By: Laura Bennett
Since her debut album How Can it Be in 2015, Grammy winner Lauren Daigle has brought joy, soul and seemingly boundless energy to stages globally.
After a five year break, her self-titled third album brought a refined definition to her sound, articulating her identity as an artist.
It’s marked an era of intentional groundedness for Lauren and, as she’s taken it on the road with The Kaleidoscope Tour, coming to Australia, the scope of her songs’ impact has only become more apparent.
“I never knew that the songs would go the distance that they have in people’s hearts and in people’s stories,” Lauren said in our interview. “I didn’t realise the capacity that a song could bear, and that’s something that I’ve learned from, and I’ve grown from, since the beginning of wanting to share hope.”
Lauren’s hope was born out of a faith in God that was cemented during years of illness in her teens.
The hope that Lauren talks about is born out of a faith in God that was cemented during years of illness in her teens. Lauren was housebound at 15 for almost two years with illness, and rejected her mother’s offer to quit her job and stay home as carer because she knew she “was encountering God”.
“I missed a lot of my high school, a lot of the fun times,” Lauren said. “But there was period in that where [I felt like] God was doing something in my heart that if [my mum] came home, I felt like it was going to interrupt or distract that. Something was built inside of me in that season.
‘God if you get me out of this, I’ll tell the world about the hope that I’ve found in You.’
“I remember saying, ‘God if you get me out of this, I’ll tell the world about the hope, I will sing about the hope, that I’ve found in You.’”
“A Complete and Total Mirage”
Almost 20 years later, Lauren’s ambition to share hope is coupled with a desire to tell the truth about fame, and this generation’s unquenchable thirst to attain it.
“Fame can be a complete and total mirage,” Lauren said. “It’s a brilliant and beautiful platform that you can impact lives in the most positive way, and it also comes with a world of responsibilities that kids don’t necessarily dream of.”
Her song Ego points to the fact that fame “is not fulfilling in the way that a lot of people think that it would be”.
“If we continue the celebration of fame and fortune in this generation, we are going to ruin the next generation,” Lauren said.
To keep her own ego in check, Lauren has a made a rule to come home every two weeks while touring to an environment where she isn’t pampered, her time is not totally accounted for and where she can “just be Lauren”.
“It’s really vital”, she said.
Fame “is not fulfilling in the way that a lot of people think that it would be”.
“True love is important to come around. It’s important to not just be the person that provides for everyone in certain ways. When you’re not grounded, if you find yourself experiencing pride or arrogance or any of that, it’s so isolating.
“Nobody wants to be friends with the person who thinks they’re better than everyone else [and] I like people way too much.”
For tour dates and details head to Lauren Daigle’s Live Nation page.
Article supplied with thanks to Hope Media.
About the Author: Laura Bennett is a media professional, broadcaster and writer from Sydney, Australia.
Feature image: Publicity photo