Jen G’s Music View on Andrea Hamilton

“Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.”
— Psalm 143:8

Andrea Hamilton’s song, “It’ll Be All Right,” from her LIVE AT SAFE HAVEN 2006 EP, is simply what captured my spirit. There was something in the radiance of her voice that revealed her inner assurance.

“She sings from the depths of her soul.”

That is what I love about Andrea Hamilton’s music. Her songs carry a sincerity that reaches beyond sound and into the heart. With songs like “Out of the Grave,” God has given Andrea Hamilton a powerful voice and life lyrics that are rock soul for every listener.

Even more stunning than her voice is her inner light. Andrea Hamilton sees beyond the world’s expectancy into making a difference through her lyrics by sharing her faith and singing about life and love—those everyday things that affect us all.

“Even more stunning than her voice is her inner light.”

Her music reflects a heart that understands both the struggles and the hope found in everyday life.

Jen G~
Publisher & Editor
of AWOE Magazine

THE INTERVIEW

Jen G: Who is Andrea Hamilton?

Andrea Hamilton: I was born in Louisiana (which is probably why I like spicy food so much) and moved to Kansas when I was young. Then I came to Southern California for college (I graduate on May 5th, yay!) and plan on staying in the LA area and writing lots of songs.

My parents are Christians, as well as my older brother, so I didn’t fall far from the tree in a spiritual sense. I asked Jesus to run my life when I was 6 or 7 at an Easter service.

That’s just about the only thing I have in common with them, though! We all do different things. My mom loves teaching and volunteer work, my dad and brother are engineers, and here I am—the only one who plays any music!

But they’re very encouraging; they always have been. My parents bought me a piano as soon as they noticed I was musically inclined, which was shortly after I broke out in song during a shopping trip to Walmart with my mom. A small crowd of shoppers applauded when I was finished. I think I was 6 at the time.

Jen G: What has God shown you through music?

Andrea Hamilton: That He cares about healing people. I pray often that He’ll use my music to bring hope to the hurting, like He did for me in my adolescence.

“I pray often that He’ll use my music to bring hope to the hurting, like He did for me.”

There was a day in junior high when I was so down in the dumps that I was laying on my bathroom floor crying. My grandma had given me this Michael W. Smith CD that I hadn’t listened to yet, and I reached over and turned my boom box on, pressing forward a few times just to hear a random song.

And no kidding, the lyrics were, “Don’t give up, Andrea… keep on moving on, this is where you need to be!”

From that point on, I was convinced God speaks through music—sometimes He even says your name!

“Sometimes He even says your name.”

Jen G: How does your faith influence the songs you write, like “Out of the Grave” from your album Stronger Than I Seem?

Andrea Hamilton: That song in particular is just a statement about my desire to get out of the rat race of our culture and find true life.

I’m only 22, but I know there’s more to life than seeing how high I can stack my bank account or how in shape I can make my body look.

“I want to care about what’s important.”

Sometimes in this society, that’s like trying to dig yourself out of a grave.

The Christian faith influences the songs I write by instilling a different value system in me, which shows itself in the stuff of everyday life. Romantic songs talk more about loyalty and unconditional love, and songs about the brokenness in the world contain a greater sense of hope.

“Songs about the brokenness in the world contain a greater sense of hope.”

Jen G: Which song earned you a spot in the Top 20 songs at the GMA Conference in 2002?

Andrea Hamilton: That was a worship song called “God of Grace.”

Jen G: How did that experience affect where you are now?

Andrea Hamilton: Being at the GMA Conference while I was in high school led me to realize that my first love is songwriting.

I started the week with hopes to prove my diva singing skills, but a few songwriting seminars and one HORRIBLE vocal audition later, I changed my track, never to return.

I still sing, of course, but I’ve fallen deeply in love with finding just the right words and stitching them into beautiful melodies.

“I’ve fallen deeply in love with finding just the right words and stitching them into beautiful melodies.”

And I want to do it every day for the rest of my life.

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