Catch one glimpse of Anne Wilson, and you’ll find it hard to believe the beautiful singer/songwriter was ever bullied as a young girl. “I had acne. I felt so ugly,” she admits, “and I just felt awful about myself growing up.”
Now, as an artist with a platform — and a story to tell — Wilson desperately wants young girls to know how you feel and what others say about you do not define who you are. If she’s honest, it’s a truth she still struggles with at times. Across three albums — 2022’s “My Jesus,” 2024’s “REBEL” and, most recently, 2025’s “Stars” — audiences have gotten a front row seat as Wilson has discovered exactly who God made her to be.
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In truth, Wilson’s life looks nothing like she envisioned. Growing up in Kentucky, young Anne had aspirations of working for NASA and becoming an astronaut. Those ambitions came to an abrupt halt, however, when her world shattered in 2017 following the tragic death of her brother, who was killed in a car accident.
She sang Brooke Ligertwood’s “What A Beautiful Name” at his funeral — the first time she had ever performed publicly — and from there, her life took a sharp left turn toward music. Something she had never, ever considered when she dreamed of one day landing on the moon.
“When I put my trust in God when Jacob died, I said, ‘God, I’m giving You my life.’ He started writing dreams on my heart that I didn’t even know were possible,” Wilson shares. “He was showing me, ‘You’re still made for the stars, even if it’s a completely different thing that I’m calling you to do.’”
Blazing a new trail in music, Wilson quickly signed a record deal and captured the hearts of fans with her No. 1 single, “My Jesus,” the title cut of her debut project, which earned the burgeoning songstress her first GRAMMY® nomination. Meanwhile, her sophomore effort, “REBEL,” launched her headfirst into another genre, making Wilson the first artist to crossover from Christian music into country music.
“Between ‘My Jesus’ and ‘REBEL,’ I gained a boatload of confidence. I gained a lot of clarity and a lot of understanding of what God was wanting me to do,” she reflects. “He was very vividly speaking to me, saying, ‘I want you to do this. I want you to bring the Gospel to country radio. I want you to bring the Gospel to country stages.’”
When Wilson committed to walking out this directive, doors unlocked that she never could have forced open on her own. She toured with Scotty McCreery, garnered a CMT Music Award nod for Breakthrough Female Video of the Year and performed at CMA Fest. This summer, she even opened four stadium shows for country superstar Morgan Wallen.
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While she admits her 45-minute slot supporting one of her favorite artists was, indeed, a dream come true, the whole experience was nerve-racking. “Honestly, I didn’t know it would be that difficult to get up on that stage and share the Gospel. It was really hard for me,” Wilson confesses of playing to 30,000 to 45,000 people every night. “An arena to a stadium is like night and day different. I was really nervous and in my head about it. It was crazy how I felt like the enemy was trying to get me to be ashamed of the Gospel or to shy away from sharing it. I had to remind myself to be bold.”
There’s nothing bolder than making a jump to country at the risk of alienating your loyal Christian audience. At the same time, Wilson also initially wondered if country would accept a faith-filled girl who grew up listening to both Carrie Underwood and Lauren Daigle. “You have to sacrifice certain things to be bold in your faith,” she reasons. “And for me, it was the fear of people’s opinions of me. In the Christian world, it was like, are they going to judge me for taking the Gospel to country? And is country music going to think I’m way too Christian?”
Although it’s impossible to fully escape the internet’s unmerciful criticism, on the whole, Wilson’s simultaneous rise has been nothing short of unprecedented, if not extraordinary. She hasn’t just succeeded, she’s been warmly embraced, earning respect from her peers on both sides of the fence.
“Stars” continues to pave her unique path in the industry. While it still marries country sounds with Christ-centered lyrics, Wilson’s third endeavor met her at a personal turning point. In February, the three-time K-LOVE Fan Award winner turned 23, the same age as her brother when he passed away. “I guess the idea of, ‘Whoa, I’m living longer than my brother got to’ — that was really sad and depressing for me,” Wilson shares. “So this album has a bittersweetness to it.”
