Beauty is Just a Word

A song about healing and the reason for pain in our lives.

Pop singer Rachael Lampa has toured with Destiny’s Child, Boyz II Men, Nickel Creek, Stacie Orrico, Amy Grant, Vince Gill, Jordin Sparks, the Jonas Brothers and Britney Spears. Since age 15, she's been skyrocketing to the top of the music scene. You can currently catch her performing on the current season of NBC's The Sing-Off. So, the real question is... what hasn't Rachael accomplished yet?

Michigan native and Christian-themed singer Rachael Lampa is grateful for her musical success. Modest and practical, the 26-year-old singer doesn't necessarily believe in luck. "God has us on a journey. That no opportunity presented to us is an accident. That every ‘success’ we may encounter was not by anything I may have done except remain faithful to God," she says, in an exclusive interview with A Distinctive Style Magazine. "I found that there is a running theme to all of these musical opportunities, and it is the chance to love people. To meet people where they are and to be met by others at the same time. These are all chances to experience God in different and exciting ways."

Rachael snagged at record deal at the coveted age of 14; she enjoyed performing Christian music and even got to sing for the Pope. "I loved God and I loved writing songs," she said. So, after a period of musical success in which she toured globally, Rachael left her record label and set out for Nashville to record a new, more adult album.

"You can write an entire song off of one tiny thought or feeling. That's the beauty of music," says Rachael. "That one feeling can be the feeling you get while driving into your hometown after a long time, or the rush of a new love, or the fear of a new adventure...." she continues. "I also love to write about conversations I have with others or stories I hear about other people's lives." One of her favorite songs off her new album “All We Need” is, Beauty's Just a Word. "It's a song about healing and the reason for pain in our lives. In reflecting times of loss and pain, I've always been able to find the light and the lessons that come of it," she says. "Even though I might never know the exact reason why bad things happen, I can rest in the beauty and joy that He makes all things good. That there can't be good without bad, or joy without pain. Sometimes our character needs to know both."

She also has a special place in her heart for her new song, Feel. "It's about feeling at the end of myself. Like I can't fix any - thing anymore. Like I am out of words or reasons," she says.

Rachael's creative process doesn't necessarily have a specific flow or methodology. "I'll get inspired by some - thing—mostly it's spontaneous—and write it on the closest thing I can write it on and usually I'll call a friend, co-writer, or even my husband and form a song from it," says the singer, who is married to singer/songwriter Brendan McCarthy. "I've written on every thing from napkins, airline magazines, and even my own hand! I like to catch ideas when the emotion is fresh and real."

Rachael appears on Season 3 of the NBC singing competition, "The Sing Off." "In late June, a friend named Jeremy Lister, who won second place on The Sing Off last year with his group 'Street Corner Symphony,' called me. He was putting together a group of local artists and was seeking a bunch of singers who had never performed a cappella before to come together and give it a try," explains Rachael. "Turns out, we weren't terrible, and a month later we were on our way to tape the show in LA. The season is full of ups and downs, trials and errors, and ultimately GREAT music and amazing talent!"

Rachael recently moved from Los Angeles, where The Sing-Off tapes, back to Nashville. "I love the sweet, small community feel of Nashville. It is easy to feel at home in Nashville," she says. "But I love the beach and the fast-paced aliveness of LA. I like to be able to take them both in doses. For now, I am able to travel back and forth which is great for me. Who knows, maybe there's some kind of secret little Southern-like beach town that I have yet to discover."

When she's not performing, Rachael is involved with an organization called Not For Sale (www.notforsalecampaign.org), which helps to rescue victims of human trafficking. "I also am part of an amazing homeless ministry run by my brothers and sisters along with volunteers all over Nashville," she says.

Still full of contagious hopes and dreams, Rachael wants her fans to connect with her music—on whatever levels best suits them. "Whether it comforts someone, helps him or her heal, points him or her to Jesus, or allows him or her to escape and worship. Music is so powerful, it always has been," she says. "I also just feel joy and freedom when I am creating music. It's just fun. I feel blessed to be able to enjoy what I do."