Forrest Frank’s Mission Is to Bring ‘Cool Christian Music’ to a New Generation
The Grammy-nominated singer, whose viral hits have captivated teens and amassed millions of media streams, says his goal is to create the "cool Christian music" he didn't have as a child. Forrest Frank earned a Grammy nomination this year for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album (Child of God), nearly four months after taking home New Artist of the Year at the GMA Dove Awards.
Many of Frank's fans, however, know him more for his catchy beats than for his accolades. His song Up! (with Connor Price), for example, has been sampled in 150,000 TikTok videos and streamed millions of times. Good Day has seen similar success.
"When I was growing up, I didn't necessarily have cool Christian music to listen to," Frank told Grammy.com. "If I was going to the gym or if I was at the beach, it seemed like there weren't really any Christian songs that would fit those facets of life, but there was great Christian music within the church and for worship. That actually kind of broke my heart; I would cry about it, and I'm not the most emotional guy.
"So, I aspired to make Christian music that I think is cool. Not everyone's going to like it, but I think it does serve a role in the sense of it being music that kids think is cool and want to have as their baseball walk-up song when they go up to the plate and listen to when they hang out with their friends."
Frank's music is a staple on Christian radio, with Never Get Used to This currently sitting at No. 18 on the Billboard Christian Airplay Chart. Some of his other tracks, however, are a bit too hard for many CCM radio formats -- but he's perfectly fine with that.
"For my song No Longer Bound, the radio stations were like, 'We can't put this on the radio because the kick hits too hard; you need to change that.' I was like, 'Oh, then just don't put it on the radio.' I don't care; I'm just making it the way that I love it," he said. "I think that authenticity is what kids resonate with."
Frank formerly sang with the mainstream pop band Surfaces. He took a step back to work on solo projects.
He believes God is guiding his music.
"It's felt like God is just holding my hand through it, so I can't take any credit for it. And I know that's such a cliché thing to say, but with everything in my being, it feels like he's holding my hand," Frank said. "Some of the songs that have been massive successes -- like Lift My Hands, for example, I was just in the shower, and I heard the whole song in my head. I was like, 'Okay, God, I'll go make that song.' I just traced it from my brain, which is so abnormal. The typical process is you clock in, attempt to make a good song, and then make seven songs, and none of them are good enough to put out. To have it come out backward, it's just like … I didn't write the song."
Frank's music is even reaching non-Christian audiences, a connection he attributes to its authenticity.
"This generation is waking up to a lot of things. There's a sort of a distrust -- or maybe not a distrust, but a questioning happening. There's a second-guessing to almost everything now because it seems like corporations have taken over the airwaves. For me, for example, I used to have a whole laundry list of health complications, and when I would go to a doctor, he would say, 'You have this, take this medication for it.' I'd still have the issues, but then I'd have a medication overriding it and the side effects from it without a real solution.
"Then, I finally went to a naturopathic doctor who was like, 'You're gluten intolerant. You're allergic to corn, and you're eating this all the time. Take these foods out of your diet and switch to organic and whole foods.' I did, and all of my symptoms went away.
"I think more people are doing this style of questioning because they're like, man, the system's just trying to sell us this and sell us that. And I think kids are waking up to the fact that what you put in comes out; what you listen to and what you consume matters."
When asked by Grammy.com what message he would share with non-religious fans, Frank pointed to his faith.
"My main message is that Jesus changed my life, and every song is a reflection of that testimony. He saved my life," Frank said. "If you haven't considered Jesus, then I would consider Jesus, 'cause that's really all I have to offer -- that's all my music has to offer."
Photo Credit: ©Forrest Frank
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.
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Originally published February 04, 2025.