Thanks to Twitter, Christian singer-songwriter Jason Crabb found himself singing with music icon Gloria Gaynor, known for the song “I Will Survive.”
The Grammy-nominated recording artist explained in an interview with Faithwire how he ended up singing backstage — and then on-stage — with Gaynor.
It all started, he said, when Gaynor began retweeting his posts on social media. After a few reassurances from his publicist, Crabb invited Gaynor to Carnegie Hall in late April.
“When she got there,” Crabb recalled, “we just started singing around a piano in my dressing room. When we got through, I looked at her and asked, ‘Will you sing that with me tonight?’ I called her up out of the crowd, and that place went nuts. It was so cool.”
Christian Singer Jason Crabb, Legendary Hall of Famer Gloria Gaynor Unite via Twitter for Epic Duet https://t.co/jyKgbvTNfS
— Gloria Gaynor (@gloriagaynor) April 24, 2018
Ironically, the unforeseen opportunity to sing with Gaynor came not long before the release of his latest album, “Unexpected,” which has been nominated for the Grammy for “Best Roots Gospel Album” and tells the stories of God’s unexpected blessings in this life.
Gaynor and Crabb formed a special friendship following their Twitter interaction and the “I Will Survive” singer co-wrote “Day One,” one of the singles from Crabb’s new album.
“That was a special moment,” he remembered.
As for the Grammy nod, Crabb said the new record took “an entire village” to create and said the recognition alone is an honor because “I know how hard we all worked on it and how hard they worked on it.”
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In this tumultuous season, where Americans are divided along political, moral and social lines, Crabb said it’s important to inject some hope into the world. And that seems to be happening, with faith-based movies beating market expectations and Christian singers crossing over into secular venues.
“I love the fact that this is happening. I think it is way overdue,” Crabb said. “We may disagree on things and we may all have our own opinions, but we deserve to have a place in the larger media spaces. We have something to say, and we’ve got the best news — that Jesus loves you.”
For Crabb, his career in music just seemed to fall into place. He didn’t seek it out or chase after it; the opportunities came to him.
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Growing up, Crabb explained, his dad was a preacher at a small church in Beaver Dam, Kentucky. So in church, he and his siblings were in charge of the music. Eventually, people started asking them to sing at different churches and events.
“I can honestly tell you that God completely orchestrated the entire thing,” Crabb said. “We never set out to be professional Christian singers, but when there is a call on your life, God will direct the steps and open the doors for you to walk through. Did I dream of singing one day? Sure. But God’s dreams for my life were bigger than I could have ever imagined.”
As he’s touring around, Crabb sometimes finds himself sitting in his bus, reflecting on the incredible career he’s had.
“I just have to thank God for blessing me more than I could’ve ever dreamed,” he said.