The award-winning country singer who rose to fame with her hits I Hope and The Good Ones calls her Christian faith the "center" of who she is and says she expects to release a Christian album in the future.
Gabby Barrett, a two-time American Music Award winner who burst on the country scene in 2020 with the chart-topping song I Hope, has been vocal about her faith and has done multiple collaborations with Christian artists, including with Colton Dixon on Build a Boat. It was nominated for Song of the Year at this year's K-Love Fan Awards.
"I had actually loved the song before they even reached out," she told Christian Headlines, referencing Dixon's team. "I heard it on the radio, downloaded it on my phone. I was listening to it and – no joke – probably like three days later, after I downloaded it, my team was like, 'Hey, there's this singer named Colton Dixon and he has this awesome song.' And I was like, 'Oh, I already listen to it. And I love it.' So I absolutely wanted to jump on it."
Barrett is humble about her success. As a country artist, she's had two No. 1 hits on Billboard's Country Airplay chart and a third that reached the Top 10. She collaborated in 2021 with For King & Country on Go Tell It On the Mountain, which charted on Billboard's Hot Christian Songs Chart.
She is 23.
"I was about 18 when I started reading the Bible and really just getting into it for myself," she told Christian Headlines. "I am thankful the Lord has blessed me a lot in my life these past few years."
Asked if she wants to make a Christian album, Barrett responded, "I would love to do something like that in the future." She and her husband Cade, she said, have considered making an album of hymns.
"And since [faith] is really the center of just who we are, I think you could definitely, rightfully so, expect something to do with that for sure," Barrett said.
She also has won awards at the CMT Music Awards, Academy of Country Music Awards and Billboard Music Awards. She credits God for her career.
"Jesus has done so much in my life and conformed my life," she said. "I've lived a lot of life in a short amount of time the past couple of years, and just seeing how following Him and being obedient to His Word, the best that I can, is really blessing my life. And to be able to share that message with other people and hopefully be able to show them the love of God through sending His Son to die for us – I hope that that encourages people and can do a lot. And as I continue to do music, I hope that that always is my message and will strive to be. So I also hope that I can do some more things in the Christian music genre. I think it's really fun. And it connects to me and my family in a very strong way."
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Photo courtesy: ©Jason Davis for K-LOVE Fan Awards, used with permission.
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
