By Michaela Gordoni
Bodie Kuljian, known professionally as “bodie,” recalled the most unforgettable moment of his career — when he decided to go all in with Christian music.
“I’d always loved Jesus, but I was afraid to switch to Christian music,” bodie told The Christian Post. “I didn’t want to lose the audience of people who hated Jesus and hated the Church. I still wanted to write music that gave them glimpses of hope.”
The artist said the Holy Spirit spoke to him.
“You don’t choose who you reach,” it said.
“It completely humbled me,” he admitted. “And shortly after that, I signed with Provident, a Christian record label. Since then, God’s reached more people than I ever could have imagined; those who love the Church, hate the Church, and everyone in between.”
Bodie’s first Christian and full-length album, No Skips, came out on Friday.
“Each song tells a different story, but together they paint the bigger picture of embracing every part of life—the highs, the lows, and everything in between,” he said.
Related: THE VOICE Contestant Bodie Hints at Upcoming Music, Asks Fans to ‘Pray’
He said the inspiration for the album name and title track came from him wanting to make an album that no one would “want to skip.”
“Sixty to 70% of the songs weren’t written with an album in mind,” he said. “I was just writing songs that were true to me, things God had put on my heart. Later, when it came time to think about an album, we picked the songs that made the most sense together.”
“Each song represents a different season of someone’s life, navigating what it looks like to be human, figuring out how to walk with God, how to navigate relationships with others and with yourself,” he said.
Bodie is vulnerable on the album. His song “Heaven Knows I tried” talks about how sought pleasures before he sought God. Some of the lyrics are:
heaven knows I tried
and nothing I did ever made it all right
wasting my time
drinking from wells that would always run dry
bending and breaking
chasing the highs
“It’s important to write songs that acknowledge, ‘Hey, I’ve messed up, and I still do sometimes,'” bodie said. “But God redeems everyone. No one is unredeemable.”
Bodie was a worship leader in Irvine, California, before he joined THE VOICE cast in Season 22. His cover of Brandon Lake’s “Gratitude” got him to the finale.
“I’d always been a worship leader alongside making secular music,” he said. “Singing ‘Gratitude’ in the finale was really the start of God working on my heart. That moment on THE VOICE was like a magnifying glass; it gave me a platform, but it also set me on a new trajectory.”
One of his biggest motivators for making music is his fans’ testimonies.
“When someone says, ‘Your music saved my life,’ I don’t take that lightly. It reminds me it’s not about money or career, it’s about the songs God appointed me to write, actually changing the course of someone’s life,” he reflected.
“I hope they feel understood in their faith journey,” bodie says of his new album. “I hope the songs encourage people to process how they see the Holy Spirit and maybe fall more in love with God.”
Read Next: THE VOICE Finalist Bodie Performs Hit Worship Song with Brandon Lake
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