Krystal’s self-titled debut album was released in the United States in 2005 when she was 16. And in September 2006 her sophomore project, Dying for a Heart, went public. Over the last year she was nominated for the New Artist of the Year Dove Award and performed for more than 400,000 people.

I caught up with Krystal at Sam and Zoe’s coffee shop, south of Nashville, Tenn., the same day BMG Japan released Krystal’s first album in that country. Krystal told me about life after high school, her prayer journal and why she’s pumped about her new album. Unfortunately, all my questions didn’t give Krystal much opportunity to eat her blueberry muffin or drink her coffee (sugar-loaded to cover the coffee-taste). But she didn’t seem to mind.

Heart Transplant
After Krystyal’s debut album released summer 2005, she and several other artists performed for representatives of BMG Japan to see if their music could potentially do well in this overseas market. Krystal’s music was a hit, and BMG Japan invited her to visit.

While in the Buddhist country of Japan this past spring and summer, Krystal sang her God-centered music and people asked, “What are you talking about?” The people Krystal met were receptive to her faith and anxious to hear what she had to say.

“Over here a Christian artist does Christian music, and it’s assumed, ‘Yes, she’s a Christian,’“ Krystal says. “In Japan, there’s even more of an opportunity, in a different way, to minister to the lost.”

The track “Anticonformity” climbed the Japanese charts to No. 1 last summer. Plus Krystal’s rising influence brought a June 2006 cover story for a Japanese fashion magazine, ad campaign for Vans shoes and several radio interviews and appearances.

Krystal remembers one interview with a Japanese lady who spoke English. She asked, “What does being a Christian mean to you?” Krystal responded that her faith is the basis for everything she does.

“The reason I do music is because I have a passion and love for Jesus Christ, who has made me who I am. I want to communicate that in a message to bring others to Christ. That’s what I’m about,” Krystal says. The interviewer continued on to say she wasn’t a Christian and that most Japanese people only go to the temple on holidays. But she said she respected Krystal for standing ground in what she believes and practicing it.

“I just know God has a plan here, and I’m anxious to see what it is,” Krystal says.

Heart Beat
Krystal got her start in music when her church attended a Christian youth camp. In their spare time, she and another girl wrote the song “Anticonformity” about becoming who God wants them to be, not what the world wants. Then the girls performed their original song for the talent show at the end of the camp.

“The guy who taught the songwriting workshop at the camp was [at the talent show] and said, ‘I see something in you,’“ Krystal says. “He called me a couple weeks later and said they were doing a benefit CD for the camp and would love for me to come in and record the song we did.”

This was the first time Krystal, then 14, had been in a recording studio. The CD also had songs from groups such as Pillar, Audio Adrenaline and Skillet. Soon Krystal signed a deal with Essential Records.

“Getting in music was purely God. It was the most random experience ever. The camp wasn’t even for music, and God said, ‘Here you go.’ It’s a cool thing.”

Still a teen herself, Krystal says she’s not just another rock artist who’s older and unreachable to a teen audience. “I’m on the same level as everybody and going through the everyday things other teens go through as well. I’ve gotten a lot of response that that’s been really cool for [my fans].”

Krystal graduated from high school last March and moved out from her parents’ home this summer. But Krystal says the way she continues to relate to teens is through meeting people after concerts and having a one-on-one relationship with them by praying for them or simply listening. “The most valuable thing to give someone is your time,” she says.

I Love God
In the same way, Krystal has learned the importance of sharing her time with God, too. “I feel spiritually dead when I don’t take the time to get in the Word or write in my prayer journal. I have a responsibility to be a mouthpiece for God when doing shows, so I know I need to be as spiritually stable as I can be.”

When Krystal is on the road, it’s easy to make up excuses for not spending time in the Word, but when she hasn’t taken that time, she says her shows are terrible.

“Without starting my day by asking God, ‘How do You want to use me today?’ I walk around in a zombie-state,” she says. “I don’t want to play my guitar. I don’t have the drive to get up and practice, sound check or do my vocal warm ups. I feel like a vegetable.”

Describing herself as stubborn, Krystal says getting that motivation back sometimes requires God knocking on her heart, saying, “I miss talking with you.”

“It’s immature for me to say, ‘I feel lazy today, so I’m not going to do my devotions.’ I’ve had to face that reality,” she says. “This is a mature job I’m doing. I need [to connect with God].

“Everyone goes through a dry spell. It’s part of life and being a Christian. Getting refreshed is all about realizing that spending time with God is such a vital part of life.”

Heart Throb
Going back to the basics of prioritizing time with God was the source for Krystal to write songs such as “The Beauty of Grace” or “Love is On the Run.”

Before starting the writing process, Krystal prayed, “God, I can’t do this apart from You. The words I want to sing, I want to be from You.” God intervened and filled Krystal with inspiration to write songs for her second album, even while sitting in a tour bus. He brought into her path songwriters to work with, and together they created songs such as “Collide,” “Only You Make Me Happy” and “The Situation.”

“The Situation” is about saving sex for marriage. It says, A promise made to treasure/ you don’t have to give it away/ falling for the pressure/ you can’t mend a vow when it breaks/ Explain your hesitation/ Jesus can be your escape/ Don’t taint the situation/ This love was made to wait.

Krystal says she’s been praying for her future husband on a day-to-day basis for the past five years. “I didn’t want to date anybody unless he had marriage qualities,” she says. “So I made a list a long time ago of what I want in a future husband and what the red flags would be. I want someone who will not only encourage me spiritually but also challenge me.”

Krystal says she’s more excited about Dying for a Heart than the debut record because the songs on this project have matured both stylistically and lyrically. The rock songs are heavier, and there are some prettier, more melodic moments as well.

“It all comes from the heart,” she says. “As you listen to my songs, you can totally tell what my heart was going through.”

The Meyers Family
Mom: stay-at-home mom

Brother: age 13

Dad: computer software designer

Krystal was born in California on July 31, 1988, but her family moved to Oregon when she was about 2. Then they came to Franklin, Tenn., when she was 6 because her dad started a new job.

Krystal’s Life Story
“I grew up in a Christian home. Both my parents are active in the church. When I was 7 or 8 years old, I realized just because my parents are Christians didn’t make me a Christian, so I came up to my dad and said, ‘I believe all the stuff. Will you pray with me?’ When I was 12 or 13, I started reading the Bible on my own.”