A Q&A With the InspireMore Christian Song Contest Grand-Prize Winner, Jessie Villa

Jessie Villa is InspireMore’s Christian Song Contest Grand-Prize Winner for her song, “Yours.”

Villa wrote the song as part of her project, Consider the Lilies. The track is the first worship tune that Villa ever penned.

“I was not doing well a few years ago and I had an encounter with God that absolutely changed my life,” Villa said of the inspiration for the song. “In that time, I experienced the love and faithfulness of God like I never had before. I went through one of the toughest, most beautiful times of my life and through loss, struggle, and identity crisis I saw that God was holding me, showing up with so much tenderness, and calling me to trust Him.” 

“I could not comprehend the magnitude of His love and character, His grace and glory, His endless pursuit of us,” she continued. “There was a kindness I’d never known, the truest form of love, freedom and joy. It wrecks me constantly, we are so loved.”

At the time, Villa came to realize that her “identity belonged in Him and His love for me, and in that was everything I ever needed.”

“I just really want people to know that there is a perfect and loving God waiting for us to see His loving hand in everything, in His son Jesus, and to know how valuable we are to Him,” she said. “This song is my heart’s realization of all of this.” 

Read on to learn more about Villa.

Jessie Villa Q&A

WHAT INITIALLY GOT YOU INTO MUSIC?

My mom (half joking) believes that her singing while rocking me to sleep as a baby is what first got the music in me. My dad is a great singer, and there was always music in my house. I have core memories of my parents blasting Vince Gill, James Taylor, Elvis Costello, Carole King, Amy Grant, The Judds, The Eagles, Marshall Crenshaw, Kathy Troccolli, and Faith Hill in the living room. I think the singer-songwriter way of storytelling really got into my bones.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN SONGWRITING?

I have been writing songs since I could sing and never stopped! We have home movies where I’m making up songs about my dad, serenading him at the dinner table at three years old. We moved a lot throughout my childhood, and in every collection of videos and journals from those places there is a steady record of me writing and singing my songs.

My dad got me a baby guitar when I was four and taught me the chords to “Carolina in My Mind.” My parents never stopped encouraging me to write, play, and share my songs.

WHY DID YOU ENTER INSPIREMORE’S CHRISTIAN SONG CONTEST? 

I entered the contest because I had these songs about encountering the love of God that I really cared about, that told part of my testimony. I thought, ‘Why not?’ I did not expect anything to happen, but I believed that at least one person might connect with “Yours,” and hoped it would stir someone’s heart. 

WHAT HAS WINNING MEANT TO YOU?

So much! It is such an encouragement to me to keep writing and sharing my music. To me, it means that the testimony in this song is not just for me, that other people connect with the spirit of the song. I take it as a wink that I am on the right path in sharing what God has done in my life through song.

YOU WON $5,000 AS PART OF YOUR PRIZE. HOW DO YOU PLAN TO SPEND THAT MONEY?

$5,000 is such a blessing! Being totally honest, $1,000 of it just went into car repairs, but much of it will be used to pour back into my music projects. I am currently recording so much music, and I am so grateful to have extra funds to put behind songs that are some of my favorites I’ve written.

ALONG WITH THE MONEY, YOU WON AN A&R MENTORSHIP WITH SCOTT GRAVES, THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE YOUR SONG MIXED AND MASTERED, AND A PREMIUM GUITAR. WHAT EXCITES YOU THE MOST ABOUT THAT PRIZE PACKAGE?

All of it! Each piece is incredibly generous and is such a blessing. Scott Graves is an incredible mentor with deep experience and passion. Being an artist that does a lot of different things, his insights and input have been very valuable to me. 

I have had my solo music hidden away for such a long time. To be offered an opportunity to have someone else on board with me, to bring a song that matters so much to me to its highest potential, is priceless. 

I had my Taylor guitar stolen years ago during a move. There’s been a guitar shaped hole in my heart ever since. I am so grateful to get to play and record with a new guitar! I’ve gotten serious about deepening my guitar skills, so it’s just perfect timing. I appreciate it all so much. 

WHAT SONGWRITERS AND ARTISTS DO YOU COUNT AS YOUR BIGGEST INSPIRATIONS? WHY?

I have been formed and shaped by so many artists. Some core artists that stand out to me are: Bonnie Raitt, Feist, Joni Mitchell, Gillian Welch, Imogen Heap, Patty Griffin, The Shins, Alison Sudol, Gregory Alan Isokov. Taylor Swift’s storytelling, craft and reinvention made a huge impression on me.

One of my current favorite artists is Ruston Kelly. I love his style and lyricism. I am very inspired by his music, and have been a huge fan of his for years. 

If we are talking worship artists, I love Jeremy Riddle, Stephanie Gretzinger, Caroline Cobb, Mitch Wong, Harvest, Will Reagan, the list goes on. I love the tender, vertical heart of their songs. They feel written for an audience of One. I am so moved by their worship. 

I love writers who just love to write. It’s like they need to do it to make sense of life. I love how their words wrap around a feeling or show an experience so artfully. They are telling the truth in a simple, beautiful way.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR PLANS IN 2026.

There is so much on the way. I have five years worth of music that I’ve been recording with my friend, Shawn Williams, and preparing to release. The first EP for my worship project, Consider The Lilies, will be released in fall 2026.

My main artist project, Jessie Villa, is undergoing a genre-makeover. I have a collection of music in the country-folk genre that I never released. These songs will finally be seeing the light of day in the second half of 2026 into 2027. I have done so much collaboration in music across genres. I absolutely love working with other musicians and am so grateful for it. However, I am very excited to share the songs I’ve written and kept on the proverbial shelf for so long that I feel are my true voice as an artist.

I also will continue to write for sync, which I love doing. I signed a sync deal with record label Anotherland last year, and I absolutely love working with them.

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST CAREER DREAM?

It sounds simple, but I’d love to keep making music for a living, to be able to live in a state of perpetually creating and growing. Most of all, I want to keep writing songs that invite people into encountering the heart of God and what’s available through life with Jesus. If one person is drawn to the love of God through my music, then it’s worth sharing! I’d love to know that I am doing what I was made to do. I think that is to glorify God through music. I want to point people to Him in the most sincere and effective way I can. 

WHAT WOULD YOU TELL OTHER ARTISTS WHO ARE CONSIDERING ENTERING THE CONTEST?

Do it! You have nothing to lose and you get to follow along with the other music that was entered. And no matter what, keep writing and sharing your God given talents. The world needs it and you never know what could happen!

Photos by Sydney Banister

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.