INTERVIEW: Pop Duo for KING & COUNTRY Ask WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR? In Latest Album. Talk New Music, Sibling Bond, How They Believe Music Matters & MORE.

Since their first release under the name for KING & COUNTRY in 2011, the sibling Christian pop duo have been cementing their legacy in the industry. Despite having won four GRAMMY Awards, seven GMA Dove Awards, a Billboard Music Award and 13 K-LOVE Fan Awards in addition to collaborating with some of the biggest names in music such as Timbaland and Dolly Parton while also scoring 10 No. 1’s across the Christian AC Airplay chart, Joel and Luke show they aren’t slowing down as their 4th studio album WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR? dropped last week. Although born within the pandemic, the 13-track project doesn’t look to focus on the past two years but rather shine a light on the lessons learned and highlight the things that matter the most in life such as family, friends, faith and love. Featuring collaborations with Dante Bowe, Sleeping At Last, Kirk Franklin and Tori Kelly, the Australian brothers have lined up a talented roster to share this message of community and diversity. With the new album out and their tour (more info HERE) kicking off at the end of the month, All Access was lucky enough to get the inside scoop on the new project, their sibling bond, what else they’re looking to accomplish with their music and so much more. Check out the full interview below:

ALL ACCESS [Austin]: Looking back on your earlier career, when did your relationship with music begin?

FOR KING & COUNTRY [Luke]: Well, I actually wanted to play basketball and sports growing up, and it was after I tore my ACL playing basketball that I realized there’s a good chance that God was saying, “I don’t want you to play sports.” I was kind of confused as to what I was going to do, and I went to my mom and said, “Mom, everybody else has got their thing, the thing that they’re good at, and I feel a little lost.” She said, “You know, I believe that by the time you graduate high school, there’s going to be one thing left for you to do.” Sure enough, I graduated from high school and Joel came to me and said, “What do you think about writing some songs and singing some demos, and just seeing where music takes us?” To be honest, for the first few years, it was still up in the air as to whether or not it was going to work, or if this was something I was passionate about. Maybe the answer to this is that I still feel like I’m being called to music. I still feel the pull and the tug maybe now more than ever, even though I’ve been doing it for some time. There was never a lightning strike moment for me. It was during the development of writing and recording that I think I fell more and more in love with music.

AA: As siblings who make music, what is your favorite part of doing so? What are the most challenging parts? How do you work out creative differences?

LUKE: I think that the blessing of doing music together as family is that you are going to figure out ways to resolve your conflicts, because you are family, and you’ve got to in order to have a good family relationship. You’ve got to work out even your own working relationship, and I think that’s a gift. I think the most challenging part for any creative person is if others don’t agree with your creativity, and that is where there can be some tension. I think that is actually how good music is made. I don’t think everybody is meant to agree in music, so it’s about trying to develop ways of saying “Okay, well maybe I don’t agree, but what about this idea?” and you’re piggybacking off of each other. Joel often says, “Without tension (a guitar, bass, whatever), you can’t make music.” I think it’s similar with writing and recording. It’s actually good to have tension, passion, and for someone to say, “I disagree.” Usually, something better comes of it.

AA: Congrats on the release of the latest album WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR? As artists that have been making music for a while now and have released a multitude of albums, how did you approach this one differently?

LUKE: This one was different just because we were home. This was really written during the pandemic, so we had more time than we’ve ever had to make music. We made it over a short period of time, though we dedicated more time to doing it, if that makes sense. I think that the gift of this was being able to ponder. The process wasn’t to write a song, and then walk out on stage. It was write a song, go home, be with my wife and kids, and play it to them and listen to what their thoughts are. That’s unlike anything that we’ve ever done before. We don’t want to write an album that is about the pandemic, but I do think we will learn a lot of lessons through the pandemic. Our hope is that people will listen to this project and that they will take away a little bit of what’s important in life. The album is called What Are We Waiting For? because I think we’re all waiting for something — some sort of lightbulb to go off for us to make certain decisions. I think our hope is that maybe we won’t have to wait so long to do those things that we know instinctively we should do, but we hold back for whatever reason. I think our hope is that we’ll jump to it.

AA: You guys have had an incredibly successful career so far including (4) GRAMMY Awards, (7) GMA Dove Awards, Billboard Music Award, (13) K-LOVE Fan Awards and nine No. 1 songs that total 1.8 billion career streams. What have you not accomplished yet that you feel you’re working towards?

LUKE: I think you’re always working towards better art. I think for the most part of any album, there are always a few songs as artists that you want back. I think for us, we’re actually saying, “What if we could write an album that we don’t want to have any songs back?” You don’t want to keep working on that one. I think this album represents a lot of that for us. At the end of the day, other people make the decisions whether it’s great music or not. Our job is to write it, and it’s for other people to decide if they like it or not. For us, I think we’re really proud of it. There’s always a call to being more honest, more true, more authentic in life because I think it’s in the authenticity that people feel less lonely. I think for us, it’s not about accomplishing some sort of goal. That’s not what we started out to do — ever. You’d never start out in the music because you’re thinking “I’m going to choose music because I want to win an award.” No, you choose music because you’re passionate about it, because you believe that music matters. I think maybe the biggest goal for us is to continue to write music with the point of making sure we don’t forget that music still matters. Maybe that’s the goal this year, and the goal for this record, to continue to remember the power of art and the power of music in people’s lives.

AA: You got to perform at the iconic Sydney Opera House, which resides in the city you guys were born. What was that experience like for you?

LUKE: The Sydney Opera House was something that I don’t think you actually ever think you will be able to get to do; it’s just that special. My wife Courtney and I — the last time we ever sang the song “Without You” — was actually at the Sydney Opera House. The Sydney Opera House is maybe the most iconic performance venue in the world, and it was just a gift for us to be able to enjoy the moment. You have a hard time realizing if people are even going to come, or want to come when you go do those types of things. The fact that we did two shows there back-to-back that night was a thrilling moment that we’ll never forget, and one that is probably the pinnacle for both Joel and I. Just as far as the serendipitous side of it with it being in Australia, at home, with family surrounding us, there are few moments that are more special than that one.

AA: Alright, final question, if you could only listen to one artist for the rest of your life, who would it be?

LUKE: I would probably go with U2. Their music takes you on a little bit of a journey that makes it feel fresh and exciting, so I think they would be the one. One of my favorite songs of all time is “With Or Without You.”  I think that song is just so powerful. The other thing is that they’ve been around a while, so they’ve got a lot of music. That also helps with keeping it fresh.

A massive congrats to the siblings of FOR KING & COUNTRY on the release of their latest album, WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR? and a huge shout-out to Luke from the band for hanging for this latest All Access Interview. Start your weekend off right by streaming the new album and keep up with the band and their upcoming tour through the links below:

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