Brandon Lake on His Jelly Roll Collab, ‘Hard Fought Hallelujah’: “I Just Was So Moved By His Authenticity”

In an interview around his inclusion in the Country Music Hall of Fame's new American Currents exhibition, Brandon Lake reflects on how both Christian and country have always been a big part of his life, as well as touching on his friendship with Jelly Roll.

Lake has been increasingly blurring the lines between Contemporary Christian Music - a genre that he has become established in - and country music, with the ‘Gratitude’ hitmaker releasing and teasing collaborations with the likes of Jelly, Lainey Wilson, Cody Johnson, Bailey Zimmerman, Dan + Shay, HARDY, Gabby Barrett and more.

While chatting to the Country Music Hall of Fame, Lake says he has always felt drawn to country, despite making a name for himself in the Christian scene, “Growing up, I really grew up in a Christian home, and my parents were amazing. But largely, I just listened to Christian music, and then I come home from school, and I turn on CMT, and so really my musical palette was formed with largely by Christian and country music, which is, I feel like...mainly what makes me who I am”.

Lake underlines that, when working on a particular song, he doesn't try to put it in a box and think about whether it's ‘country’ of ‘Christian’, instead focussing solely on the quality of the music, “I try not to think about the end, the end game, the end goal. I really just try to think about, you know, do I believe in this song? Do I love it myself?”

As for how the ‘Hard Fought Hallelujah’ collaboration came about, Lake shares that he was impressed by how open Jelly was being about his past struggles and his walk with faith.

Lake outlines how, after releasing the solo version, he kept tabs on Jelly, “When I put the song out, I had also simultaneously been following Jelly Roll's story and I just was so moved by his authenticity, and that he's a man of faith, but very much honest about his journey, which is what this song talks about - you know, the struggle”.

He goes on to recall the heartfelt conversation they had, “I'll never forget. I was sitting on my my country house out in the middle of the woods, just on the front porch. Jelly Roll calls, and we just talked. We probably talked for like an hour about just being dads and husbands and touring life before we even talked about the song”.

The ‘When a Cowboy Prays’ crooner warmly concludes, “So it really felt like we kind of hit it off as friends before we even talked about how to do this song together. You know, all these people I'm running into and the people I get to celebrate being in this exhibit with the Currents. Yeah, it feels like...I'm in the right family”.

When Lake chose Jelly to be the artist to join him on ‘Hard Fought Hallelujah’, although the ‘Need a Favor’ chart-topper was already a major star, it was deemed a risk by many commentators and fans in the Christian space, due to Jelly's chequered past.

But Lake stood by Jelly and has reminded listeners time and again when accepting accolades for ‘Hard Fought Hallelujah’ and performing the song in front of millions on national TV, that being a Christian doesn't mean you retreat and only spend time in rooms that are filled with light and with people that already believe in Jesus.

Rather, it's about finding a way of bringing light to spaces of darkness, something Lake would argue he was able to do through Jelly's far-ranging and eclectic listenership.

Jelly has become a touchstone for forgiveness and redemption, with the trailblazing artist getting candid at his shows and via his music about his past struggles with addiction and crime, and how his deep faith has helped him overcome these battles.

The anticipation remains sky-high ahead of Lake's forthcoming album, with his recent releases walking a line between straight-up Contemporary Christian Music - like the immensely popular ‘How Good God Is’ - and faith-driven country storytelling, like Lake's powerful collaboration with Lainey Wilson, ‘The Jesus I Know Now’.

It's evident that, as Lake explains so eloquently here, the crux of every new song is sincerity, rather than any considerations of commercial gains or genre-bound categorisation. And this comes across through all of the ‘Just Believe’ singer-songwriter's recent singles, ensuring his next project is shaping up to be one of the biggest releases in both the country and the Contemporary Christian Music world.