We at American Songwriter had the privilege of attending Lauren Daigle’s Platinum party to celebrate not one, but two platinum record accomplishments for the star this past Thursday in Nashville.
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Daigle received platinum certification for “Look Up Child” as well as DOUBLE Platinum certification for “You Say”, yet the first thing she did when she got on stage was focus on others: she took the time to “look everyone in the eyes for 2 seconds” from the little stage set up. Immediately, she was met with a slew of giggles in the audience, shortly followed by her playfully acknowledging how she wasn’t kidding once we realized she truly was taking the time to really meet everyone’s eyes. She explained how hugs are rare and she hadn’t gotten to hug everyone just yet. This was simply her way of showing “how important people are.”
Daigle went into a beautiful speech filled with gratitude. She thanked each and every person in the room, and expressed how so many people are in pain, therefore needing people like everyone gathered in that room to bring hope, love, and kindness. She explained that standing together in this musical endeavor creates a thread of unification and beautification for others. The only thing she really cares about at the end of the day are “people finding hope and finding truth and finding love and finding joy and all the things.”
Her humility revealed that she felt nervous before this night of celebration, and that even though you would think it gets easier, it seemingly gets more nerve wracking. She randomly shared a funny story of her search to find a woman who had apparently gone into labor outside of the venue she was performing at later one night on tour. She circled the venue in a car in hopes to make this a really good story while on the road, only to be met with the news that the lady had already been taken away to the hospital.
Initially she was bummed to miss her, but then ran into people gathered around her bus. Lauren said she never leaves those people without addressing them, reason being that she sees it as an opportunity to speak into others and you never know what could be ignited by simply showing people that they are cared for. Through these moments, she has heard countless stories of people choosing not to take their lives because of her music, other people experiencing healing, others finding hope, and even God again.
To calm Lauren’s nerves on the way to the party, her mom asked her, “Well, what is it that makes this so special?” Lauren replied “Oh, it’s the stories. The stories make this so, so special.” She continued in saying it is not only the stories of all of the people experiencing the breakthrough moments by listening to her powerful songs, but the stories interwoven in that room. Her friendships, her colleagues, her childhood memories, all of the seasons of life she has experienced and will experience, are of infinite value.
“Oh, it’s the stories. The stories make this so, so special.”
-Lauren Daigle
She handed the mic over shortly after and continued to mingle with those who have greatly impacted the world through music. I got to thinking of how incredibly powerful music truly is. Music has the power to save. Music has the power to bring hope in the dark. Music has the power to restore love.
I want to challenge every one of you reading this:
What melody will you write? What stories will you share? I choose to write alongside Lauren and the light she carries…stories of hope and love.
Thank you, Lauren, for all that you do for music and for humanity.
