Jordan St. Cyr’s latest single, “Rescue (feat. Tiffany Hudson),” was inspired by a disastrous two-week period in the life of his family. They were told his youngest daughter, Emery, who’s battled an array of health issues since birth, would need eye surgery. Their car broke down…twice. Their oldest daughter broke her leg. St. Cyr’s initial record deal fell through. They ended up in the hospital with Emery following a series of scary seizures. Then, the entire family got food poisoning. Talk about not being able to catch a break. Through the series of calamities, however, St. Cyr says he felt held. That’s when he realized the rescue of Jesus isn’t the absence of suffering; it’s His presence in the midst of it. “Rescue” remains an anchor track on St. Cyr’s sophomore effort, “My Foundation,” which the dad of four released two days ahead of Father’s Day. We caught up with the award-winning Canadian artist right before his new project dropped to talk about his former career in construction, his little girl’s prognosis, and how many songs he’s already stockpiled for future records.
K-LOVE: You had a lot of success off the bat with your first album with songs like “Fires” and “Weary Traveler.” It often takes several records to get a hit or gain some momentum. What did you learn between record one and record two that you carried with you into this batch of songs?
Jordan St. Cyr: Man, that is a hard one. I think I learned that my identity is not in my music. It’s not who I am. I don’t believe, holistically, that I am called to be a musician. I think it’s part of my calling, but it’s more of an overflow, maybe. I’m called to love God and love people. I think God cares more about who we are than what we do. Don’t get me wrong, I think what we do is an overflow of who we are, but I think God wants our hearts in all of it. He’s a jealous God, and success can sometimes get in the way of that. So I’m doing my best to just keep a level head and remember that I’m not defined by my successes. At the end of the day, I’m a child of God. And so I’m trying to keep that perspective.
K-LOVE: Growing up in Canada, was music always what you wanted to do?
Jordan St. Cyr: Yeah. I think I didn’t always share my dream with people. I think I protected it. I grew up in a small, blue-collar town where you either were a farmer or you were in construction. So saying, “I want to write songs and be on the radio,” didn’t quite fit. Obviously, I did construction for over 20 years, and it was an interesting overlap. I got to the point where my songs were on the radio. I would go into someone’s house, and I would be working in their basement. I would hear their radio playing, and I would hear my song. And that was a wild thing. But they didn’t necessarily make the connection that I was that singer. They didn’t know who it was. I would just go on with the job, because the thing with construction is, if you tell them you’re in music, you lose credibility. God used that job to really build in me a heart of gratitude, a heart of service. And then eventually, I was able to do what I wanted to do.
K-LOVE: Coming from that small town, what do your parents think about how your career has progressed and where it’s taken you?
Jordan St. Cyr: My parents have been huge supporters since the beginning. My dad is a songwriter and musician. He even did some solo stuff back in the day. My parents grew up in some pretty rough homes. I think they sacrificed a lot of their dreams just to raise a healthy family. And so this is the fruit of that. I tell them all the time, “You guys did it. I would not be who I am or where I am without the sacrifices you have made.”
K-LOVE: “Rescue” is such a strong song of faith. How do you write a strong song of faith out of a season that might make you doubt your faith?
Jordan St. Cyr: Well, I think the honest answer is the world would use circumstance as a reason to doubt God, or maybe Him even being good, and it’s been my experience to be the opposite. Circumstance just proves over and over and over again the goodness of God and His presence. He is so near when we go through the hard stuff.
K-LOVE: Tiffany Hudson from Elevation Worship sings with you on “Rescue.” Her voice is so angelic. Did you know Tiffany beforehand?
Jordan St. Cyr: I knew of her. And I mean, it’s Elevation Worship; they’re just one of my favorite artists. There’s just this softness, and there’s just this worshipful heart that she brings to this song, and I couldn’t have asked for a better collaborator.
K-LOVE: Is there a theme that runs throughout your new album, “My Foundation”?
Jordan St. Cyr: The depth of God’s presence has been our story, and it’s what I hope to carry forward in this new record. For me personally, this is just what a life lived in Christ, built on Christ, looks like. We’re really seeing the fruit of that more than ever in our lives. Having our four kids, having them at certain ages; everyone’s healthy. Our little one is doing so good. She graduated from preschool this year. And I feel like we’re in a season of living the evidence of all that God has done in our lives. We’re really seeing the fruit on the vine, and this album is just a celebration of walking through a really hard time and seeing God’s redemption in real time.
K-LOVE: Are you writing all the time, or do you go through seasons where you’re writing more than others?
Jordan St. Cyr: January and February are my bi g writing seasons, because I’m typically off the road. So for the next project, we’ve already got about 22 songs written. And I’ll probably write another 22 or more at the beginning of next year. I love being in the writing room. It’s probably my favorite thing.
K-LOVE: How many songs did you have going into this record?
Jordan St. Cyr: I think I had about 35, 40 songs. So hopefully we picked the right ones.
K-LOVE: How did you land on the 11 that made the final tracklisting for “My Foundation”?
Jordan St. Cyr: As a team, we just went through the stack and rated them out of 10. We kind of gave each one a number. There were times where the label liked one and I didn’t. There was one that actually got cut from the album that may very well be the next radio single. And so there’s just this give and take. I love when people speak into the process. I’ve been at this for so long on my own, now that I have this amazing team to support me, the fact that they would have an opinion and be willing to speak into it, I’m like, “Let’s go!”
K-LOVE: Your five-year-old, Emery — how’s she doing currently?
Jordan St. Cyr: Yeah. She hasn’t had a seizure in a year-and-a-half. She learned how to ride her bike, which is something her neurologist said she’d never do. When she was born, they said, “She’s likely not going to ride a bike or drive or play baseball.” Her favorite thing to do now is to go out and hit a ball. She’s just so fiery. She’s got this long red hair — the kind of hair people will pay for. It’s just got all the colors in it. And she’s a little jokester. She loves to tell these cute little dad jokes, and she loves to ham it up. I think that’s a great sign that, cognitively, she’s going to be OK. She’s just been given all the tools she needs to make a great impact in this world.
K-LOVE: Do you think your daughter’s challenges have changed your perspective?
Jordan St. Cyr: Yeah, I think it’s taught me the importance of putting the emphasis on the right things. People matter so much. Relationships have always meant a lot to me, but the last few years have been a refinement process. I think the way we treat people is really a reflection of what we believe about God.
