Anne Wilson
13 min read ⭑
“I’ve been so excited about this project because I think this book has a lot to say, especially for my generation. … I’m trying to give people the tools to stand for Jesus in a world that doesn’t, to be bold in their faith and stand for truth and what they believe in.”
Award-winning singer-songwriter Anne Wilson writes music that combines faith and Country, hope and honesty. Her debut album’s title track, “My Jesus,” topped Billboard’s Christian Airplay Chart, and over the course of her career, people have streamed her songs over 2 billion times. Her most recent album, Rebel, explores what it means to stand for Christ in a morally broken culture. That album inspired her recent book by the same name, which encourages believers to walk boldly with Jesus even if it means breaking the world’s rules.
Join our honest conversation with Anne to learn the hidden struggles of being a public figure, how she handles the loneliness of her career and how God speaks to her through her work. She also shares the practices, books and apps that have strengthened her faith the most.
The following is a transcript of a live interview. Responses have been edited and condensed for brevity and clarity.
QUESTION #1: ACQUAINT
Food is always about more than food; it’s also about home and people and love. So how does a go-to meal at your favorite hometown restaurant reveal the true you behind your web bio?
Where I grew up in Kentucky, which has a Southern comfort food culture, it was all about loving people, treating each other with respect and loving your neighbor well. The door was always open, we shared meals around the table, and no one was ever a stranger.
I live in Nashville now, and this definitely feels like home. But when I go back to Kentucky and visit, we always go to a restaurant called Windy Corner Market in Lexington. That’s my favorite. It reminds me of the simplicity of home — what growing up there was like and how the littlest things would make me the happiest. Life there goes at a different pace, and it’s simple. Before my career started, there was a simplicity to life that was really beautiful. Going back home makes me think of those things.
Barbara Burgess; Unsplash
QUESTION #2: REVEAL
What “nonspiritual” activity have you found to be quite spiritual, after all? What quirky proclivity, out-of-the-way interest or unexpected pursuit refreshes your soul?
Being outside in nature is really big for me. That might mean playing pickleball, which I’m horrible at, going on a hike, going on a walk with my dog or even just sitting outside in the sun. That’s when I feel most connected to God, by far. Being outside, in nature, and under the sun truly makes me feel alive.
QUESTION #3: CONFESS
Every superhero has a weakness; every human, too. We’re just good at faking it. But who are we kidding? We’re all broken and in this thing together. So what’s your kryptonite, and how do you confront its power?
The loneliness I’ve faced in the music industry over the last several years has been hard. People might look at my life and see a public figure, a singer, and think my life is incredible, but music artists never feel that way. We have people shouting our names and people praising us all the time, but I found it to be one of the loneliest things of my life and career. It’s been a lonely five or six years now.
That’s the one thing I wish I could overcome. I pray all the time to be able to overcome that feeling, to know that I’m not alone. Obviously, I know the truth, but the loneliness and emptiness still somehow get me at the end of the day, despite having my career.
It points to a deeper issue — because we’re not made for the praise of men. That tension can affect you a lot.
Talking to some really good female Christian artists who have gone before me has helped. I think it’s something nearly everyone feels in every genre of music — actors, too, but in a different way.
A few weeks ago, a pop star posted about this, saying, “I have everything I’ve ever wanted, but I’m the loneliest I’ve ever been.” You wouldn’t think that would be the case, but there’s an isolation factor to being an artist that I don’t think people understand. For example, for me, it’s just my name. It’s Anne Wilson. I’m all by myself. All of it rides on me and weighs on me. That can be so isolating and can make me feel very alone.
QUESTION #4: FIRE UP
Tell us about your toil. How are you investing your professional time right now? What’s your current obsession? And why should it be ours?
These last two years have been all about one theme: what it means to be a rebel. I wrote the record “REBEL” and put it out in 2024. It was my debut Country album. I’m signed with a Christian label, but got to work with a Country label for this record, which was an incredible experience. I got to expand my reach and put a song out on Country radio, and it was amazing.
Looking back on that time of writing that record, I can see there was a concept that kept welling up inside of me regarding what it means to be a rebel for Jesus. What it means to stand for Jesus in a world that doesn’t. That’s when the book, “Rebel: Following Jesus When the World Walks the Other Way,” came about. It was through the process of writing the album.
