hannah anderson music

The Artist Next Door: Hannah Anderson - Part I



     "For some time now, I've wanted to share these people with you in great detail and splendor. I wanted to honor their struggle, their process, their manifested dreams coming true, and those dreams that they are still contending for. I wanted you to understand how I've been shaped as a person, because of their presence in my life.

     The people that I will feature each month in this on-going series, titled, "The Artist Next Door", will highlight these extraordinary people, and will give you a sneak peak into their world, the behind the scenes of people you may have heard of, or may not have. Often I'll split my interviews with these artists into 2 parts, just for the simple fact that I like to build anticipation.

      With that said, I can guarantee--you can do anything but forget these stories or these artists after meeting them. And I'm pretty positive they'll stir something in you. Something perhaps you didn't know was still there."

     I first met this gem of a human being about 2 years ago. I was first struck by her unique beauty. She is absolutely stunning. An unconventional and exquisite knockout. I mean. --Look.At.Her.

     And then someone said in passing..."She sings..."

     Well that's my cue. I need to hear her sing. It's a must.

     Everyone has a song to sing, but singers, well, they move me. Musicians move me in general. I think its something in my blood. Bio-dad (that's another blog post altogether) and brother and uncles are all musicians. And the way in which I respond to music, well, let's just say that it compels me.

     I was curious to find out what type of sound would come out of this bold beauty named Hannah Anderson.

     It was astounding to me that she never mentioned she sang, but instead, it was someone else speaking her praises.

     When someone toots their own horn about being a profound singer or a musician, sometimes I get leery of their own hype and praise, but when someone else with nothing to gain, sings their praises unbeknownst to the artist in question, 9 times out of 10, the artists turns out to be an unexpected comet of glory.

     And so goes the story with Hannah Anderson.

     I want you to discover for yourself the sweetness of her voice and music. If you haven't noticed, for all of 2013 I've had her song "Stronger" on the far right column as one of my "Jamz of 2013".

     Something about her music makes me proud to be a woman: Alive, tender, and fiery.

     It is an absolute pleasure to introduce you to her. She is an artist that we will continue to visit with in the months and years to come. I simply love seeing how artists evolve over time. Their music, their life, their message.

     And now, without further ado...


Hannah Anderson



Give us 3 words to describe your music.

     Thoughtful. Good. Fresh.
This is sort of a 2 in 1, but what do you see as your greatest strength and what do you see as your greatest weakness?

     I feel like my greatest strength is that I’m really good at starting things. My greatest weakness is I’ll either quit or take forever to finish anything. So I have many, many projects that I’m in the process of, or I just haven’t and probably won’t finish. Which is real bad.



What was the driving force behind your latest EP, "From the Dust"?

     Well, definitely the fact that I love music. A lot of the songs in my EP deal with heartbreak and I think that was also a driving force. It’s one thing to play music as a hobby and then it’s another to actually make it something that you do as a career, something that you’re really serious about, and have a heart for. I think this, for me was like my way of stating that, 'Yes, this is what I want to do.'

     I have a lot of doubts about my music and just showing my own music to people. So this for me was kind of a big risk!







What do you want listeners to take from your songs?

     I always want listeners to take a sense of hope from my music. 

      All of my music usually comes from a place of when I'm either way up or extremely down. When you’re on top of the world you have all of the hope in the world and when you’re down it’s always good to be, or to try to be, hopeful. I think that’s one of the main things. That’s really important to me.

Why music?...

     Why not music? Literally, when I don’t play music I’m not the same person. I don’t know what it is about music... Maybe the fact that, for me, it says more than anything I could ever just speak. Not only that, but it reaches people on a different level than just speaking to them would. You can communicate with someone who doesn’t even speak the same language. It’s just good and it makes me feel good.

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To find more info on Hannah Anderson:









I Only Feel Ugly Around You


     Photo Credit: Hannah Anderson



     Trickery is prone to happen, when one is under a veil.

     What do I mean, by this?

     Sometimes, others are not able to see you yet for who you truly are, because they don't have eyes yet to fully see you--you're behind a veil.

     In certain seasons of my life, I've felt the weight of being hidden, not always appreciating the fact that it is truly protection in a variety of ways.

     So when others, or a significant other, or a crush does not quite see you for your true beauty and is not able to validate your beauty, your mind and heart begin to second guess themselves.

     But am I beautiful?

     He doesn't think I am?

     But the standard of beauty is this, or that...

     You will hear me say this a lot this year. This may be my year of Singleness, but it is NOT my year of Ugliness.

     There is no need for me to look like a hot mess in the streets.

     So yes, I will be stepping up my game this year.

     But oddly enough, in my pursuit to step up my game, I’ve felt emotionally attacked in that exact area.

     Typical.

     Mind you, I’m still processing my heart as it deals with real feelings and attraction towards men—okay, one in particular, yet I'm balancing a year of vowed singleness. Yes. Tricky.

     All to say, it still means something to me, when a man gives me a genuine compliment. It deposits something good in my soul. Ladies, you know what I'm talking about.


     And men, I know that you have a reservoir of sensitivity as well. And I know that a genuine compliment doesn't simply stroke your ego, but encourages you to be a better man.

     So the oddest thing happened to me a few nights back, and the end result was that I felt ugly being in the presence of a particular person, actually, we weren't even in the same space, this was more or less a phone conversation. And this particular conversation wasn't even about me. It was about someone else and their overwhelming beauty. And 99.9% of the time, I'm always ready to celebrate someone else's beauty beyond my own. But it's no secret that I clearly wanted my beauty to be validated by this person I was in a conversation with.

     But let's get real. There's that .1% that would cause me to not want to celebrate someone's else's beauty. And what is that .1%?

     It's simple: If I felt as though their beauty and amazingly established identity threatened mine in some way.

     How could their beauty threaten me?

     Well, if I thought that in some way, this person had an upper hand when it comes to...getting the guy over me...getting the job over me...getting the promotion over me, etc., etc.

     And alas, there they are, some of my deep insecurities raw for all to see.

     But as I write this, I recognize that this is very much a Spirit of Poverty mentality at work within me.

     Because in God's kingdom, there's always more than enough--there's no lack, no deficiency in beauty, and no need to be stingy. In fact, we are called to be radically generous.

     Not just with our finances, but with our time, our lives, our love.

     So now I realize I need to receive, in a fresh way, the generosity of God's intentions and beauty in my own life. And I must be sold on the fact that I won't be ripped off in anyway.

     Perhaps I'm behind a veil.

     But even though I may be behind a veil, I cannot and will not succumb to this idea that I'm not valuable, that I'm not beautiful,  that I'm not desirable, that I'm not attractive. And the same goes for YOU.

     You are more beautiful than you know, more attractive than he gave you credit for, more intelligent than she ever expressed, and more loving than they ever thought you could be.

     Validation is such a strong force, especially when you feel as though you crave it. But one (Ehem, meee) must be careful not to put the full weight, perspective, and responsibility of our lives purpose, beauty, and identity upon one single person's response towards us.


     This is in no way our year of ugliness.


     And in closing....I will not be looking like a hot mess in the streets. Ya heard.





Wisdom's Knocking:

Your worth and beauty are fully settled and established in God.


"I tell you, love your enemies. Help and give without expecting a return. You’ll never—I promise—regret it. Live out this God-created identity the way our Father lives toward us, generously and graciously, even when we’re at our worst. Our Father is kind; you be kind."

- Luke 6:35-36 (The Message)