Anne Wilson Celebrates No. 1 Single: ‘Wouldn’t Be Possible Without Jesus’
By Movieguide® Contributor
Anne Wilson’s latest single, “Strong,” just took the No. 1 spot on Christian radio.
“‘Strong’ is officially #1 on @mediabasecharts Christian Radio,” Wilson posted on Instagram. “This wouldn’t be possible without you, Jesus! Thank you so much to everyone who’s listened to this song, I am forever grateful.”
The song is part of her latest album, “REBEL,” which sees the Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter step into the world of country music.
“I didn’t change who I was,” Wilson told PEOPLE about the shift. “I stuck to who I am and what I believe, and it’s really cool to see how it’s all come together.”
“I said, ‘I’m not gonna change who I am to do country music.’ And [Nashville recording exec Cindy Mabe] said, ‘We want you to be exactly who you are. We don’t want you to change a thing, and we need you to bring God back into country music,’” the singer recalled.
She admitted that she was “hesitant” at first, but the leap of faith clearly paid off—the lead single off “REBEL,” “Rain In the Rearview,” was nominated for CMT’s Breakthrough Female Video of the Year and has earned over 10 million streams on Spotify.
“It was really life-giving as an artist; this album felt very free-spirited, like I can write about my faith, but also about different things, too,” Wilson told Billboard. “A lot of the reason we called it ‘REBEL’ is I decided I’m just going to be who I am. I’m not going to change who I am to please Christian radio and I’m not going to change who I am to please country radio.”
Movieguide® previously reported on REBEL:
Anne Wilson is dishing on her new album, “Rebel,” ahead of its release on April 19.
The album’s name and title track have significance for Wilson, but she believes it will resonate with all Christ followers.
“Having faith in the world that we live in today makes me feel a little bit like a rebel,” she said. “It’s like when we have faith, we’re the odd ones out. But yet the world can go talk about all these horrible subjects, and it’s welcomed and invited.”
“But when we talk about our faith, it’s like, somehow, we’re like the ones in the wrong,” she continued. “And it just felt like an inspiration to go, ‘You know, I’m going to write a record that is so steeped in faith.’ …Being a follower of Jesus in the world that we live in today makes you a rebel, because Jesus was a rebel. And so if you’re trying to be like Him, you’re going to end up being a rebel. And so all those different things came into one big idea and we wrote the song.”
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