I’ve been so excited about this project because I think this book has a lot to say, especially for my generation. It has encouragement for all ages, but specifically my generation. I’m trying to give people the tools to stand for Jesus in a world that doesn’t, to be bold in their faith and stand for truth and what they believe in. It’s a guidebook, and I’ve been working on writing it for the last two or three years now. I’m really excited about it because it’s truly what I’ve been walking and living. I’m the kind of artist who can’t write or put out anything that is not authentically me. That book captures that season of my life, what I was wrestling with and the ways God has been showing up for me. I’m excited for people to read it and, hopefully, be inspired by my story and how they can apply it to their own lives.
What was the light bulb moment when you realized this was the book you wanted to write?
There were a couple, but I would say my biggest light bulb moments happened while reading Scripture. This happens often. Something will happen in my life — whether good or bad — and I’ll learn from it, and God will speak to me through it. Then, a day or a few weeks later, I’ll be reading the Bible, and the passage will apply exactly to what I learned the week before. Exactly what God had just taught me. I’ll have read that passage a thousand times, but never picked up on this lesson. One of them was the way Jesus would go against the crowd and what people wanted him to do. I’d never noticed that before. Suddenly, it clicked in my head: Oh, Jesus was a rebel too. Jesus paved the way. He carved out the path. He called people out. He wasn’t just about peace and joy and kindness. He stood for things he believed in. He stood for the truth.
When I realized that, I connected the dots of how this book could be about Jesus and how to live for him. We’re supposed to follow in his footsteps; he’s the model.
QUESTION #5: BOOST
Whether we’re cashiers or CEOs, contractors or customer service reps, we all need God’s love flowing into us and back out into the world. How does the Holy Spirit invigorate your work? And how do you know it’s God when it happens?
I try to be intentional by praying, “God, use me, use my music, and use my voice.” I can tell when I’m writing songs out of striving to get the job done and when I’m writing songs that are from the Lord. I was talking to Kari Jobe about that a few weeks ago. She told me she can look back on her albums and see which songs and albums were written from her soul and which were written from a need to complete them.
I’ve tried to always be the kind of artist who will write songs that I feel are from the Holy Spirit, so when I’m writing, I always pray and invite God in. Then there are moments where songs will just click for me. It’s an unexplainable feeling. Most of the time, it happens in my car. I love getting into the car and listening to demos and songs I think might end up on my next project. When I do that, I often find that I feel a piece of the song in my soul, and I realize, This song needs to go out.
Or it might be a circumstance I’m going through. There have been several occasions in the last year where I’ve written a song that was the cowriter’s idea, and even though I thought it was a good idea, I felt, Let’s just get through this so I can move on with my day. Then, two weeks later, that song will be a lifeline, and the lyrics they wrote in the song that I didn’t even really relate to or care that much about are what I’m living two weeks later. I needed that song. There have been a lot of moments like that, when I see God using a song and know he’s going to use it in others’ lives, too. Those are normally the songs I can see him breathing on, and we always end up putting those out.
QUESTION #6: inspire
Scripture and tradition beckon us into the rich and varied habits that open our hearts to the presence of God. So let us in. Which spiritual practice is working best for you in this season?
I had never fasted until a few weeks ago, when I tried it for the first time. It was crazy. Everyone was telling me, “You’ve got to fast. God’s going to use it.” I never really believed in it, if I’m being honest, but when I did it, I was amazed at the answers and confirmations I got from God. So fasting is something I think is really powerful, and I want and need to do more of it.
Prayer is one of those things that God has used in my life to show up for me. I haven’t always received immediate answers, of course, but he often gives me peace that surpasses understanding. I know that God can hear my prayers, and I know he’s listening — and that’s a beautiful thing.
I start every morning with reading the Bible and getting in the Word. I pray throughout the day as different things arise. Like, “God, I need you to do this.” Nighttime prayer, too, is probably one of my favorites because I can sit back and think about my day and thank God for it. Then I pray about what’s making me anxious.
I didn’t use to be like that. But I read a book that talks about the importance of being vulnerable with God. I know that might sound crazy to some, because God knows everything about us already. But we are supposed to take it all to him. Sometimes we feel like we can’t. We think, I can’t ask God for anything tonight. I just need to thank him because I’ve been asking God for all these things. But God wants all of it. He wants us to go to him with everything that we’re going through, including the tiny details. It’s been sweet to lay it all out at nighttime, pray about what I’m struggling with and ask God to meet me there.
QUESTION #7: FOCUS
Looking backward, considering the full sweep of your unique faith journey and all you encountered along the way, what top three resources stand out to you? What changed reality and changed your heart?
Over the last several years of my life, there have been so many moments, books and people God has used to speak to me. He has used songwriting to inspire and teach me. It’s cool to look back on certain seasons of my life when I wrote a song and didn’t realize the significance it would have. Like I said earlier, a cowriter will bring up an idea, and then it’ll hit me straight in the heart. It’ll be exactly what I needed to hear.
