Brio: What have you been up to since Awaken was released in 2005?
Natalie: I’m involved with something called the Revolve Tour for seventh- through 12th-grade girls. Other than that, what’s taking most of my time is I gave birth to twin girls 11 months ago. I recorded most of this new album while I was pregnant.

Did your daughters help inspire any songs on Relentless?
Not necessarily. I think people expect when women have children that they’re supposed to do some sort of lullaby record or sing about everything that’s fuzzy and happy. So I set out to do the antithesis of that with this album. I felt stronger than I had ever felt, being pregnant. I felt more empowered and impassioned, so I wanted an album that reflected strength and strong messages and aggressive melodies and production.

The opening song, “I Will Not Be Moved,” could be the very definition of the word relentless! Tell us about this song.
We all trip in life, and we all stumble, but for so many people they become prisoners to their mistakes and their pasts. But the Bible says Christ gave us a firm place to stand. I wanted the message of this song to be very bold and very strong in the sense that even though we fall, by His grace He always helps us get back up.

In your work with the Revolve Tour, have you seen a lot of teen girls who have been moved and aren’t standing firm? What advice do you have for them?
The Revolve Tour has opened my eyes to what’s going on in this generation. It scares me, and at the same time it makes me take very seriously the platform I have with that tour. This is an opportunity to speak into this culture and into this generation.

Culture is lying to us. It tells us, “You have to look a certain way and be a certain way to be successful.” The problem is that so many of these teenage girls are falling for the lie. So the only way to come against that is to bring them the truth.

These girls are going through unbelievable issues. I love the Revolve Tour, because we don’t shy away from those. We hit them head on, and we’re seeing lives by the thousands changed every weekend.

Relentless also includes a softer side with songs such as “Back at My Heart” and “Safe.” How do these ends of the spectrum (strong and soft) complement each other?
With those strong messages “I Won’t Be Moved” and “Make It Matter,” you can’t get to that place until you allow yourself to be authentic, genuine, honest, transparent and vulnerable. You can’t have the strength without the vulnerability. At least that’s the truth in my own life.

“Back at My Heart” and “Safe” are very personal songs for me, because I realized that we work so hard to cover the cracks and conceal the imperfections and the flaws of our lives, but I’ve learned that in brokenness Christ does His best work.

The song “Perfect People” says there are no perfect people. But with your celebrity platform and having been on several magazine covers, how do you stay real with your audience?
I try my best to relate my own life, my own spiritual journey and what I’m learning with my audience, because it really helps break down those walls of “celebrity” and let them see that I’m facing so many of the same struggles that they’re facing. We serve the same God. So many of us have the same problems, but there’s only one solution, and I found that solution in Christ.

Have you ever had to draw the line in a photo shoot because they asked you to do something that made you uncomfortable?
It took me a few years to get up my nerve to do that, but now I’m very in control of what happens in the photo shoot, because at the end of the day, it’s my name and my image that’s being represented.

There’s been a few times when they’ve wanted to push the envelope a little bit, and I would say, “This is not at all what I’m about.” One of them was an outfit they wanted me to wear, and even though they said they could airbrush it, add length to the skirt, I just said I didn’t feel comfortable. I think they wanted me to look sexier than I thought was appropriate for a Christian artist.

How do you handle pressure and expectations, especially as the reigning Female Vocalist of the Year?
It’s a privilege to have those two awards [2006, 2007]. But I also know what it’s like to not be the flavor of the moment. I’ve been making records for a long time, and it took me many years to find commercial success. I hold them loosely, because I know right now things are going great for me in the marketplace, but that could go away at any moment. So I had better be building my ministry and my career on something other than that.

As far as the success, sure there’s pressure. I felt that when I was making this album, especially because of the success of “Held” [from Awaken] and how that song translated to people’s lives. I was like, “Oh, man. I can’t have another one of those, because that’s a one-in-a-million song.”

At the same time, I want songs that can reach into people’s lives the same way. So I felt a pressure, but I think it was good, because it challenged me and reminded me that the last thing the world needs is another song or another singer. But they’re desperate for the truth of Christ, and I have the opportunity to record music that contains that kind of truth.

Natalie’s Favorites
Time of day: 7 or 7:30 p.m. I’m putting the babies to bed, and it’s the first time my husband and I have to just chill out with each other.
Place to shop: Nordstrom. I’m from Seattle, and I grew up on Nordstrom, because that’s where they started. Then I’d say Target. I’m a Targetaholic!
Smoothie flavor: chocolate peanut butter
Ice cream mix-in: Oreo cookies
Part of being a mom: All the firsts that I’m experiencing: their first laugh, their first crawl, their first tooth. It’s just a miracle!