It’s appropriate that Jordan Smith won Season 9 of “The Voice.” When he opens his mouth to sing, there’s no denying that his voice is an instrument gifted to him straight from heaven. From the moment the Kentucky native was first introduced to America, it was evident that faith was part of his DNA. Now, his beliefs take center stage as he steps into the next natural chapter of his career with a new single, a new EP and a new label family found in Provident Entertainment/Sony Music.
The highest-selling artist to ever emerge from NBC’s Emmy-winning series, “The Voice,” Smith shot three performance singles to the top of the charts while competing on the show: “Great Is Thy Faithfulness,” which he performed as a tribute to the lives lost during the Paris bombing in 2015; a Christmas single, “Mary Did You Know?”; and a powerful cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” His full-length debut, Something Beautiful, entered the Billboard 200 at No. 2 and made history with the biggest first-week sales ever from a winner of “The Voice.” His popular Christmas album, ’Tis The Season, followed, as well as his second acclaimed studio LP, Only Love, on which Smith unveiled his talent as a songwriter, co-penning six of the project’s dozen tracks.
As a writer signed to Universal Music Publishing Group, he’s co-written with Glen Ballard, Steve Booker, Sam Ellis, Blair Daly, Jordan Reynolds, Dave Barnes and Bernie Herms, among other esteemed lyricists. He’s also written songs and toured extensively with Michael W. Smith. In addition, Smith holds co-writing credit on “Ashes,” the theme song for Deadpool 2 recorded by Celine Dion. Moreover, he’s performed “Feel Good,” the theme song for ABC’s “GMA Day,” and received an invitation to perform at a !Celebrity Fight Night” event at the home of revered vocalist Andrea Bocelli.
Not bad for a kid who grew up the youngest of three boys in the tiny town of Harlan, Kentucky. Yet, Smith credits his small town and spiritual upbringing with laying the strong foundation for the values he holds as an adult. In fact, today he still resides an hour outside his hometown in Corbin, Kentucky—just a few hours north of Nashville—with his wife, Kristen.
“Church was a very integral part of the fabric of who our family was,” Smith shares. “That, and growing up in a small town, I think, really shaped me into the kind of person that I am.”
Smith’s parents were both music leaders at their church, but it was his aunt who taught him how to play drums. She would sit him on her lap in front of the drum kit, his feet too short to reach the pedals.
In fifth grade, his mom enrolled him in a local choir. Funding wasn’t available for his elementary school to have its own music program, so Smith traveled an hour one way by bus every Friday afternoon for a community music class.
It was his choir teacher that took a special interest in the young boy with a big voice, who could harmonize easily and quickly learned to read music. “She noticed that natural gift in me, and so she started spending extra time with me,” Smith recalls. “Looking back now, I see what she was doing; but back then, I had no idea that she saw the gift in me. She was nurturing that and helping me to not just love music, but learn about music and learn to appreciate it.”
Smith had already been playing piano, writing songs and singing in church for years when he enrolled as a student at Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee. Although he harbored dreams of being a Christian recording artist, like the ones he saw on stage at Winter Jam as a teen; as he got older, he felt the need to channel his music into a more practical lane. He resolved to potentially produce and engineer music or lead worship at a church, figuring he’d assume a behind-the-scenes role.
“I guess my whole life I was just trying to figure out a way to automatically default to my backup plan. My ‘Plan A’ was such a big dream that I didn’t know how it was going to happen,” Smith confesses. “Looking back now, I realize it wasn’t just a big dream I had for myself, it was God’s dream. It was a dream He placed in me. Only He knew how it was going to work, and that was the miracle of it.”
Already a diehard fan of “The Voice,” while he was in college, Smith received an email from Anthony Evans, an alumni of the show who was scouting new talent. At Evans’ encouragement, he auditioned for the show. He had previously tried out for “The Voice” a year earlier, but Smith never received a callback. Although he sang the exact same song for his second audition, this time, he received a phone call that changed his life.
“It was God’s timing. Looking back, if God had given me the thing that I wanted at the time, it would’ve destroyed my self-confidence. I would not have known who I was or what I was doing,” he affirms. “I did so much growing in that year. I truly became grounded in my faith.”
He considers the opportunity to record a Christian record providential timing as well. His new EP chronicles his faith journey with a diverse blend of influences, ranging from inspirational pop to choir-assisted Gospel, drawing from his mother’s love of Shirley Caesar.
There are songs for every season on the project—all of which he co-wrote, further proving his prowess behind the pen. Personal in nature but universal in message, the songs speak to celebration, perseverance and grieving, providing a soundtrack to life’s peaks and valleys. Cason Cooley (NEEDTOBREATHE, American Authors, Ingrid Michaelson) produced the cohesive collection of seven new originals, while Jonas Myrin (Natasha Bedingfield, Barbra Streisand) served as executive producer.
The EP’s lead single, “Great You Are,” which Smith co-wrote with Jeff Sojka and Matt Armstrong, boasts of how worthy God is of praise. The song recalls Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem on a donkey as people greeted Him with palm branches and leans on the Scripture that reminds us that the rocks will cry out if we fail to praise Him.
“I was just so moved by the idea that if I’m silent, the Lord will still find a way to be worshipped. He won’t miss out on anything because we don’t give Him the glory or the recognition or the worship He deserves,” Smith says. “But I want so badly to be a part of that.”
The song’s soaring chorus highlights Smith’s incredible vocal range and professes his impassioned allegiance to Christ: “Let everything I am reveal the glory of how great You are. I won’t let a breath go by and miss a chance to lift You high. Let everything I am declare the story of how great You are.”
“I’m really excited that this is the first single, and people get to hear that statement from me,” he says, “and then people get to sing that statement as a commitment to God.”
“Great You Are” is the pinnacle of everything Jordan Smith has ever wanted to do. It’s the fulfillment of his Plan A. “Connecting people to God just feels natural, and it feels free, and it feels easy,” he admits. “I want people to experience the Holy Spirit. I want them to be uplifted, and I want them to feel God’s love and His acceptance through my music, even if they don’t know what that is, even if they don’t understand that’s what they’re experiencing. My lifelong dream is to be able to make music for the church and to just experience heaven with people.”