Bryan Andrew Wilson is writing a new career chapter with an urban music-inspired EP, This Time, which recently reached No. 2 on Billboard’s Top Singles sales chart. The spiritual soul singer put aside the ballads he’s known for such as “Turning Away” and brought a hard-hitting urban rhythm to the title track.
“So many people are leaving church because of the hypocrisy of church leaders,” Wilson adds. “People are quick to pass judgement and gossip when they don’t know your story or how you came to be in the condition, they find you in. The church is supposed to be the hospital for the sick but too often we’re telling the sick that they have no insurance, so go away. This song is about shaking off the naysayers and giving yourself your God-granted second chance. I sing that `This time, I’m gonna love harder, I’m gonna be smarter.’ That’s a message that anyone can embrace whether they go to church or not.”
The bass-heavy, rocker comes at a time when spiritual messages are creeping into mainstream songs ranging from Drake’s “God’s Plan” to Kesha’s “Pray.” The theme carries over into a Wilson’s new music video that was produced and directed by Isaac “Chill Yowman (Beyoncé, Trey Songz, Chris Brown). It was shot on a soundstage at Ricky Rich & Morgan “Bless” Riley’s Studio 713 where DJ Snake and Justin Bieber cut, “Let Me Love You,” a platinum hit. The video is in the first round of this year’s Grammy® Awards in the Best Music Video category.
“I really wanted to do a video on this track to force people to see beyond the kid who sang `His Eye is on the Sparrow,’” Wilson says. “I want them to see me 20 years later as a grown man with real issues, a real beard and some real-life things to say.”
The digital EP also features the mid-tempo, “In Spite of Me”; the lush ballad, “Love Always”; and an alternative mix of “This Time” that was produced by GMJR (Musiq Soulchild). The EP was mastered by Randy Merrill (Taylor Swift, Adele, Sam Smith) at Sterling Sound in New York City.
Wilson kicked off his career at the age of 10 with Malaco Records where he was produced by heavyweights such as Kirk Franklin, John P. Kee, Walter Hawkins and Fredrick Knight who produced the 1979 disco classic “Ring My Bell.” Wilson’s first recording, “His Eye is on the Sparrow,” with the Mississippi Children’s Choir is a gospel classic with millions of streams. Over the last four years, Wilson has scored with Billboard chart hits such as “Overflow,” “Whoa,” “I Put You First” and the haunting ballad, “Turning Away.”
