendar, after which the whole lot else works round it.”

In the meantime, “Crimson Flag” serves as an older sister of types to the track “Hey Lady” from Wilson’s My Jesus album.

“All of the little women love ‘Hey Lady,’ and we thought, ‘What’s the grownup model of that track?’ After you’ve advised them about their identification in Christ and loving themselves, the following factor is a boy that comes into the image. I’ve by no means written a track a couple of boy — as a result of, fortunately, I’ve by no means had a nasty breakup story — however my mother had at all times advised me about pink flags: ‘Search for this and don’t search for this.’ This track ended up being like a continuation of ‘Hey Lady,’ to encourage them and inform them what to search for.”

Whereas sonically and thematically, the album stitches collectively the threads tying nation and Christian music, the title observe stems from her struggles to meld the 2 genres.

Wilson had been taking that title into writing rooms for a number of years, however says, “Nobody needed to write down the track. They have been like, ‘How can we write a track referred to as “Insurgent” if you find yourself this five-feet, little candy Christian lady who’s not a insurgent in any respect?’… At one level, I had a track go to [Christian] radio and so they stated it was too nation for them to play it, although the message was very faith-based. I bear in mind being annoyed, as any artist would, however it fired me as much as wish to write this album. A whole lot of the explanation we referred to as it ‘Insurgent’ is I made a decision I’m simply going to be who I’m. I’m not going to vary who I’m to please Christian radio and I’m not going to vary who I’m to please nation radio.”

To that finish, her upcoming summer time dates will embrace a mixture of Christian and nation competition efficiency slots — with Wilson enjoying the identical set of songs, whether or not enjoying to a extra country-leaning or CCM-leaning crowd. One factor Wilson is wanting ahead to is showing at some nation festivals the place Lainey Wilson can be enjoying: “So hopefully, we’ll attempt to carry out [“Praying Woman”] collectively,” she says.

Wilson can be set to steer her second headlining tour within the fall.