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Singer and songwriter Benjamin Hastings is known for his work with Hillsong United. But the award-winning songwriter is now embarking on a solo music career. This new journey comes as he finds himself nominated for a Dove Award for “Worship Song of The Year.”
CBN News’s Studio 5 traveled to Nashville to chat with Hastings about his international music journey.
He was born in Belfast, Ireland before connecting with Hillsong’s music school in Sydney, Australia.
“Belfast is a fascinating place. I love Belfast and it’s always fun to go back and kind of crawl back into like, the little Irish hole. And, you know, it’s really, really nice,” Hastings said. “So, when I was in Belfast, I was busking. You know what that is? It’s like those people on the street, who are just, like, singing, playing, yelling at people trying to grab their attention.
“So, I was doing that pretty much as a full-time job in Belfast. I was doing a few bands, doing some different things, but I had discovered and when I was maybe 15 or 16, I was in a bookshop and I discovered a Hillsong United record and I fell in love with the music. And what was really cool was United came and played a show in Belfast and I got to meet all the guys and none of them remembered me. But I was like, I was so stoked,” he continued.
“And then somewhere in the middle of all that I had; I sort of felt compelled to go out to Australia and be a part of the church there, be a part of the college, do that whole thing,” Hastings explained. “So, when I was 19, I moved out there, yeah, through this kind of crazy set of events, ended up writing songs that I started using on records and became really good friends with all those guys that I met back in Belfast. And yeah, it was, it was a whirlwind.”
The singer also had a hand in writing songs that are heard in virtually every Christian church.
“It’s kind of surreal. Like, if I ever get to be in a church and hear someone leading like a song that I got to play a part in, it’s this really surreal, beautiful moment where you’re like it feels like it doesn’t feel like mine,” Hastings told Studio 5. “That makes sense. It feels like you. You create something, and then you hand it over to the church.” {eoa}
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