Some pop stars have been believers for a long time and openly discussed their relationship with God in their music, such as U2 and Dolly Parton. Others have converted after they hit the big time, including shock rock star Alice Cooper and boy wonder Justin Bieber. To a greater or lesser extent these stars allude to or refer directly to their faith in their songs.
But sometimes pop stars produce a more out-of-the-blue offering, like the new Coldplay single. Here are five times mainstream pop stars surprised us with their Christian message:
Coldplay: We Pray (2024)
Their new song was first broadcast at Glastonbury this year and explicitly talks about prayer, hoping for forgiveness, and seeking God. It’s perhaps not as much of a surprise after learning that the band’s lead singer Chris Martin was brought up in a Christian home in England. However in interviews through the years he has described his experience negatively, using words like “strange indoctrination” and publicly rejecting the faith.
Is this new song a sign of a change of heart?
“Pray I judge nobody and forgive me my sins…
Praying on your love, we pray with every breath
Though I’m in the valley of the shadow of death…
And so we pray
For someone to come and show me the way”
We’re yet to hear Martin comment publicly on the story behind the song, but the lyrics suggest there could be more to come.
Johnny Cash: Man comes around (2002)
Cash’s rocky path through Christian faith and his Christian-themed songs are well known. But one of the last songs he wrote before his death, “Man comes around”, was startling because of its underlying message to his fans: repent and believe or face judgement.
He said the lyrics came from the book of Revelation which makes it easy to extract the message of the song. The ‘man’ referred to in the title is Jesus on the day of judgement. “Everyone won’t be treated all the same,” he says, and warns of a coming “terror” so that the “hairs on your arms will stand up.” He also offers his listeners an invitation: “Will you partake of that last offered cup?” The entire song is a clear warning and invitation to Christ for those who want to hear.
Norman Greenbaum: Spirit in the Sky (1969)
The 1969 release of this catchy tune about death and salvation with the refrain “I’ve got a friend in Jesus” was a surprise hit, perhaps more so because Norman was Jewish. However he betrayed his lack of understanding of the Christian message in the lyrics “Never been a sinner, I’ve never sinned” and so covers of the song often change these words. But Greenbaum had deliberately set out to write a gospel song, and its meaning was clear:
“Prepare yourself, you know it’s a must
Gotta have a friend in Jesus
So you know that when you die
He’s gonna recommend you to the spirit in the sky”
In the 80s the song was covered by the glam rock band “Doctor and the medics” which was also a surprise chart hit.
Candi Staton and The Source: You got the love (1991)
Florence and the Machine’s 2009 version of this song wasn’t known for its Christian meaning but the 1986 original by singer Candi Staton and The Source was about trusting God through difficult times. Staton’s own powerful vocals were then “sampled” on a number of rave tunes as was common during the heyday of the “ecstasy generation.” But it was when they were set to a particularly catchy 1991 dance track (Eren bootleg remix) that the song catapulted into the charts.
Perhaps without careful listening it might sound like any other love song, but the meaning is clear:
“Sometimes I feel like saying “Lord, I just don’t care”
But you’ve got the love I need to see me through…”
“When food is gone, you are my daily meat.
When friends are gone, I know my Saviour’s love is real.”
It wasn’t the only gospel song to be heard on the dancefloor of the 90s rave scene, for example Dr Alban’s “Sing Hallelujah” and Mary Mary’s “Praise you (Shackles)”.
Bob Dylan: Gotta serve somebody (1979)
He was rock royalty when he had a surprise conversion to faith in Jesus Christ and started to preach the gospel to his huge audiences. It was the song “Gotta serve somebody” that launched his new faith to the world, with it’s message to all, including a “preacher preaching spiritual pride”, a “young turk” and the “rich or poor” that they have to make a choice who they will serve:
“It may be the Devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody”
It was the first of two and a half albums’ worth of explicit gospel songs. This dramatic change was prompted by a powerful encounter with Jesus: “I felt my whole body tremble. The glory of the Lord knocked me down and picked me up,” he reportedly said.
But after invoking the scorn of critics and even John Lennon himself, Dylan started to mute his public pronouncements about faith and many speculated he had apostatised.
However on the release of an album of Christmas carols in 2009 he told the Big Issue: “I am a true believer.” More recently, he told the Wall Street Journal: “I’m a religious person. I read the scriptures a lot, meditate and pray, light candles in church. I believe in damnation and salvation, as well as predestination. The Five Books of Moses, Pauline Epistles, Invocation of the Saints, all of it.”
Heather Tomlinson is a freelance Christian writer. Find more of her work at https://heathertomlinson.substack.com/ or via X (twitter) @heathertomli