As I continued writing my Music Spotlight column, a new name kept popping up; Anne Wilson. In 2022, Wilson won a Dove Award for Pop/Contemporary Song of the Year, “My Jesus.” She won Songwriter of the Year and New Artist of the Year. She also sang a duet with Hillary Scott which won Bluegrass/Country Roots Song of the Year, “Mamas.”
The reason I had never heard of her before is because, at age 22, Anne Wilson has only been singing for a few years.
Anne Wilson was raised on a farm near Lexington, Kentucky. And even though she took piano lessons since she was a young child, her dream was always to work for NASA. But during her sophomore year in high school on June 7th, 2017, her older brother who was 23 at the time, got killed instantly in a car accident. That event would change the trajectory of her life forever.
She recalled, “Our family was very devastated. My sister, my parents, and I were so brokenhearted. And one of the things that I started to do about 24 hours after I found out that Jacob had passed away, was I just started to worship. I went downstairs to my piano and just sang to God, and I asked questions like ‘Why God did Jacob have to go? Why is it that it's our family that's having to go through this?’ It was those real-life moments where you are wrestling with God and why things happen the way they do. I'm sitting at the piano and my mom actually overhears me singing. She runs into the room and she's like, ‘I didn't know that you could sing at all.’ And I was like, ‘I don't sing. I'm just talking to God right now worshiping Him.’”
Her mother asked Anne to sing at Jacob’s funeral. She was 15 at the time and it was the first time she ever sang publicly.
She stated, “From that moment forward, I knew I was going to do music in some sense.”
She continued, “When I saw my parents in their state of grief, I knew that we had to trust in God, or we weren’t going to get through this. And at that moment, our family chose to put their faith in God.”
In September 2017, Anne posted a video of her singing Hillsong’s “What a Beautiful Name.” It was evident that the girl had a God-given talent, and it caught the eye of a manager in Nashville. By early 2018, she began working with the Capital Christian Music Group and by 2019 she signed a contract with them.
Working in Nashville, Anne became a prolific songwriter and got noticed by others in the industry. Last year she put out her first album, from which her song “My Jesus” won a Dove Award for Song of the Year. Not only that, her song, “Living Water” was featured in the smash movie hit Jesus Revolution. Her powerful, pure vocals will have you cheering for Jesus when you watch the movie/video.
In October 2022, Wilson released her autobiographical book, “My Jesus, From Heartache to Hope.”
She explains, “It goes all the way from early childhood up until the point of the book release last year. It's incredible what God did in my life. And there are a lot of little, tiny details that would take hours to explain in interviews. But things that God did make it evident that I was supposed to be in music, the doors he opened, and all of that. It’s all in the book and I'm just passionate about it and I think that it's a book that's going to offer a lot of people hope, especially those that are walking through this.”
This past week, on the 6th anniversary of her brother’s passing, Anne poured her heart out in her poignant new release, “Seventh of June,” a deeply personal and heartfelt tribute to her brother, Jacob.
Anne enlisted trusted collaborators Matthew West and Jeff Pardo (“My Jesus,” “Living Water”) to craft this soul-stirring account of his passing, reflecting the raw pain of loss while showcasing Wilson's unwavering faith and conviction. Through her powerful lyricism and emotional delivery, Wilson not only cherishes her brother's memory but also extends solace to those grappling with profound grief.
When it comes to dealing with grief, Anne encourages people to stay strong in their faith. “I would encourage them to trust God, put their faith and trust in Him and know that even if life is super hard right now and everything seems like it's falling apart that God works it all together in the end. They need to keep trusting in Him and, knowing that it's all going to be OK. Because I think with that understanding and knowledge, you can get through those moments of life that are really hard, you can just get through them a lot easier with that knowledge.”
Anne Wilson has learned that nothing can heal a broken soul like music can. As she often writes lyrics like a musical prayer, her words not only heal herself, but they also can heal anyone else who will listen.
I am so sorry for the loss that Anne Wilson and her family experienced. But the music that was born from that tragic event will help millions more. God has surely anointed Anne Wilson’s life.
“Seventh of June” is the first record from her second album which will be released at a later date.
You can follow Anne Wilson on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and all streaming services.
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Bethany Bowman is a freelance entertainment writer. You can follow her blog, Instagram, and Twitter.