For more than 40 years, K-LOVE has brought listeners the right song at the right time. Alongside favorite tracks from your favorite Christian artists, we also want to make sure K-LOVE listeners are the first to hear new music. Enter K-LOVE First, your opportunity to hear brand new songs before any one else! Over the past few months, we’ve had the chance to launch a parade of shining debuts we simply can’t get out of our head. As part of our official K-LOVE First events, listeners heard these future hits at the top of every hour all day long during select dates in November, December and January. We can’t wait to share more song premieres with you throughout 2024. In the meantime, here are six songs you heard exclusively on K-LOVE First.
“Grave Robber,” Crowder
Crowder puts his undeniable stamp on resurrection with new single “Grave Robber.” Inspired by the biblical story of Lazarus — the dead friend Jesus miraculously brought back to life — the hitmaker’s latest original boasts Crowder’s gritty lyricism and signature folk-rock blend that have carried him to the top of the charts time and time again. A K-LOVE First, “Grave Robber” serves as the lead radio single from Crowder’s forthcoming studio album, the highly anticipated follow-up to 2021’s “Milk & Honey.” Backed by a wall of distorted guitars, hard-hitting drums and a subtle Gospel choir, sonically, the innovator calls his latest offering “res-rock,” short for “resurrection rock.” Lyrically, he cleverly equates Jesus to a grave robber as he sings, “Like a thief in the night He snuck in, took my life. I was dead, now I’m alive and singing.”
“These Days,” Jeremy Camp
A K-LOVE First, Jeremy Camp's future hit, “These Days,” focuses on the Jeremiah 29:11 kind of plans God has for us — “plans for good and not for disaster, to give [us] a future and a hope.” In the midst of an unrelenting news cycle filled with pessimism and hopeless outlooks, Camp sought to craft a single that reminds us God knew what He was doing by having us walk this Earth during this particular time in history. “I remember writing this and just thinking about what’s going on in our society — a lot of the chaos that’s going on and a lot of the fear. A lot of people are feeling like, ‘Why am I here? What’s my purpose? Why was I born at this time?’ [Like] Esther, back in the Old Testament, where it says she was born at ‘such a time as this’ to stand up for her people, God has given us a purpose and a reason for being here,” Camp attests. “I really do want to encourage you God has you here for a reason. He doesn’t make mistakes. He has a plan and a purpose for you. You were born for such a time as this to truly be a light in a dark world.”
“My God Can,” Katy Nichole & Naomi Raine
Inspired by the well-known passage found in Philippians 4:13 (“I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”), Katy Nichole’s new song, “My God Can,” illustrates the power found in a Savior, for whom nothing is impossible. The K-LOVE Fan Award winner unites with beloved Maverick City Music member Naomi Raine for the brand new ballad about the ultimate source of supernatural strength. “This song is so special because I got to write it with some of my closest friends — Josh Havens, Jordan Mohilowski and Ethan Hulse — and I got to collaborate with the beautiful and talented Naomi Raine, which was such an honor,” Nichole enthuses. “I am excited for you guys to hear it, and I hope this song gives you the confidence to trust fully in God as you walk into 2024. Let this be your anthem: ‘I’m standing in the confidence that even though I can’t, my God can.’” A K-LOVE First, “My God Can (feat. Naomi Raine)” is slated to appear on the deluxe edition of Nichole’s full-length debut, “Jesus Changed My Life,” scheduled to bow March 15, 2024.
“Don’t Stop Praying,” Matthew West
Every year, Matthew West chooses a personal mission statement that becomes his own mantra for the next 12 months. His theme for 2024? Don’t stop praying. It’s also the title of his first single of the new year. “We’ve all been to a place where discouragement can make us wonder if God really hears our prayers. I wrote this song for anybody who’s ever felt like giving up or losing their faith,” West shares. “I couldn’t be more excited to start the new year off with this new song. I hope it encourages anyone who hears it to join me in a commitment to prayer in 2024.” “Don’t Stop Praying” serves as a powerful reminder that God hears our prayers. Just because we haven’t seen the answer yet, doesn’t mean He’s not listening. West has been teasing the new track on his socials since December, and K-LOVE listeners were the first to hear the hopeful anthem during a K-LOVE First event in early January. The in-demand lyricist will make the fresh original the focus of his “Don’t Stop Praying Tour,” set to kick off Feb. 22, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C.
“Honestly, We Just Need Jesus,” Terrian
Following the upbeat, anthemic sonics of massive pop hit “Big God,” Terrian returns with a confessional mid-tempo ballad, “Honestly, We Just Need Jesus.” The phrase might sound trite on its own, but in the context of the hard-hitting lyrics found across the quietly vulnerable track, it simply sounds like the truth. In the day and age we’re living in, it speaks to our collective stress, confusion and frustration, pointing us to the ultimate answer to the world’s problems. “This song is me taking a look in the mirror and recognizing that I don’t have the solution. I know the Person, though, who has the solution to the pain, the anxiety, the hurt that plagues our world, and His name is Jesus,” the Memphis native shares of the track that debuted as a K-LOVE First. “This song has meant so much to me for a while now. I look forward to finally sharing this one with you guys.” “Honestly, We Just Need Jesus” appears on Terrian’s highly anticipated full-length debut, “Give It Time,” which dropped the same day she kicked off this year’s “Hits Deep Tour” alongside TobyMac, Cory Asbury, Mac Powell, Tasha Layton and Jon Reddick.
“He Does,” Brandon Heath
Brandon Heath serves up a joyful anthem with new radio single “He Does.” The piano-led, choir-assisted selection celebrates God’s role as a consistent provider and faithful friend. “Honestly, I was just thinking about all the things that we forget the Lord covers,” Heath says of the cleverly penned track. “He fills our needs in wild abundance and lavishes His love on us in crazy ways. We often just miss it. So this song was my fun, upbeat way of saying, ‘Oh, by the way, God does all that — He does.’” Like his most recent No. 1, “See Me Through It,” “He Does” leans on tongue-in-cheek lyrics to unravel the mystery of a God who loves us unconditionally, hears us every time we pray and holds the whole world in His hands. A K-LOVE First, “He Does,” which Heath co-wrote with Kyle Williams, is the lead single from the five-time GRAMMY® nominee’s next studio project, due later this year.
