Love
is Loud
His
An Interview with Joanna Beasley
By Stephanie J. Salisbury
B
orn in 1986 in Memorial Hospital, South Bend,
young Joanna had a gift. It wasn’t until she was
16, though, that things really started to fall
into place. A television sensation called American Idol had just finished its first season, and Joanna
felt a sort of kinship with the winner, Kelly Clarkson.
“You can tell that she knows she has something to offer
people, but it’s not in a cocky sort of way. It’s like she’s
saying, ‘I believe in what I do, I believe in what I say,
I believe I can influence people, I love doing it, and I
know that people are responding and it’s making a difference’”. In those words, I found that Joanna didn’t just
describe her feelings toward Kelly Clarkson – without
meaning to, she actually described herself.
The decision to audition for American Idol wasn’t
something Joanna had really planned. “It was just offthe-cuff; my sister called me and said, ‘you should do
this!’” The experience was really a blessing for her, she
reminisces. “The judges were wonderful, really encouraging and nice, and all the contestants were cool and
supportive of one another.” Soon, she was a semi-finalist
on the show and within just three years, at the age of
19, Joanna released her first album, My World. She says,
“My first album I love because it’s fun! It’s pop/rock, but
has some really strong guitars and every song is really
driven. It ends with this amazing ballad that’s really
powerful, talking about the road less traveled – totally
my life those first three years of me starting music!”
9
In the upcoming years, Joanna grew a great deal emotionally and spiritually, and the revelations she’s had
show through in her music as well. She is the first artist
representative for the Global Pastor Outreach and is the
Director of Worship for the Oasis Network, coordinating worship resources and teams for churches, events
and conferences. She has hosted Steelroots Top Ten
Countdown on television, and shared the stage with
such artists as Chris Tomlin, Mercy Me, Natalie Grant,
Michael W. Smith and many more. She has performed at
‘Celebrate Freedom’, the largest Christian music festival
in the world, and at Tim Storey’s ‘The Study’, a Hollywood-based bible study for entertainment personalities. In addition to that, she has also written songs with
Chris McClarney, Krissy Norhdoff, and Dustin Burnett.
Joanna married Kerry Beasley and released her second
album, Patiently Waiting, in 2009.
Flash forward to 2013 – Joanna’s third album, Loud
Love, has just been released and the message couldn’t
be any clearer. “Not only have we realized that God is
constantly speaking for us and through us and wants
the best for us but, with this album, we realize we can
always come to Him no matter where we’re at in our
lives. He loves us independently of what we’ve done –
He doesn’t give it and take it away based on how much
we’ve done right or done wrong. We’re singing back to
God what He already
says about Himself
and about us. The
more we say it, the
more we’re going to
believe it. His love is
true, loud, unconditional and constantly
pursuing us, never
letting go. There is
never a point you can
get to where God will
C 2013 Joanna Beasley Music
say, ‘I’m done with
you’. Fantastic news for all of us, of course – but what a
phenomenal outreach for those who aren’t really familiar with worship music!
What Joanna goes on to say is almost a love song in and
of itself: “The main goal of our ministry right now is
pretty simple – we want people to know that God’s not
mad at them, that He loves them and He’s better than