Artist Ditches Country Album to ‘Make Music that Glorifies Jesus’

Published: October 6, 2025

By Mallory Mattingly

In a video shared on social media, Grammy-nominated worship artist Cory Asbury got candid about why he ditched a country album he was working on to “make music that glorifies Jesus.”

“I’m saying this right now, but there’s a lot I gotta get off my chest,” Asbury began. “God’s been doing a massive work in my heart.”

@coryasbury

Jesus gave me a song to sing, and I’m returning to the place where it all began—His heart, His presence, His nearness. It’s all that matters. Thanks for being patient with me. Love y’all ❤️❤️

♬ Overcome – Skott

He went on to explain some of his testimony and where he’s at now.

“Long story short, I was the prodigal of prodigals. Man, in my teenage years, I was doing stuff that I don’t even want to say on camera,” he admitted. “I poured out my innocence and youth like water, but I had a mama who prayed for me and who fought for me, end up enrolling me in this worship school in Kansas City where I got radically saved and fell in love with the presence of God. I fell in love with worship. I was not getting paid but [was] absolutely loving it.

During that time, he released his mega viral hit “Reckless Love.” That “opened” his eyes to the inner workings of the Christian music industry.

“I saw some things that I did not expect to see immediately,” he revealed. “The one thing, that main thing that connected me to God, worship, felt tainted. I didn’t really know what foundation to stand on. Subconsciously, I think it almost became a goal of mine to tear down this industry that I was seeing this perversion and this evil in.”

Then, this summer, he got into a “viral beef” with fellow Christian artist Forrest Frank after he seemed to mock Frank’s miraculous healing after he broke his back.

“I fly out to San Diego to hang with him [Frank] for a week, and it completely changed my life and the way that I look at things,” Asbury explained. “We prayed together, we worshiped together, and something inside of me just shifted, and I began to regain and rekindle that first love that I have for Jesus when I was young.”

“To be fully transparent, I am in a label deal that paid me a lot of money to deliver a country album,” he continued. “Many of y’all have seen that music and have been blessed by that music. You know, I wrote probably 80 songs in that vein and was ready to release 20 of those. And when I got home from that trip, I looked at my wife and with tears in my eyes [and] soberly just said, ‘It’s not the time to release that music right now; it’s time to make Jesus music.'”

“So I’m just here to tell you guys where I’m at. I’m sorry for where I’ve missed it. I’m sorry for where I’ve been a prodigal. I’m sorry for where I’ve led y’all astray and going after, you know, witch hunting the church and the industry and all these things,” Asbury confessed. “I repent, and I just wanted to let you all know from my heart that the only thing that I care about is making music that glorifies Jesus. The only thing that I care about is building up and not tearing down.”

It’s incredible to see a leading Christian artist like Asbury repent for his past mistakes and seek to honor God with his career again.

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