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Wilson calls “Stars” a grief milestone. That’s one reason why she felt it was important to release it only 18 months after “REBEL.” She never planned to drop a follow-up quite that quickly, but once songs started pouring out, she knew she needed to formally document this season.
Closing track “Twenty Three” was, appropriately, the first song she wrote for the record, hinting at the vulnerability of the moment. Between writers joining her out on the road during this year’s “Winter Jam” tour and a beachside songwriters’ retreat at 30A, “Stars” was born one song at a time. Written from February to June, recorded in July and released in October, the full collection was then fast-tracked into the hands of fans.
Initially, “Twenty Three” was slated to title the project, but “Stars” slowly emerged as its namesake as Wilson and her collaborators began to capture whimsy and childlike awe through the melodies they were crafting. Ironically, it made Wilson recall her prayers from the beginning of the year.
“At the end of January, I was praying that God would give me a word for this year, and He gave me the word ‘wonder,’” Wilson reveals. “When you’re a little girl or a little boy, you don’t have a box to live in. Your imagination runs wild. You have all these ideas, and you believe you can do whatever you want one day. I think childlike wonder is something that we lose as adults. And so, I felt like God was calling me back to that.”
Her dreamy nine-city “Stars Tour,” which is expected to extend into 2026, brings this sentiment to life with golden stars showering the set design, lush light bathing the musicians and even a huge silver half-moon transporting Wilson to the stage. Meanwhile, the dozen selections on “Stars” sparkle with raw grittiness and unfiltered honesty as Wilson lets her guard down and wrestles openly with grief, faith and life as a young 20-something.
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The intimate “Carry Me” reveals Wilson at her most transparent as she wonders aloud who will carry her when the weight of grief gets too heavy. While “Stars” is undoubtedly autobiographical, it’s not all mournful, however. The “God Story” singer gets sassy about relationships on the dusty “Devil Is Too” and the playful “Hold Your Horses,” a twangy singalong that feels like the sequel to fan favorite “Hey Girl,” which inspired Wilson’s new devotional, “Hey Girl: You Are Seen, Loved, and Made for More.”
She predicts she’ll likely always have at least one song on every project that honors her late brother, but for now, she wants listeners to know there is beauty on the other side of pain. “I want my records to help people, inspire people, give them hope. I want to give them the song that pulls them out of bed every day and gets them on their feet, or the song that gets them through a breakup or a divorce or the loss of a loved one,” Wilson says. “And, ultimately, I want people to find Jesus through my music. That’s why I do what I do.”
In many ways, “Stars” is a coming-of-age narrative, even though Wilson was forced to grow up fast. Her throaty rasp even sounds different this time around. She’s stronger, braver and more resilient. “The vocals are completely different on each album. I sound like a baby on ‘My Jesus,’” she laughs before reasoning, “My voice is still developing as a 23-year-old. Your voice develops until you’re around 27, so I guess I still have another four years of development to go.”
Not only is she developing as a vocalist, she’s also growing as an artist and a daughter of God. “I wouldn’t have dreamed of writing this album three years ago,” she says. Admittedly, she never dreamed she’d be a recording artist. By now, she thought she’d be well on her way to living that white-picket-fence life, with a diamond ring, a front porch swing, a couple kids and a career propelling her closer to space.
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Yet, somehow, she’s still managed to blast off on an adventure beyond her wildest imagination, and a lot of young faces are looking up to her as she makes her ascent. “God’s still honoring my desires, I think, by giving me these little girls. It’s really sweet,” she reflects, referencing her natural love of children and the girls — dressed in frilly cowgirl dresses and boots — who attend her shows in droves and sing along to every word. “I think it’s an honor to be someone’s role model. It comes with pressure I can’t always carry, but I hope to continue to inspire and encourage them.”
A significant catalyst for healing, Wilson’s latest batch of songs brings that little girl who was bullied full circle. She hopes her new project spurs the girls in her audience to dream big, but in so many ways, it’s already inspired the Kentucky native herself to continue reaching for the stars.