There was a song last year I put on my record called “Still Do.” I was going through a time of feeling really distant from God. It was probably the darkest mental state I’ve experienced in my life since my brother passed away in 2017. Last year was a very dark year for me. My cowriter had an idea to write a song featuring a Country artist who had been going to church again. So we ended up writing that song. A few weeks later, I walked into a dark season and started feeling like God was a million miles away. The chorus talks about sitting in the back row pew of a church and feeling unworthy and unloved and how God’s a million miles away.
‘Cause I don’t know where I’m going And we both know where I’ve been And if I’m being honest I’ll probably wind up there again But I’m bowing my head cause the words in red Are the only thing ringing true They tеll me there’s a God who lovеs me God, I hope you still do
I didn’t write any of those lyrics, yet they hit me hard because they reminded me that God still loved me in the middle of my dark season and that he wasn’t far. He was right there. I was the one being distant. That was a moment that helped shape my life last year and get me back on the right track. And it was one of the core songs of the record that really reminded me of those truths.
John Mark Comer’s book, “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry,” was huge for me. In this industry, there’s so much pressure to hurry and fit as much as you possibly can into your day, but that is not the way Jesus lived his life. His other book, “Practicing the Way,” was also big for me.
The most impactful thing I did over the last several years was getting rid of social media. I think I’m the only 24-year-old who doesn’t have social media on their phone. I use my laptop to check it. I did a digital fast with my church, and three years ago, the pastor did a sermon on the effects your phone has on your brain. I got a flip phone for a year and did not use my regular phone, and it changed my life. It reminded me of the importance of being in the moment and the people around you versus on your phone. That’s been a huge game-changer for me over the last several years.
Certain things can be godsends, helping us survive, even thrive, in our fast-paced world. Does technology ever help you this way? Has an app ever boosted your spiritual growth? If so, how?
The Bible app is the only app that draws me closer to the Lord. Every other app has only induced anxiety, stressed me out or led me further away from the Lord. I think social media offers a lot of good, for sure, but I think the vast majority of it is bad. I can be having a great day, feeling close to the Lord and confident about myself, but within seconds of getting on social media, I start comparing myself to others, and the enemy speaks lies over me.
Getting rid of social media has been the most spiritual thing I could do for my relationship with God, connecting with the Lord and removing the enemy’s influence. I have an Instagram account (@annewilsonmusic) that my team runs. They post every day. I look at it as an opportunity to share my life and the things I’m going through to inspire other people.
QUESTION #8: dream
God’s continually stirring new things in each of us. So give us the scoop! What’s beginning to stir in you but not yet fully awakened? What can we expect from you in the future?
It’s been a really hard three months of my life. One of my good friends passed away in her sleep on my birthday in February, which was a very sad start to a new year of life. And I’ve recently finished the hardest tour I’ve ever done in my life. There were moments I thought I would give up.
I’m not quite ready to write again, but I do think God is stirring up in me this idea that I’ve lost touch with who I am aside from Anne Wilson the artist. I’ve been doing this since I was 19, and some people say your early twenties are the most formative years of your entire life. For me, that time has been spent in the public eye and with the pressure of the world on my shoulders. Now, I’m wondering, Who am I without music? Who am I without my name and my career?
God’s been teaching me a lot about who I am aside from my career, who I was before it, who I am now. The biggest thing is that he loves me even if I never sang another word or never did another thing for him. That he loves me for who I am to him. That’s been the core theme of the last several months. I’ve been starting to write some songs a little bit here and there. I think the entire concept of my next record will be about identity and coming to that place of knowing who I am in Christ.
Loneliness isn’t just for artists and actors. You’d be hard-pressed to find even one person on this earth who hasn’t felt the empty ache of loneliness at one time or another. The differentiator is how we deal with it.
Yet God’s Word promises that we are never alone.
“ ... he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’” (Heb. 13:5, ESV).
And “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me” (Ps. 139:7-19, ESV).
May you feel the unshakable assurance of his presence this week, friend. He is here.
Anne Wilson is an award-winning musical artist with over 2 billion global streams. The Lexington, Kentucky native, known for her transcendent vocals and down-to-earth storytelling, recently released her new single, “God Story.” Her last album, REBEL, featured her hopeful, healing debut Country single “Rain in the Rearview” as well as her chart-topping Christian radio ballad “Strong.” The genre-bending album followed her Grammy-nominated 2022 debut “My Jesus,” with the title track becoming a Platinum-certified No. 1 hit on Billboard’s Christian Airplay chart.