Mike Rimmer met up with Nashville CCM star NATALIE GRANT

Natalie Grant

You have a habit of recording albums for labels that then go bust. Were Curb scared to sign you?

(She laughs) It's a habit I have, of making record companies go out of business! I don't know if that's a good thing or not but my second record 'Stronger' was released on a different label but then it was re-released by Curb. Then I had 'Deeper Life' and so I'm actually working on a new record and it will be the third record on the same label! I actually said to Mike Curb, "Are you sure you want to sign me? I have a habit of shutting labels down so you might want to check your investments!"

In the past some of your albums have been a little plastic with you working like a voice on a stick. How has that been changing?

Yeah. My first record was very slick pop and very safe. I didn't do any songwriting and I've really developed into a songwriter and been more involved in the production side as well. So creatively, 'Deeper Life' has my fingerprints all over it, which is important to me as an artist. I want to be more than a good singer, I want to really be an artist. It's been cool that I'm on a label that's allowing me that kind of freedom. But yes, absolutely! That's exactly right! I've been just kind of like a Barbie Doll and they just used to say, "Smile when you're told and sing when you're told." But now I feel like I have much more freedom and it's really quite liberating, to be honest.

What stirs you? What makes you want to keep on doing this?

Honestly, it's the person I meet at a concert that says, "I've been going through chemotherapy and your music is what got me through." It's the person who says, "My marriage was falling apart and my husband and I basically listened to this song and it brought us back together." It's the person who I meet who tells me, "I've been struggling with an eating disorder and I found comfort and solace in your music." It's those stories and those moments when you're travelling, you're working, you're away from your family, you're tired; it's those human connections, those moments that you connect with other human beings. That just makes this all very rewarding. It makes me feel like my life matters, like it counts for something. To be able to be so passionate about my faith and to be able to share that on a public platform, is very rewarding as well.

You've always loved gospel music and now Integrity have released a gospel worship project.

It's a dream come true! And this might surprise you, I actually recorded this record four years ago. It was made for a denomination that needed a tool, because they were really seeing a lot of integration in their churches. They needed a tool for the local church to integrate a more multicultural, interracial feel into their worship services. So my husband and I made this independent record to be a tool for the local church. Integrity heard it, fell in love with it and decided it was something they needed to get into the hands of more people. For me, I'd had no pressure making it, I didn't have to make it for a label, I didn't have any rules held over my head. So I was able to just go into the studio and do what comes naturally to me and what I love. Take some popular songs like "Shout To The Lord" and "Awesome In This Place" and give them gospel arrangements. It was pretty fun!