Christian music artist Forrest Frank’s star is continuing to rise and he’s making sure that as God continues to bless his career, he’s pointing people back to the risen Lord Jesus Christ. A reporter for the Christian Post, Leah Klett, was able to sit down for an interview with Frank at the GMA Dove Awards, where the singer won New Artist of the Year.
According to a report from Aleteia, earlier this year, Frank’s album did what nobody believed was possible by taking the number one slot on iTunes across all genres of music, managing to surpass both Eminem and Taylor Swift. I know what you’re thinking. A Christian artist topped two of the most popular musical acts in the world? Yes, it’s true. Jesus is Lord, ladies and gentlemen. When He wants to use someone as a mouthpiece, He does the miraculous in order to give them a platform to speak His truth. And that’s what He’s done with Forrest Frank.
“But this is exactly what the young Texas-based musician and rapper Forrest Frank did this past week with his album Child of God — a refreshingly straightforward offering of feel-good, faith-filled music. ‘Really just beyond stoked for what God’s doing right now,’ Frank posted on Instagram in reaction to the album’s #1 slot. ‘I feel a cultural shift taking place. Y’all feel it too?'” The report said.
Frank — sporting tousled hair, casual clothing, and Converse sneakers — recounts in a recent interview a spiritual trajectory that’s become fairly common among millennials and Gen-Zers: raised in a Christian setting, he eventually drifted away from his faith in high school and college, giving in to a dissolute lifestyle. But there he found only spiritual emptiness: “In that quest, I just kept getting lower and lower.” An inner voice his sophomore year at Baylor University prompted him to go to the evangelical Antioch church in Waco, where he had a life-changing encounter with Christ.
Frank eventually started making beats with a Maschine drum machine and putting his music on SoundCloud, where he connected with another artist, Colin Padalecki. The two formed a group in 2017 under the moniker “Surfaces,” but a few years ago, Frank made the decision to strike out on his own and pivot from secular to worship music.
The very first song Frank put out as a solo artist was called “No Longer Bound,” and contained a feature with artist Hulvey, the video for which ended up pulling in millions of views on YouTube. Frank kicks off the video by stating that while his team was working on a very expensive production for the music video, God intervened and told them to scrap it and do something else, something completely different conceptually. The actual video features testimonies of young people who share their stories of how God freed them from addiction, trauma, and all kinds of suffering through faith.
The video was a clear signal — to fans and followers, to causal observers, maybe even to Frank himself — that Forrest Frank’s music wouldn’t be about Forrest Frank. “If God told me to delete my Spotify, I would do it right now,” Frank explains in the interview. “If God told me to delete my Instagram, I would do it right now. None of this matters except for the kingdom and Jesus.”
Child of God, after opening with a recording of his grandfather testifying at a Billy Graham crusade in 1985 and “No Longer Bound,” segues into a sunny blend of pop, hip-hop, and rock that includes the singles he’s released since: “Up,” “God is Good,” “Always,” and “Good Day” — a song that, paired with a clip of Frank offering to play the song for a stressed-out mom walking her baby by the beach, went viral on Instagram to the tune of 80 million views.
One of the best tracks on “Child of God” is the title track which closes out the album. The song features preacher Jonathan Pokluda who delivers a sermon concerning God’s adoption of sinners over top a chant of the title.
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At the end of the day, Frank’s sudden explosion in popularity is likely both a gift of God’s grace and also a profound and humbling responsibility. He will need to be in constant prayer and Bible reading in order to ensure he’s not just talking the talk, but walking the walk. He will be scrutinized, placed under the microscope and examined for flaws to discredit him and the message he’s trying to share.
Pray for Forrest Franks to remain faithful to Jesus and spread the good news far and wide.