Brandon Lake Dreamed of Being in ‘American Songwriter’—Now He Is

Brandon Lake is a five-time Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, and worship leader who has amassed more than 2.5 billion career streams, including a recent No. 1 collaboration with Jelly Roll, “Hard Fought Hallelujah,” a duet with Rascal Flatts, “Stand,” and broke records with his new album, King Of Hearts, out now. He recently performed on American Idol, made his Grand Ole Opry debut, and wowed a stadium of country music fans during CMA Fest when he joined Jelly Roll for a surprise performance.

And while all of those accomplishments are undisputable milestones, Lake said being in American Songwriter has been in longtime goal. He credits the magazine with helping him recognize his desire to be a singer/songwriter.

Lake told American Songwriter he had fallen in love with artist Noah Gunderson.

“His lyricism is just phenomenal,” Lake said of Gunderson. “I think he’s one of the best, very underrated.”

Brandon Lake Read About His Favorite Artist in American Songwriter

The “Hard Fought Hallelujah” singer saw a story about Gunderson in American Songwriter and was immensely proud. Lake felt like his favorite artist was getting the recognition he deserved.

“That was the moment that I was like, ‘Brandon Lake, you’ll one day be in American Songwriter,” he said. “That’s been my goal, especially because I identify more, or maybe my heart burns a little bit more as a songwriter than even an artist.”

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Lake can now cross that item from his bucket list. In the meantime, he’s earning the respect of the country music community. Lake isn’t trying to be a country star, but country singers are recognizing his powerful, distinct voice. Rascal Flatts‘ Jay DeMarcus said Lake’s collaboration on “Stand” was one of his favorite tracks on the trio’s new Fast Cars and Freedom: Refueled Duets.

“He came in the studio and had his own thoughts about how he wanted the track to be,” DeMarcus said. “It was his idea to start out going after the ’80s thing a little bit.”

Brandon Lake Was Intimidated to Sing with Rascal Flatts

DeMarcus likened the new version of “Stand” to Whitesnake’s “Here I Go Again.” Dann Huff produced the album, and he played many of the guitars on the original 1987 recording of “Here I Go Again.”

“Dan was all in,” DeMarcus said. “He was like, ‘Let’s do it. Let’s just go all the way with it.’ Brandon loved it. And it was just one of those things where it was just like the stars aligned.”

The praise leaves Lake a bit speechless.

“There’s legends on that record,” Lake said of Fast Cars and Freedom: Refueled Duets. Other artists on the album include Carly Pearce, Kelly Clarkson, Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton, and Jordan Davis. “It was one of the most intimidating things I’ve ever done. Who wants to sing next to Gary? He’s a vocal freak. But the fact that they feel like I did it justice, and I got to sing it live with him on tour a few months back, that was one of my highlights of this year so far. And just loved those guys. They were so encouraging and helpful to me and just loved on me and cheered me on.”

(Photo credit: Paul Rivera / Elicity PR)