Anne Wilson shared a powerful conversation with host Caroline Hobby on the latest episode of Get Real with Caroline Hobby, opening up about her grief after losing her brother in a car accident, performing for the first time at his funeral, how she remains steadfast in her faith through difficult times and more. The podcast episode arrives just before Wilson, a Christian musician, releases her country album, REBEL.
Wilson, 22, reflected on the moment she “heard God’s voice for the first time,” in a clip from the podcast shared on Instagram, set to Wilson’s “Strong.” “I just knew I couldn’t get through without God. I just knew I wasn’t gonna survive… I felt like this weight had lifted (after choosing to lean on faith). I just knew I was gonna get through it.”
Hobby notes that before the tragic loss of her brother, Wilson had never performed or sung out loud. Now, however, the Kentucky-born artist “has exploded on the Christian Music scene, and is making huge waves in Country Music.”
Wilson’s album is set to release on Friday (April 19). The 16-track project includes collaborations with Lainey Wilson, Chris Tomlin and Jordan Davis. previously-released tracks include the collaboration with Davis, “Country Gold,” in addition to the title track, “God & Country,” “Strong” and “Rain In The Rearview.”
- “REBEL” (Anne Wilson, Jeff Pardo, Matthew West)
- “Rain In The Rearview” (Anne Wilson, Matthew West, Zach Kale, Jaren Johnston)
- “Strong” (Anne Wilson, Jeff Pardo, Matthew West)
- “God & Country” (Anne Wilson, Jeff Pardo, Matthew West, Trannie Anderson)
- “Praying Woman” (with Lainey Wilson) (Anne Wilson, Jeff Pardo, Matthew West, Lainey Wilson, Trannie Anderson)
- “Songs About Whiskey” (Anne Wilson, Jeff Pardo, Matthew West, Lauren Hungate)
- “Sinner’s Prayer” (Anne Wilson, Jeff Pardo, Matthew West, Lauren Hungate)
- “The Cross” (with Chris Tomlin) (Anne Wilson, Jeff Pardo, Matthew West, Jonathan Smith)
- “My Father’s Daughter” (Anne Wilson, Jeff Pardo, Matthew West, Emily Weisband)
- “Red Flag” (Anne Wilson, Jonathan Smith, Casey Beathard)
- “Country Gold” (with Jordan Davis) (Anne Wilson, Jeff Pardo, Matthew West)
- “Southern Gospel” (Anne Wilson, Jeff Pardo, Matthew West, Lauren Hungate)
- “Dirt Roads In Heaven” (Anne Wilson, Jeff Pardo, Nicolle Galyon, Matthew West)
- “3:16” (Anne Wilson, Jeff Pardo, Matthew West)
- “Milestones” (Anne Wilson, Nicolle Galyon, Lauren Hungate)
- “Out of the Bluegrass” (Anne Wilson, Nicolle Galyon, Emily Weisband)
“For me, I think it started when I sent a song to Christian radio that was very like faith-based, but it got a lot of push back because it sounded too country, and so it kind of lit a fire in me to go, ‘Well, I’m not going to fit in anymore. I wanna be who I am authentically,’ and I want that to be my message,” Wilson, part of the CMT Next Women of Country Class of 2024, said via her record label. “So, that’s where it really came in, but on the other end, just being a person of faith in the world that we live in today, it feels like you’re an outsider if you have faith, especially for my generation. You know, my generation struggles a lot with feeling like we have permission to talk about our faith. We can come out and say it without being judged, you know? So, I think for me, I’m gonna be a REBEL. I’m gonna stand up for what I believe in. I’m gonna love my country. I’m gonna love God. I’m gonna stand up for the things that I believe in. I’m not gonna follow the world or the ways of the world, but I’m gonna follow Jesus and my faith, and that’s what makes me a REBEL.”