Singer, Author, Actress
We knew Rebecca St. James had many talents. But is there anything this gifted young woman can't do?
by Mark Moring | posted 2/16/2004
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Long before it became a fad, Rebecca St. James was into worship music. When she recorded Worship God (ForeFront) two years ago, she wasn't just joining the crowd of newcomers to the worship music scene. Then she released a greatest hits album last year, and now St. James brings another offering to the worship table, a 9-song EP titled Live Worship: Blessed Be Your name. We recently caught up with Rebecca on her cell phone, where she bragged about wearing shorts and a T-shirt on a sunny, 75-degree Nashville day while we in the Chicago burbs were braving sub-zero wind-chill factors. We decided not to hold that against her, and had a nice conversation anyway!
It hasn't been all that long since you did Worship God. So why another worship album now?
Rebecca St. JamesI've been thinking about doing a live worship album for a long time. I grew up being impacted by the power of live worship. And there's something very powerful and very real and inviting about hearing thousands of people worship God on a CD. It just draws you in and makes you feel a sense of unity and community. And the timing seemed right to do this now.
This was recorded at one of your regular concerts. Did you do anything special that night for the recording?
St. JamesFor the most part, it was a pretty regular tour stop. We did two new songs, so we taught the audience those songs before we sang them, so they would be familiar.
What new songs?
St. JamesOne was Matt Redman's "Blessed Be Your Name," and some people knew that one already. The other was my new song, "I Adore You," so we had to teach the crowd that one from scratch. That was awesome. It was only like the second time I'd actually sung the song live, and the first time I'd ever heard a crowd sing it. That was a very powerful moment for me.
Tell me about "I Adore You."
St. JamesIt's kind of a power ballad. It starts out very simply, then builds into a pretty big, worshipful track. I wrote it a couple years ago, even before Worship God, because my heart was growing in that direction, wanting to do more worship in my concerts. The song just kind of hung around in the back of my head for a while. We were looking for a couple of new songs for this live worship album, and I sang it to my A&R guy at my label, and he felt that we really needed to do it for the album.
Do you think the CD caught the vibe of the live show?
St. JamesAbsolutely. We have kind of a modus operandi for me in my ministry, and that's a commitment to being very real and authentic—mistakes and all. So even though we might make a few mistakes in a live show, we don't clean them up for the final project. We want people to hear this and think, This is the real deal. I want people who might have been there that night to think, I remember that. That was what I experienced that night.
A lot of artists are coming out with DVDs of their concerts. Is that in your plans?
St. JamesWe didn't film that particular night, so no, it's not in the immediate plans.
Your last pop album, Transform, came out in late 2000, and I hear your next one may not come out till early next year. That's almost five years between pop albums. Why so long?
St. JamesI've had albums coming out—a worship album, a "best of" album, and now a live worship album. To try and do a normal pop album on top of all that would have just killed me. I just couldn't do it all-touring, and writing a book, and doing everything that's required. It's more of a timing thing. There's just a lot going on.
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