Somewhere Down the Road reflects an accomplished artist at a time of renewed creativity and also echoes the life of a woman who is not afraid to write and sing about life’s most heart-wrenching moments as well as the sublime joys.

“There have been times in my life that I was sitting in the cat bird seat and everything was going my way, but currently, this is a time [with] a lot of uncertainty within my extended family as we’ve experienced pain, loss, and joy,” admits Grant who has dealt with aging parents and the loss of a close friend this past year. “This is the kind of record where it takes maturity to put out, so we went back and looked at old songs, unreleased songs, and new songs that fit together in a way that I think will make a really amazing and intriguing journey.”

“From a work stand point, I’ve had the amazing opportunity that anything I’ve ever wanted to try, for some reason, the door has opened. I love music as much as I always have, but I feel very contented when it comes to work. What brings the sizzle back to me is a great idea and it can be somebody saying, ‘hey, I have this idea for a song!’ As soon as they speak the words I go, ‘Ahhh, that’s great. We’ve got to sit down and do it right now.’ That’s how I felt about this project.”

The first single from the new project, “Better Than a Hallelujah,” is Grant’s first new radio single since “Simple Things” in 2003.

“The honesty of it, the vulnerability of the lyrics, the beautiful melody, and that the song found me right where I was in my own journey was incredibly powerful,” says Grant, admitting the song resonated strongly with her as she dealt with the death of her longtime friend musician Ruth McGinnis. “The song is just so poignant and redemptive. In the lyric there is no religious code or lingo going on and the message is true, it’s good news. I love every scenario it’s painting.”

Though Grant is an industry veteran, and one of a short list of artists to have scored No. 1 hits in each of the last three decades, Somewhere Down the Road finds her enjoying several first time experiences---among them recording in the new studio she and husband Vince Gill built in their Nashville home, contributing one of her own paintings as part of the cover art, and for the first time recording a duet on the song “Overnight” with one of her children, 17-year-old-daughter Sarah. The song says if things happened overnight, you wouldn’t appreciate the process, as Grant explains, “If it all just happened overnight, you would never know what it means, and you would never learn to believe in what you can’t see. I’ve wanted to sing with Sarah for a long time and when this song showed up I thought it would be perfect for us to record.”

Among the other new tracks, “Unafraid,” is a poignant ballad that has become a favorite at Grant’s live shows and will be available in physical form for the first time. In addition, “Hard Times” is another new tune on the album, which Grant co-wrote with Ian Fitchuk and Justin Loucks. “Mindy Smith asked me to sing a background part on her latest record and they were producing it,” Grant says of her introduction to her collaborators. “They already had the idea for the verses and I wrote the chorus and we wrote the last verse together. It’s been hard times on a lot of levels for a lot of people. I don’t know anybody that is saying this is the easiest and best time in life.”

In selecting previously unreleased recordings that fit with the theme of Somewhere Down the Road, two songs stood out as perfect for this collection “Come Into My World” and “What is the Chance of That.” “’Come Into My World’ is the rawest, most vulnerable of the two and it just required a lot of distance from that time in my life. I wrote that in the years prior to going through a divorce, and so the song is really a downer,” she admits. “I don’t feel that same way now and I hadn’t actually heard it in over a decade but was moved by it and thought ‘Wow, I remember how that felt. Thank goodness I don’t feel that way now, but that is a very real feeling for a lot of people at different times in life.’”

While Grant could easily rest of her considerable laurels, the dawning of a new decade finds her as passionate as ever. “It’s all about the idea,” she says. “I love the song ‘Better Than A Hallelujah.’ I love the opportunity to get to do a song with my daughter. I love the concept of Somewhere Down the Road. I am personally moved by the concept of our journey through life and because of all the years that have come before, I find myself in a unique and somewhat rare position to be able to sing about that journey, and that’s an opportunity I don’t want to miss.”

Amy Grant’s career spans over 25 years and stretches from her roots in gospel into an iconic pop star, songwriter, television personality, and philanthropist. Grant has sold more than 30 million albums and won six GRAMMY® Awards in multiple categories, beginning with the platinum selling Age to Age in 1982. She also has six #1 hits, including “Baby, Baby,” and “Every Heartbeat” and is one of only two Christian artists to be awarded a star on the legendary Walk of Fame in Hollywood. Grant released her first live recording in 25 years with Time Again...Amy Grant Live in September 2006, and then announced her first ever label shift to EMI Music Group where her entire music catalog was re-mastered and released via a GREATEST HITS CD and made available for the first time digitally. Last fall she released her first new Christmas music in 9 years, THE CHRISTMAS COLLECTION, which in addition to four new songs, features tracks that were hand-picked by Grant to include the best songs from her previous albums that result in a classic Christmas album reminiscent of the Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, etc. albums of old.

TRACK LISTING for Somewhere Down the Road:
1) Better Than A Hallelujah
2) Overnight
3) Hard Times
4) Unafraid
5) What Is The Chance Of That
6) Come Into My World
7) Oh How The Years Go By (previously unreleased version)
8) Arms Of Love (new recording)
9) Somewhere Down The Road
10) Cry A River
11) Do You Remember The Time
12) Every Road

For more info on Amy Grant, visit the JFH Artists Database.