NASHVILLE (WordNews.org) Oct. 19, 2012 – You know him as Chris August, Contemporary Christian recording artist.
But seven years ago, he was known by his given name, Chris Megert – August is his middle name – and he recorded as a secular artist under the name Chris Megert and the Love Jones.
He got the attention of Joe Simpson, Jessica Simpson’s father, signed on with Geffen Records and headed for Los Angeles.
According to published reports, the relationship with Geffen fell through while renegotiating his contract and August headed back to his home state of Texas.
“I was doing secular music, singing pop songs and it was a fun time,” August told WordNews.org. “I learned a lot about the music industry.”
But it wasn’t all fun.
“At the end of the day it was hard. I was In LA and all my friends were back in Dallas and I wasn’t going to church anymore. I didn’t read my Bible,” he said. “I saw myself kind of falling further away from what God was calling me to do.”
August moved back to Dallas and started going to church.
Secular music’s loss was Christian music’s gain.
He remembers sitting in his room late one night and sensing how far he’d drifted from God.
“I thought to myself, ‘I have not had the feeling of conviction in a long time.’”
As a young Christian, he remembered being more sensitive to the things of God.
“If I wasn’t on the right track, it was like boom—I need to not do that,” he said. “And I didn’t have that feeling of conviction for a long time—which is funny when you think about it because I was being convicted about not being convicted.”
Still, August said he wasn’t sure what his next career move should be.
“Honestly, I was done being an artist,” he said. “I didn’t even want to do it anymore.”
That all changed – one starry night.
“One night, I was sitting in my room. I was rededicating my life and music to Christ,” he said.
That night August wrote Starry Night and “next thing you know, I was getting some calls from Nashville and had some meetings and here we are. It’s pretty crazy.”
Starry Night,which was on August’s debut Christian album, No Far Away, went on to become Christian Song of the Year in 2011.
Recently, August tweeted how he found his original handwritten lyrics to Starry Night while organizing.
“Pretty cool,” he wrote.
One Twitter follower, SummerGrace96, wrote: “This song was there for me in a very tough time in my life. I love this song so much!”
The lyrics include this chorus:
I’ve given my life to the only one
Who makes the moon reflect the sun
Every starry night
That was his design
I’ve given my life to the only son
Who was and is and yet to come
Let the praises ring
‘Cause he is everything
August said the song is personal.
“I wrote that song as that declaration.”
On his latest album, The Upside of Down, August sings about the meaningless of singing for anything but God in a song called Truth is Still True.
What good is a heart livin’ without You, livin’ without You
What good is a song that isn’t about You, that isn’t about You
So I sing, oh I sing, I sing Your name
Though it seems it’s all in vain
’Cause I know, and I know no matter how I feel
I know Your truth is still true
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