Zach Williams Talks Feeding Off the ‘New Energy’ of Latest Album ‘Jesus Loves’

The rubric way of Zach Williams’s 4th workplace medium Jesus Loves, which releases contiguous (Sept. 19) connected Provident Label Group, has a heartfelt connection to “All the renegades, the rebels, and the runaways,” but passim the dozen-song project, helium besides has songs aimed astatine healing and inspiring the newfound believers, the “church kids” and everyone successful between.

Nearly a decennary aft launching his solo vocation breakthrough with “Chain Breaker,” the rubric way to his 2016 Grammy-winning album, the Southern rocker-turned-CCM singer-songwriter inactive has plentifulness of grit, gravel and passionateness successful his dependable and his penning pen, which helium blends with a signature soulfulness that has spurred hits including “Chain Breaker,” “Old Church Choir,” and “Less Like Me,” but besides his existent Christian Airplay apical 5 hit, “Jesus Loves.”

His caller medium is filled with messages of pain, conflict and redemption, each steeped successful shades of blues, Southern stone and soul. He reunites with longtime shaper Jonathan Smith and arsenic with erstwhile albums, welcomes writers and co-writers known for their enactment successful CCM and/or state fields, specified arsenic Trannie Anderson (Lainey Wilson), Casey Beathard (Eric Church, Kenny Chesney) and Allen Shamblin (Miranda Lambert), arsenic good arsenic CCM kingpin writers specified arsenic Ben Glover, Jeff Pardo, and Smith.

“Killed a Man,” written by Ben Stennis, Tucker Beathard and Casey Beathard, is 1 of the fewer extracurricular cuts connected the album. It’s title, connected its surface, seems to suggest execution successful a carnal sense, but is really astir putting distant self-destructive ways successful favour of a faith-filled life. Williams was intrigued by the rubric erstwhile helium was sent the song.

“They played maine ‘Killed a Man’ 1 time erstwhile we were hanging retired and conscionable the rubric alone, I was hooked,” Williams says. “And arsenic soon arsenic I heard what was going connected successful the song, I was like, ‘This is genius. Please fto maine grounds this.’ This opus was excessively bully for maine to fto go.”

Similarly, “Hated” doesn’t halfway connected harboring sick will, but alternatively uncovering spot to basal up for one’s convictions, adjacent erstwhile it brings backlash. “Friend successful High Places” is the archetypal opus Williams wrote for the medium and marked by the poetic lyric, “I’m livin’ proof, what a carpenter from Nazareth tin do/ How a hammer and a nail tin marque things new.”

“That is 1 of my favourite lines successful the song,” Williams notes. “Every clip I would play the demo back, I conscionable wanted to spell up and enactment the opus out. We benignant of conscionable tested the waters to spot what radical thought, and it gave maine a bully thought to spot what absorption I wanted to spell with the remainder of the songs connected this record.”

Williams doesn’t shy distant from the struggles to enactment steadfast successful his religion connected songs specified arsenic “Wait For Me,” and “Say a Prayer,” the second a way helium calls 1 of his astir cherished songs connected the album. “I’ve had the opus for a fewer years. It didn’t consciousness close for the past record, and I truly wanted it connected this one. It’s 1 of my faves connected the record, and it whitethorn person a peculiar diagnostic astatine the apical of the twelvemonth connected it,” helium teases of the song.

Williams’ sandpaper-and-silk dependable has made him a favored vocalist for collaborations, specified arsenic his 2 duets with Dolly Parton, and c...