How God Led Anne Wilson to Music Career: ‘Worship was My Medication’
By Movieguide® Contributor
Christian music artist Anne Wilson didn’t plan on becoming a singer. In fact, it wasn’t until after the death of her brother that she felt God’s call to create music.
Wilson described that in the days after her brother, Jacob, passed away, her family planned a very special celebration of life.
“This was our last time to get to celebrate Jacob, just celebrating his life, and so we like, I said earlier, we have singers in our family, and my mom and dad had called every cousin, every aunt, every uncle, no one was willing to sing at the funeral,” the Grammy-nominated artist told TBN.
Wilson continued, “My mom and dad were downstairs about four days after my brother passed away. They were praying together, and my dad prayed with my mom, and he said, ‘God, if it’s not your will for someone to sing at the funeral, then would you just take that desire out of her heart so that we can get through this season?'”
“Right after they prayed that I was upstairs in my room, I had no clue they were praying, I come downstairs, and I start playing at the piano and singing,” she added. “I didn’t think anyone could hear me, so my mom comes running in the room after I finished, and she was just weeping, and she was like we had no idea that you sang.”
Wilson was confused as to why her parents were so shocked by her musical abilities,
For her, her time playing the piano and singing was “worshiping God.”
“I’m just worshiping God and really just this kind of like worshiping was almost like my medication, in a sense. It was what gave me peace and comfort,” Wilson explained.
Wilson would go on to sing Hillsong’s “What a Beautiful Name” at her brother’s funeral. Movieguide® reported how she used the tragedy to propel her music career:
“I had this passion all of the sudden to tell the world about Jesus,” she explained. “I didn’t want anyone to have to experience a loss and know that their son or daughter or wife or husband or whoever didn’t go to heaven…”
In fact, she had never sung in front of anyone before. But a few days after her brother’s death, as she sang and worshiped at the piano, her mom heard her and encouraged Wilson to sing at the funeral…
However, “I sang at my brother’s funeral for the first time in front of anyone and that was really the moment that I realized God was calling me to music, God was calling me to spread His name, to spread His love around the world,” Wilson shared.
“I didn’t know what capacity that would be [in] or what that would look like, but it’s so amazing to look back and see how God used the tragedy of losing my brother to start something so incredible and change people’s lives through my songs and my ministry.”
“Soon after she posted a cover of ‘What A Beautiful Name’ to YouTube that netted over 800,000 views and caught the attention of the brass at Capitol Christian Music Group, who promptly signed her to a deal. Her first release with them, ‘My Jesus,’ earned a GRAMMY nomination in 2023 for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album in addition to its title track hitting the top spot on Billboard’s Christian Airplay chart,” the Grammy Awards reported.
Her most recent album, “Rebel,” is a crossover between Christian and country music.
“I was hesitant at first,” she recalled of the decision to combine the genres. “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.’”
