“God said, ‘I’m going to give you a new passion and mission within music. Sing songs that will change people’s hearts and lives.’” said singer-songwriter Moriah Peters.
On Tuesday Jan. 24th, Lipscomb’s typical Tuesday Gathering was anything but ordinary when Peters appeared on stage. A large crowd of students filled in almost every seat of Allen Arena for her special performance.
She began with her soulful ballad “You Carry Me,” accompanied by her guitarist Julie Melucci.
Once the music faded out, Peters’ “I Am Second” video played, in which she spoke about the support her family and friends gave her during her time on “American Idol.” Peters recalled her mother’s pushing her to audition, saying, “I came downstairs and the American Idol audition-map and tickets were on the table.”
She took what she calls a leap of faith and sang before the judges. Peters had always been very vocal and open about her faith, and when she told the judges that she was saving her first kiss for marriage they thought her inexperienced.
After the audition, they told her that she had a great voice, but that she was trying too hard to be perfect. They instructed her to go out into the world and make mistakes and then to come back after she had more life experience.
A lot of people don’t let their faith intersect with their careers, but Peters had different plans. She kept God at the forefront of her career, often praying and asking him which direction she should take her career.
After trying out different musical avenues, Peters finally signed with a record label and put out her first album. With the help of her love and devotion to the Lord, she was able to “step out in faith and do something that made no sense.”
After about five years of singing and making music, she reached a mute point. She began to lose passion for something that had driven her life for so long.
Moriah then asked her dad, a lawyer, what keeps him passionate about law. His answer: “Sometimes it’s not about passion.”
This answer shocked her and kept her wondering: if not passion, then what drives us?
“It all comes down to knowing you’ve been called to do something,” said Peters, in regards to what keeps her music going.
When asked what inspires her now, Peters responded that she had gone to Israel with the hope of hearing from God. She was still feeling a little lost and thought she was in need of a career change.
“So I gave God options…never start a prayer like that,” Peters advised.
When God threw out every option she presented, she stuck with music, knowing that she would change the hearts and lives of many people.
Peters went back to America and got her inspiring all-girl band on board. Now she’s been writing nonstop for a whole year and is thrilled to come to Lipscomb and share with the student body.
“Love,” Peters said, in closing, “is at the heart of all that we do.”
Peters’ concert is Tuesday, January 24 in Shamblin Theatre at 7:00 p.m. Lipscomb’s own Nordista Freeze will open for her. Tickets are $5.
Photo courtesy of Eventbright.com