Artist bio

My love for music began at 3 years old with red lit-up keys on a toy piano. Fast forward 25 years, and you'll find that music has become an innate part of my life. Whether it's playing, singing, or just listening and absorbing its lyrical wisdom; music is my passion. Music has such a universal power; it can motivate, encourage, and give you the strength to keep on pushing through; and that's the truth that I aspire to share in my music.

Title

Hold On

Artist Statement

As a 1-person team in creating this submission (from songwriting, recording vocals, playing piano, filming etc), I realize that there will be many professional entries in this category; and while my recording equipment may not be of the same quality as others, and my graphical techniques may not be as flashy; this song was written in an attempt to encourage, to inspire, and to share the truth of what God's power can do in our lives. The songwriting process will be described below; but in planning the music video, I felt it was very important to have the scenes of the video blend together so as not to overshadow the lyrical message; rather than fill the video with unnecessary animation and motion.

As this song showcases the strength, power, and peace of God; I decided to film in locations that to me have personally allowed me to feel that; through the power of music, within the Church, and out in nature.

I've always loved songwriting, however composing melodies is not something that I've felt has come naturally to me; and so I've mostly aimed for encouraging others while singing (in church, or in online videos) covers of songs that have blessed me. While I have written many songs lyrically, this will only be the 3rd song that I've pushed myself to finish with music (and only the 2nd song that I've shared with others!)
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*I believe the video that has been posted on Youtube has better audio quality than the video file attached. When I compressed the size of the video in order to make it under the 400MB size, the audio was affected...

How it fits into contest

I firmly believe that we must be mindful of context as we read the Bible, and yes; while the passage of Ephesians 6:10-20 can definitely stand on its own, I wanted to go a little bit deeper than that. I wanted to make this passage more accessible, and more understandable to those who've never read the Bible, for those who've never heard of the "Armour of God" and maybe even for those who've never taken the time to metaphorically decipher its meaning in their lives.

I went about this in two ways:

First, I wanted to shed light on the weight and impact of our world's current situation. Whether it be the COVID-19 pandemic, or the systemic injustice of racism; we don't have to look far to find the unseen enemy. We're all unsure of the future, we're all anxious about the present day, and it's amazing how that experience can internationally unify us and give us the chance to search for meaning and hope within our lives.

In searching for that, I secondly felt it was important not just to talk about the Armour of God, not just to write lyrics of salvation, righteousness, truth, faith, peace, and the Spirit of God; but to delve into scripture and define what these words personally mean to us. This mostly focused on the chorus, but is spread among the verses and bridge as well, however I'd like to share the specific verses that inspired the chorus:

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CHORUS:
The things that you hope for, a power unseen (FAITH)
The long narrow way that leads to the day (TRUTH)
If you seek, it’ll save (SALVATION)
Shine forth like the sun (RIGHTEOUSNESS)
Your weary soul is at rest, the battle is won (PEACE)
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Faith: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1)

Truth: "For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few." (Matthew 7:14) and "Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)

Salvation: "And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Acts 2:21) and "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." (Luke 19:10)

Righteousness: "But the path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day." (Proverbs 4:18)

Peace: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28)

Credits

Composer/Lyricist/Music Performer/Vocalist/Piano/Director/Editor: Me, myself, and I

*although my mom also helped in filming a few of the video shots 🙂

Transcript / Lyrics

Burning cities of life
Burning anger and strife
Do the embers of hate, make it all (make it all) ok?

The viral spread of disease
Viral weighted unease
Will a little black box, make it all (make it all) stop?

When the lights all disappear, you’re left in the voidless atmosphere
And you fear that you’ll fall, you fear you’re too small
You need a helping hand
Be strong in the Lord, His might He’ll afford
Hold on to

The things that you hope for, a power unseen
The long narrow way that leads to the day
If you seek, it’ll save
Shine forth like the sun
Your weary soul is at rest, the battle is won
Hold on

Break free from the chains
Break the heartless remains
Like a sliver of light escapes the black (the black) hole of night

When the hope just disappears, you’re left in the pitless atmosphere
And you’re scared to look back, scared of the attack
You need a healing hand
Be strong in the Lord, His grace He’ll afford
Hold on to

The things that you hope for, a power unseen
The long narrow way that leads to the day
If you seek, it’ll save
Shine forth like the sun
Your weary soul is at rest, the battle is won
Hold on

Stand on the edge of a world unknown
Zoom out from what you see, believe what you know
Pray though you’re flawed, with the Spirit of God
The faith of the fight, hold on through the night
Until your

Weary soul is at rest, the battle was won
Hold on

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