2011/365/075: Do I Tell Her?

I am absolutely smitten with Christian pop these days. The music is good, the message is solid, and the singing is absolutely phenomenal.

Britt Nicole, pictured above, is one of those singers. One of her recent hits, “The Lost Get Found,” is one of my favorites, and I play her music all the time.

Last night, Madelyn (my 9 year old hooked on music by Katy Perry and the like) came over to me and listened to the music I was playing.

After a moment or two, she said, “I like her. What’s her name?”

“Britt. Britt Nicole.”

“She’s awesome. Is she popular?”

“Yep. A lot of people like her music.”

After another long pause, she looked at me and said, “Are you sure? Popular like Katy Perry?”

“Yes. Just like Katy Perry.”

“How come I don’t hear her music on the radio then?”

Time for me to take a moment to think about how I should respond.

“Not all popular music is on that station. Sometimes, they play Britt’s music on other popular stations.”

She paused again.

“Well, ok. As long as she’s popular. Can you put this song on my iPod?”

“Yes, of course, Maddie.”

And with that, she skipped off with a Breyer horse in each hand.

Popular. Like Katy Perry. Famous.

I was glad that Madelyn liked the music, but I was also upset that she was focusing so much on the fame factor; regardless of how she felt about the song, it was critically important that others liked Britt Nicole too.

And then I thought: Would it change anything if I told her that Britt was a Christian pop singer/songwriter? That the only difference between the two, really, is that while Katy is singing about having sex on the beach, Britt is giving us lyrics like these:

Don’t let your lights go down
Don’t let your fire burn out
’cause somewhere, somebody needs a reason to believe
Why don’t you rise up now?
Don’t be afraid to stand out
That’s how the lost get found
The lost get found

So when you get the chance
Are you gonna take it?
There’s a really big world at your fingertips
And you know you have the chance to change it
There’s a girl on the streets, she’s cryin’
There’s a man whose faith is dyin’
Love is calling you

Not bad, huh? Yet, she’s got such a great voice–one you would surely hear on the pop stations if, well, if she wasn’t so….that way.

You know. Religious.

So I’m wondering whether to tell her that this is Christian pop. Unfortunately, we’ve slacked in the whole religious background department (something we’re working on), and I’m afraid that she’ll run from the message if she thinks it’s not “cool enough” to listen to, even though it sounds identical to a lot of the music out there by the twenty-something female pop singers.

If I don’t tell her (he rationalizes), then maybe the message will just seep in anyway, and she’ll get the message rather subliminally.

If I do tell her, then maybe she’ll get excited about it and see that there is a spiritually healthy alternative to sex-on-the-beach Katy.

I don’t know. On the fence with this one. What would you do?