Natalie hangs out with children who were rescued from Bombay's red-light district

In the five-plus years since Natalie Grant debuted as a solo artist, she's developed respect as one of Christian music's best female vocalists. Recently, Grant began yearning for something more, discontent to simply remain a pretty face with a pretty voice and pretty songs. Then God called her out of her comfort zone, resulting in a new approach to songwriting and a new sound altogether. But God really rocked her comfort zone one evening while she watched an episode of Law & Order that addressed the issue of child sex trafficking. Once awakened to the harsh realities of that issue, Grant decided to try to make a difference, to do what she could to help stop the atrocities. To that end, she formed her own foundation to raise awareness and to combat the problem. We recently sat down with Grant, who was all too eager to share more with us about her recent awakenings—artistic and otherwise.

The title of your new album is Awaken, and that word currently has a double meaning for you, right? Let's start with the inspiration behind the musical component.

Natalie Grant: It was my deep desire to not make mediocre music. I've learned that you can be a great singer, but if you don't have great songs, you just don't stand the test of time. So-so singers with strong songwriting make a more lasting impact.

I remember this radio guy who once tried to compliment me by saying how he could always count on me for happy, feel-good songs …

Kind of like Christian radio ads …

Grant: "Happy, safe, and encouraging for the whole family!" Exactly. It left me thinking, My goodness, is this really all I am? At the end of my career, am I just going to be the girl who sang happy songs? It really sat with me badly and bothered me for days on end.

I started talking to my husband [producer Bernie Herms] about it, and he said that ultimately it's something that needs to come from me. If I want to connect with my audience, I need to draw deeper within. I feel confident in my ability to sing, but I felt the need to have my art reflect the same kind of dedication and excellence.

So I worked on my writing and ended up with songs like "The Real Me" and "Home" that really surprised me. Is that me? Did I write that? For the first time I felt with all my heart that I was going to have music that would still matter ten years from now, and that really excites me.

Which track on the album are you most proud of?

Grant: "Home," by far, as a songwriter and also the production. I just love the epic feel of it—the story it tells—and the way the rock and pop come together. I'm very happy with my husband's work on this disc, because he kept it very sensitive but helped me from sounding too overproduced, which is something I've long suffered in my career. I also love the way "Make Me Over" and "The Real Me" turned out.

Your style has really evolved from the usual adult contemporary. There are times where you sound more like Alanis Morrisette and Nichole Nordeman than Celine Dion and Avalon. Were you afraid that you might alienate your fan base?

Grant: I was a little concerned—scared that some of the soccer moms wouldn't embrace the change. Though I knew I was going to win some new fans by surprising people who would have never picked up a Natalie Grant record before.

But it's not been like that at all—at least not from what I've heard. The fans seem to have grown with me, and that's been very freeing. It's been really exciting to see them respond, "Oh my gosh, this is your best record! Instead of songs I listen to on the way to daycare, these are songs that speak to me in the dark moments of my life." So I think I've learned that even people who say they just love pop music are still searching for depth in their songs.

Sometimes I think people fall in love with a voice and put up with mediocre music because they like the voice. But once you start doing music that they think is more meaningful, it's amazing to watch them respond.

There's another kind of awakening underlying your new album. Tell us about that.

Grant: I was sitting in my favorite living room chair watching television, just to veg out while watching a rerun of Law & Order. I wasn't prepared for what I was going to see, and I never thought TV was going to change my life. They did an episode about human trafficking, which I hadn't even heard of at the time. And they were actually showing kids being shipped into America, held in cages and chained up with each other.

Now I've always thought that Law & Order was based on at least a shred of truth, but I just thought there's no way kids are being brought into this country for sexual exploitation and underage labor. That's fathomable for Thailand maybe … but not America! Not in my neighborhood.

So I went online and started to Google "human trafficking." I found a government report on trafficking human persons and read up on statistics. Over two million children in the world have been trafficked for sexual exploitation, some as young as six years in age. And the countries on the watch lists include places I dream of going to, like Australia.

Two young Indian girls, rescued from the sex trade, pray for Natalie

The dark side of society, right under our own noses.

Grant: It just started disturbing me greatly, and I remember sitting there bawling my eyes out reading stories about these kids. My husband kept checking on me wondering what was going on because he heard me crying.

It troubled me the most because I thought, Why is this allowed to go on in the world? It could have been me, or my sixteen-year-old niece, or even my eight-year-old niece. We have so many terrific organizations today that deal with feeding and sponsoring starving children. But there are starving children out there that are forced to have sex twenty times a day. It's the filthiest side of humanity that you can imagine, and it bothers me that I hadn't heard about this going on until recently.

I remember hardly sleeping that night, knowing I'd never be the same. I can't explain it other than I'm convinced it was a God thing.

And what was your response to learning about all of this?

Grant: I figured there had to be some faith-based organizations dealing with human trafficking, and I found two—International Justice Mission (IJM) and Shared Hope International. I was relieved that at least somebody's doing something about this. [Editor's note: World Vision is also very involved in fighting this battle.]

There was an 800 number on the Shared Hope site, so I called them immediately and started rambling about how I was a singer who saw human trafficking on Law & Order the night before. The woman on the phone was like, "Okay, slow down. Let's start with your name." I told her I was Natalie Grant and she said that she was at my concert the week before. That confirmed that it was a God thing to me!

She put me in touch with [ex-Congresswoman Linda Smith], who started the organization. We talked on the phone that same day and she told me how she started it. And she said, "You know, Natalie, if you think the television show changed your life, you need to see it first hand. We've never taken somebody with us, but if you want to go, we're going to India next July."

So of course you went?

Grant: Absolutely. I didn't even talk it over with anyone else first. I knew it was some sort of divine appointment for me. But at that point I ran it all by my husband and showed him the website, and in the end he was bawling his eyes out too and decided that he was also going to India.

What did you take away from the trip with Shared Hope?

Grant: I was blown away by how the people they served have faced the most unfathomable and horrific tragedies, and yet somehow when you look at them, they are the living examples of the peace of God. They don't look or act like victims, but like people who have been completely restored. It doesn't make sense how they could be rising above that circumstance and living a free life after what they've endured. It was the first time some of the old Scriptures really came to life for me.

When we came back, I was trying to process it all and figure out what to do in response. It just radically changed my life. Christian career or not, it's a music industry of self. I wanted to make my work as an artist bigger than myself.

So that's how the Home Foundation came into being?

Grant: Yes, I didn't want to choose between the other two organizations. The work of both Shared Hope and IJM are equally important. So instead, I wanted to create an organization that simply sheds light on the subject and what others are doing to stop it. Something that's simple enough for me to run through my platform and give 100% of the donations toward the mission.

It's amazing how quickly God can stir up passion within us to make a difference in the lives of others.

Grant: I realized when I came back that I had never felt more alive in my entire life than when I gave my life away. The thing is, you don't have to have a lightning bolt experience or a parting of the Red Sea moment. God is working in the small details of life. If we're just available and obedient to the little things, then he can accomplish something incredible where we least expect it. He did that for me, sitting in my overstuffed leather chair while watching Law & Order, and it completely changed my life.

To learn more about Natalie Grant's Home Foundation, or to make a donation, click here. Check out our artist page for Natalie to read more about her music career, including past interviews and reviews. Click here for our review of Awaken; visit Christianbook.com to listen to sound clips and buy her music.

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