Country Singer Jennifer Nettles Says Church Taught Her ‘Passion,’ ‘Conviction’

Published: April 8, 2024

Country Singer Jennifer Nettles Says Church Taught Her ‘Passion,’ ‘Conviction’

By Movieguide® Contributor

Sugarland singer Jennifer Nettles recently shared how her upbringing in the church still influences how she creates music today.

“My grandmother, my mom’s mom, Nanny, is what we called her. She sang in the trio whenever she was growing up, and my mom sang in the choir, and my dad had a fantastic voice,” she said during an episode of Southern Living’s “Biscuits and Jam” podcast. “I remember whenever I was little sitting up in the front, standing up actually beside him in the cab of the truck…’Islands in the Stream’ would be on, and of course he would sing Kenny’s part and I would sing Dolly’s part and just listening, listening to music and singing along. I have so many great memories of that, but mostly for me, in addition to those family associations, mostly for me it was in church.”

Nettles said church was where she “grew up learning and getting to understand what it is to see people sing with passion and with conviction about something that they believe in.”

“To this day, it’s a litmus that works for me with songwriting and with performing,” she continued. “I have to be able to connect to it in a really spiritual way to be able to feel like it’s something that I want to perform.”

Nettles has previously spoken about how her faith has influenced her life and musical career.

“When I need to reach out and check myself on things that might feel like a question of faith, I have a wonderful support [system] to help me there and come back on track,” the singer told Patheos. “For the most part, while I’ve had struggles and challenges in that way, there hasn’t been anything, so to speak, that would make me question what is that small still voice within. I know that I am a child of God, and I am always cared for and protected in that way.”

In addition to her music career, Nettles is also a successful actress. One of her projects includes Dolly Parton’s CHRISTMAS OF MANY COLORS.

“I think it’s important to have balance in this life, and I think that needs to be reflected in art as well, specifically where this movie is concerned,” she told The Christian Post of the movie’s hopeful message. “I think especially in this post-modernism, now more than ever with how bombarded we are with confronting truths, I think it’s important that we also have those moments of balance and those things that feed us in a different way.”