Jill Parr
In a day when the world is being shaken to its core, people are searching for answers. Their quest to find a center of gravity becomes more and more desperate. Then, out of the darkness emerges a voice of hope pointing to a secure place to land. That voice is Jill Parr. That place of security is Jesus Christ.
Christian Records proudly launches ORBIT by Jill Parr. A fusion of current alternative and new fashion pop, ORBIT is full of rich vocals and transparent lyrics that take the listener on a journey of the heart. From the out-of-this-world title cut and the energetic Another Revolution to heartfelt and honest offerings like County Line and Long Way Home, ORBIT is a reflection of Jill Parr’s desire to relate with the person seeking and then (and more importantly) to accompany that seeker to the next level of faith.
“There is such a common thread of faith in this record that is poured over in each song,” Parr says. “This record is for the believer, but also for the doubter, the one who questions, the searcher. I don’t have the answers, but I can point you to the One who does.”
ORBIT reaches beyond spiritual clichés to express the passion of one who would rather walk beside than in front of her listeners. The theme that runs throughout ORBIT has been one close to Jill Parr’s heart and has had a significant impact on her own spiritual walk.
“The idea that God is all encompassing, never-changing and all-forgiving is something that I cling to. Life has many different roads and sometimes we decide to take the long, difficult, challenging route when God meant the journey to be beautiful. I believe that ultimately those stray paths will lead us back to Him. That is really what the song Orbit talks about. We are never beyond His reach or His grace. Taking that further, ORBIT is also about affecting your every day sphere of influence for the Kingdom. I want to dare us to dig deeper, to evaluate who or what we are revolving around, or in other words, our ‘orbit.’ Yes, God is the center of the universe, but is He the center of our lives?”
Parr’s own struggles and victories drive her compassion for others, and the message that she wants to share on stage is the same as in life.
“My hope is to point others to the One who heals broken hearts, because I have felt His healing myself. If I can help the brooder who feels no purpose in life realize that they are the reason that Jesus came, I have fulfilled God’s call on my life. That’s one reason why I wanted to include the song This I Know on this record. It’s an idea that everyone, including myself, needs to be reminded of. When things don’t make sense, no matter what we are going through, we can go back to the basic we learned as children…‘Jesus loves me, This I Know.’”
Jill Parr knows what it means to try and live the perfect Christian life. Better than that, she knows what it means to successfully fail at it. As a native of Michigan, Parr grew up yearning for acceptance and a sense of purpose. Keeping up appearances and following the rules were mainstays in her life.
“Never admit frailty, never admit defeat, never air dirty laundry.” Parr recalls, “Put on your church face and bring out your best religious lingo. I was great at the talk but lacked the relationship or the knowledge of the true nature of Christ. I was searching for acceptance and security and all I was feeling was that I did not fit in. My musical dreams were suffering too. Ever since I can remember I had in my heart the desire to sing. I even won my first contest at age 12. But I was under so much false guilt and pressure at the time. The restrictions I felt on my life and my music ultimately led me to rebel.”
Jill’s restlessness led her on a path to make her own way and to fulfill her own desires - a path that led to Nashville and back home again. Her return to Michigan was marked by the disappointment of idle music dreams and a failed relationship. Parr expected to find an angry disciplinarian in God during this time, but instead what she came face to face with was a God of forgiveness, mercy, and restored dreams.
“When things didn’t go the way I planned, I thought that I was no longer worthy of the dreams I had carried, and that God would fail me because I failed Him. But He was full of grace, and in time He led me back to Nashville and showed me that the dreams that He planted in me as a young girl were still there. My belief in the power of God through music was purified.”
Jill Parr is convinced that God is in the midst of this world’s reality, confusion and music. Her own experiences compelled her to cover Sting’s If I Ever Lose My Faith In You for ORBIT. Parr’s fresh remake gives inspiration to a familiar tune.
“I really feel like If I Ever Lose My Faith In You belongs on this record because it is so relevant to the times we are living in. There is such an inherent sense of spirituality in this song that I wanted to express. This world has so many things to lose faith in, things that don’t even deserve our faith. I can lose my faith in popular science, and the church may disappoint me, but God will never let me down. If I lost my faith in Him, there’d be nothing left to believe in. You may as well stop the world from spinning.”
ORBIT is the expression of one who has found freedom in living and dreaming under the complete care of a graceful God. This freedom is well expressed in the understated County Line. “This song is really about who Jill Parr is,” Parr shares. ”There are things that hold us down that we need to say goodbye to. Personally I had to say goodbye to the false sense of shame and guilt I carried for so many years. I think of the County Line as being the feet of Jesus. We need to lay these things at His feet and leave them there. We have to resist the urge to look back.”
Parr’s soulful stylings in ORBIT exhibit the guts of a pop diva coupled with the compassion of a best friend. Her vocals range from soaring to piercingly subtle. The music is dynamic, accessible, and sonically refreshing. It is the statement of an artist who understands the power of music backed by the power of the Living God.
“If Celine Dion can make people cry by the beauty of her music, then how much more can we move people by offering them not only great music but a great message? He promises in Psalm 91 to rescue those who call on Him. That is the basis of all our hope. To be able to share that message through music is my dream.”
Jill Parr’s ORBIT is a project for both believers and seekers staring into space, craving acceptance and trying to make sense of this life. The themes are universal yet intensely personal. It is the reflection of an artist who walks in the security of faith, the security of knowing that God is both the center of the universe and of our lives. |
