She's also being modest. Find a Way -- the LP's hit single from last year -- peaked at No. 29 on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 chart and landed at No. 7 in the adult-contemporary listings. In the world of contemporary Christian pop, that's not merely a hit -- it's a breakthrough.
The 26-year-old singer, who performs at the Dallas Convention Center Saturday night, doesn't take all the credit for the present healthy state of Christian pop music, but she's honest enough to claim her fair share. "It's probably a combination of the times and, probably, the artists, the climate of our country. Seeing as how I'm one of the singers and songwriters,' she laughs in a phone interview from Nashville, "I don't want to say it's totally circumstantial.'
Grant gives every indication during the long-distance chat that she's a real person -- as opposed to a machine that spews out ready-made answers, which is what a good eight out of 10 pop stars become at interview time. Even for those who don't care for her mild, middle-of-the-road music, Grant's open -- yes, unguarded -- manner is refreshing.
Grant is easily leader of the pack in a field that includes groups such as Petra, Journey-style evangelical rockers; Stryper, heavy-metal Christian missionaries, and Steve Taylor, a modern techno-pop singer with a secular bent. Grant's success story has been covered by Rolling Stone and Newsweek, and the catchy Find a Way -- though lyrically vague about its religious convictions -- will forever have the distinction as the little song that made big radio sit up and take notice of Christian pop. "I'm thrilled,' she says of that single. "Back here, we all feel like that was a real important first step.'
In a potentially no-win situation, Find a Way was scrutinized by both the music press and Christian music fans. Was it too strident in its message, or was it too obscure for the sake of commercial concession? "Because so much of my earlier songwriting was specifically about the gospel, specifically about my relationship with Jesus, I think that it just made people question what I was doing,' she says. "But, honestly, I have felt such a wonderful freedom as a creative person since I kind of loosened those bonds just a little bit.
"I mean, I might wake up tomorrow morning and write the next Jesus Loves Me. Or I might wake up tomorrow morning and write a song about my left tennis shoe. It's just so nice to think I've got the freedom to do that. I'm not compromising my life, I'm not compromising my faith, I'm just giving in to the creative impulse that I feel is a gift from God. And I feel like that's what I need to be true to -- to the gift that I've been given. "You just can't let somebody else dictate how that's gonna be expressed,' Grant says. "Once I got over that insecurity, I didn't mind the criticism.'
The Rev. Jerry Falwell, founder of the Moral Majority and a frequent spokesman for the fundamentalist movement, is reportedly not a fan of Grant, Petra or anyone else remotely associated with rock 'n' roll. Grant might prefer it otherwise, but she's not losing sleep over the famous preacher's disapproval.
"I heard he's said some pretty salty things,' she says. "I really respect him, and I sure wish he liked me, but I don't guess I can dictate that. Everybody wants to be liked. I remember, when I was a kid, my mother -- she's just an incredible lady -- and she was talking to me about being an individual. I was just a kid, and I'm sure she was just trying to help me relate somehow. She said, "Amy, when you go through life, you don't know if you're gonna be chocolate ice cream or vanilla or strawberry. But, when you find out, even if you're the best strawberry ice cream you can be, there are gonna be people who are never gonna like strawberry ice cream.'
"And that really sunk into me as a kid. I guess that's what makes me think, "You know, Jerry, if you walked in my shoes, you might do it differently -- but you don't have the opportunity to walk in mine, and I don't have the opportunity to walk in yours, and I'm just doin' the gosh-darndest to be what I'm supposed to be.' Beyond that, you just can't worry that somebody doesn't like strawberry ice cream.'
After that tasty analogy, Grant is asked if she can recall the meanest thing ever written about her. "I think your mind has a way of blocking certain things out,' she says dryly, and then laughs, "I don't remember. And, really, if I thought of it, I surely wouldn't want you to quote it. This is self-preservation.'
Grant, who lists as influences Elton John and strong female artists such as Bette Midler, Carole King and Joni Mitchell, has mixed feelings about the Parents' Music Resource Center, the group of Washington wives who have been moving to put warning labels on records they consider to contain offensive lyrics.
"I'm glad the responsibility of the decision is not in my lap. . . . ' she says. "I know what it's like to feel real protective of someone else. I don't have any children of my own, but I have nieces and nephews that are very young and extremely impressionable. And, boy, I feel like a lioness when I feel they're being taken advantage of. This strength and anger wells up in me on their behalf, because I want them to have the best shot at life, and I don't want them to get screwed up at an early age because of something they were subjected to. . . .
"On the other hand, as an artistic person, part of me is thinking, "Wait a minute, something about this smacks of burning witches in Salem and the Inquisition.'. . . . There are some pretty ridiculous things out there; there are just totally uncalled-for, gross, lewd albums. "All I know to do is just roll my eyes, shrug my shoulders and say, "What in the world made you do that?''
Another current-events question: Would Amy Grant play South Africa were she invited? "No, not at the present time,' she says without hesitation, adding softly, "I have been invited.'
Grant makes it clear that, while she's very comfortable with her religious beliefs and feels compelled to share them, she's not necessarily bent on converting listeners. "I don't feel that what I do is, by any means, proselytizing. If anything, I feel like it's the best thing I've got to offer of myself. How someone responds, I've never felt a responsibility for that. I get letters from people all the time who say, "I don't really embrace what you believe, but I like the way your music makes me feel.' . . . My response is, "Boy, if it just makes you think, that's the best I can ask.' . . .
"I know that not every Christian feels like that,' Grant says, "but I feel that we're pretty much responsible for our own lives.'
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