Jonathan Nelson Talks Fearless To GOSPELflava

Fearless is the fifth album from multiple Stellar Award winning singer/songwriter Jonathan Nelson.  GOSPELflava caught up with the worship leader and shared a few moments to talk about the new album, new label and other things.

GOSPELflava: Jonathan, bring us up to speed since our last conversation.

Jonathan Nelson: I signed with a brand new record company Eone Music, recorded and released a new CD entitled Fearless and it debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart.    I told Eone when we started talking that I wanted to expand and I wanted to  infiltrate the Gospel market with a stronger brand and a stronger sound, having a stand out kind of approach, and  Eone helped me to do just that. Everything about this CD is me living out the word fearless, taking the risks, doing what I have never done before and being out the box so to speak.  All of the background singers that are singing on the CD, we have never really worked together officially as a team, some of the background singers I had never met in person, the band had never really worked together,  we maybe did one record together but not really as a team effort with the band or singers.  I  had never worked with Da Truth, Tye Tribbett, Kim, Dorinda or Sonnie Badu as it relates to partnering or collaborating on music, so that was completely different.  I just took a leap of faith.   I believed what God would do and His hand of approval is on it,  so everything about this CD, there is no script for it, it is really me living out what fearless is in me.

GOSPELflava: The CD features some great songs including the radio single Anything Can Happen as well as the moving song Baba.  Tell us about both of those.

Jonathan Nelson: Baba was recorded by one of my good friends, an African worship artist by the name of Sonnie Badu.  I met him when I went to Africa, when he sang the song at the service there were thousands of Africans face down to the ground,  in the grass and dirt with hands up and hands raised and you heard this sound being released there, it was something that I had never experienced before.  At that point,  I was like I gotta find out who that guy is and I gotta learn this song.  We brought the song back to my church, we sang it and it had such a powerful effect.  It is such a powerful song, Baba is Nigerian which represents the word father, in their language they reverence the name of God to the point that they want to go beyond saying Father, and  Baba goes beyond just saying Father, it is an actual term of endearment in a deeper way, and you can sense and feel the presence and power of God when you hear that song and when they sing it

Anything Can Happen was written by a young man by the name of Shammond Scales  from Tennessee. I met him some years ago through Vashawn Mitchell,  he’s  a phenomenal singer, prophet, artist, preacher and pastor. So he submitted the song,  and when I heard it, it just connected with me.  I just knew it was something special about the song, as I listened to it I contacted him and said hey, I just need to tweak it and make it match me and make it fit me, would you allow me to do that? He gave me permission and the rest is history.  When you say anything can happen that’s so prophetic you are really speaking  to your circumstance, speaking to life, you are speaking to everything surrounding you, that’s why I put in something good, miracles, breakthrough, because I’m expecting what is is that I am saying, I’m expecting anything to happen as I say it, before I say it, while I’m saying it or before its over.

GOSPELflava: Your brother Jason joins you on the project.  This was kind of a surprise to him.

Jonathan Nelson: Jason had done that song years ago on an independent project and had never really done anything with it so when I started singing Everything You Are the night of the recording, Jason hadn’t rehearsed that song, but it was a very natural progression.  I just pointed to him and said come get the mic.  He hadn’t heard any of the changes that we made, he heard it right then and there that night, I said follow me J, I got you , and I would talk to him a little bit.   We have a musical connection , he is such a phenomenal worshiper and artist and God just breathed on it.  Working with him is a very natural thing, that’s my twin brother, I look to him for mentoring as it relates to ministry, so its like waking up and blinking your eyes.

GOSPELflava: If there’s one message you want the audience to have as a take away from the CD, what would that be?

Jonathan Nelson: It would be me expressing that there is no fear, there should be only faith.  The message reverberates throughout the CD, we open up with  my faith is stronger now, I’m free, no longer bound, my faith is at full throttle.  I’m rehearsing that point  throughout the CD in every song.  You know the bible says perfect love casteth out all fear, so we start talking about the love of God , you are good, your love has captured me completely. My 18-year-old niece sings the song Amazing Love,  Jason and I wrote the song together I’m rehearsing what the bible says about fear so everything you’re hearing is about being fearless.  That’s why we say, God you are the God of miracles, you are the God of wonders and then we move into the medley saying so long goodbye because we are inviting fear to leave so we can operate at full capacity of faith in our worship and praise so that we can be what God has created and called us to be.

As for old music, I’m still singing Finish Strong and My Name is Victory for those who want to hear it and I’m all over social media, Facebook -Jonathan Nelson Music , Twitter -@nelsonjonathan , Instagram and Periscope