Chris Tomlin On His New Album & The Spiritual Shift He Sees In America

Chris Tomlin, who began his more than thirty years ago, is one of the most successful artists in Contemporary Christian Music.

His love of music began as a kid growing up in Texas and actually started with country music, but he soon felt a pull to write the kind of songs people could sing in church.

Today, the GRAMMY-winning artist is still selling out arenas and bucket-list venues (Madison Square Garden, Hollywood Bowl, Red Rocks, and others), people sing his songs in churches around the world, and his 2022 megahit “Holy Forever” just got Platinum certification which means it’s sold more than a milion copies, so far.

Tomlin, who began writing songs simply to give people a “voice to worship God,” has released his first new album in three years. The title has a very clear message.

“Yes, The King Is Still The King,” Tomlin says. “And this is the longest it’s ever been for me between albums, so I’m excited for people to hear this new music. It’s is filled with songs of joy, real belief and struggle, and hopefully will connect with people and help them encounter God in a new and fresh way.”

The first single, released earlier this year, is a song called “How Good It Is” and pulls verses from the book of Psalms to highlight calls to praise.

“This one song alone has Psalm 100, Psalm 92, Psalm 113, just to name a few. These are beautiful calls to praise in a way that has a lot of celebration to it. It’s one of those songs you’ll hopefully want to crank up as you sing praise to God.”

The King Is Still The King lists 15 tracks, although four of them have crown emojis as titles. These are instrumental interludes that incorporate sounds from nature to allow the listener to pause and reflect between songs.

With the album’s release just today, Tomlin is looking forward to hearing which of the new songs might resonate most with fans. One, especially, he’s hoping might have an impact is “Help My Unbelief.”

“This is from scripture where a dad is in front of Jesus asking him to heal his son and Jesus says all things are possible for those who believe. And the dad says I do believe but help my ‘unbelief.’ Who doesn’t feel that way at times?” Tomlin asks. “I love that Jesus didn’t just say, well, you don’t believe 100 percent, then move on past him. Jesus saw faith there and healed his child. It reminds me of the scripture that says when we’re at our weakest, God is at his strongest and his strength is perfect in our weakness.”

Tomlin’s album comes at a time when Christian faith is getting global attention, following the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Tomlin, who was among a group of Christian artists who sang at Kirk’s funeral, says there’s a shift in people turning toward to faith and not being afraid to be vocal about it.

“I’ve never seen so many people trying to find some kind of sense in a senseless act, but also turning to God,” Tomlin says. “People are done with the bullying of you can’t talk about Jesus and you can’t talk about your faith. I think those days in this country are over. And I think it’s the younger generation, thankfully, that’s leading the way.”

While Tomlin sees a new awakening, he knows there are millions of fellow believers, many of whom have found strength and inspiration in his music.

He recently marked a rare career milestone, re-resigning with his longtime home of Capitol Christian Music Group of twenty-five years. It’s a rare accomplishment these days for an artist in any genre to stay with the same record label that long.

Tomlin says he knows he’s extremely fortunate and never takes any of it for granted.

“To be able to do this for so long, traveling and playing music, is a really special thing. I’m grateful every day and thankful for the people who’ve connected with my music, responded to it, and are fellow worshippers along with me. And while I don’t know how long this road will continue, I’m excited for the next chapter and the next season.

For now, that next chapter involves a busy fall tour and getting the chance to share new music from The King Is Still The King.