by cari stone
photos courtesy of red hill records

Katy Hudson is still a teenager, but she has already seen and done more than most people twice her age. She’s a successful singer and songwriter. She has a passionate message about God’s love. And she’s the first to admit she still has a lot to learn. * Go! caught up with this enthusiastic and outspoken teen while she was working on her new CD in Nashville and polishing off a carton of Ben and Jerry’s Fish Food ice cream for breakfast.

at Seventeen
Although her time these days is split between Nashville and Santa Barbara, California, the native beach dweller still calls the coast her home. During her first nine years, though, Katy’s mom and dad planted churches and held evangelistic meetings across the country. That’s when Katy first became interested in music.

Her older sister listened to Carmen and belted his tunes throughout the house. Katy soon started singing along. She liked it so much that she signed up for voice lessons when she was 10. Her teachers ranged from opera singers to “an almost-made-it-real-big country star” with a long mustache he had to groom constantly.

Apparently, the mix of teachers—and their lessons—paid off. At 15, Katy’s powerful voice and spiritual enthusiasm convinced a small Christian record label to sign her to a contract. Within months, she’d recorded her first CD and hit the road to go on tour.

Drawing on the musical influence of artists like Jonathan Brooke, Jennifer Knapp and Fiona Apple, her critically acclaimed, self-titled debut moved toward a more alternative—even modern rock—sound. Unlike many current teen singers, Katy helps to write her own songs. It doesn’t take listeners long to realize that she thinks deeply and has a lot to say through her music.

Now just 17, Katy said she’s always known music was in her future. “I realized what my calling was at a young age,” she said. “I sort of felt it in my bones. But God will use a willing vessel, and there isn’t an age limit on that.”

This morning, however, she’s ready to move on from 17 to adulthood.

“The worst part of being 17 is that it’s kind of in-between,” she said. “You’re not really sure what you’re doing. At 18, you’re legal and free. At 16, you’re sweet and joy-some. I do feel like I’m maturing. I just realize that I’m taking on more responsibilities and making more right decisions. I’m going to be 18. I need to wise up and start acting like an adult.”

moving on
Right now, acting like an adult means figuring out what God has next for her. That includes searching for a new record label. When asked what God has been teaching her lately, Katy admits she’s been working her way out of a dry season in her Christian life.

“I went through a really slow time,” she said. “My music wasn’t happening. We were planning on taking a break for a while because the whole record label thing didn’t really work out. I felt just kind of slow in everything, and my relationship with God slowed down. I didn’t crack my Bible for days, for months probably.”

So what changed? According to Katy, God used “Reality” to wake her up. “Reality” is a group in Santa Barbara that meets every Friday night. Hundreds of college kids get together to hear the truth of the gospel—as told by a local surfer. Most recently, this dude’s messages encouraged Katy to give to herself the same grace that God has already given her.

“I need to start learning to live in forgiveness and grace. It is really unfortunate not to live in forgiveness and instead live in regret and remorse and guilt. You never get the meat of Christ,” Katy said. “I’m learning to live in that and learning to remember that I’m not supposed to be perfect. I’m supposed to keep growing, but my knees are all scraped up, I guess.”

It turned out it’s not just Katy’s spiritual knees that were banged up. When we talked, her physical knees were still healing from an incident involving a “small little white marshmallow” dog. While she was watching it, the dog broke free and Katy chased it down the street and down some painful stairs—giving her the perfect illustration for her spiritual condition.

the teen thing
When asked to distinguish between Katy the artist and Katy the teen, she quickly replied that they are truly one and the same.

“I feel a responsibility to be who I am,” she said. “I know sometimes if I don’t think about what I do or think about the things I say, then I’ll just ruin it for everybody. I’ll keep giving that stereotype of teens—that they’re irresponsible and not really doing anything with their lives and they are just all a bunch of punks. I don’t want that to be the case.”

She continued: “Your teen years are a total time of discovery. It’s when your brain starts really kickin’ in. You’re figuring out, I’m here for a purpose, I’m not here just to lollygag around. It’s a fun and a hard time.”

Although Katy’s school experience has been unique—she only spent one semester in public high school between going to Christian schools and finishing up with home schooling—it made a sometimes painful impact on her. Especially during her six months of public high school, she felt misunderstood and endured teasing from classmates who didn’t really get her. Sometimes accused of being full of herself, Katy knew better.

“It’s not that I’m full of myself,” she said. “It’s that I know I’ve been called for a purpose, and that God has had His hand on me.”

Who you hang around with, Katy says, can dramatically impact your relationship with God. “Hanging out with people will give you the good choices or the wrong choices a lot of times. Making the good choices will help your relationship with God, ultimately.”

wise words
In closing, I asked Katy if she’d like to add anything before we wrapped up. With a heavy sigh she said, “Don’t eat too much chocolate in the morning.” The Ben and Jerry’s was all gone.

Musical influence

One way to reach out to your nonChristian friends is to share your music with them—especially music by Christian artists. Katy’s debut album might be a great place to start. The music is cool, and her lyrics are clear about what she believes—while admitting that it’s sometimes hard to trust God when you’re a teen.  Check out these lyrics:

from “Growing Pains”
by Katy Hudson and Mark Dickson

“I’m still growing, still stretchin’/Still breaking in these new shoes/Looking for a way to make a mark of my own/I’m just a spring chick, wet behind the ears/It’s a part of life so there’s no need to fear/These growing pains I’m going through. * “I don’t regret/I’m not ashamed that I haven’t yet/begun to speaketh ways/As the wisest of men/oh perhaps someday/But for now I’m grateful to be a/part of the family tree/ while The Man upstairs does His work on me/ It’s a job that may take eternity to complete.”

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from “Trust in Me”
by Katy Hudson and Mark Dickson

“How could I see You when I was so blind/ How could I grasp You when I was far behind/ How could I hear You when I was so deaf/How could I get up when I had been left. * “But You said, ‘don’t worry’/For I’ve healed the blind man/And I’ve set the captives free/And You said, ‘don’t worry’/For all you’ve gotta do/Is put your trust in Me.”

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from “spit”
by Katy Hudson

“But looking into my eyes I knew/You felt this heart’s cry/I needed You bad, my life was oh so sad/But looking back at all this pain, this guilt, this strife/Would You take it all away if I were to give You back my life?/But You said, ‘I’ve forgiven thee,’/And You said, ‘I’ve forgiven thee.’ ”

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You can find more of kaTY’s songs at her website, www.katyhudson.com