“You Had Me at Hello”: Maddi Jane Finds Her Voice in Faith

“God has just been so real that I never felt a need to really say goodbye.”

That’s Maddi Jane—calm, thoughtful, and dialed into something deeper than chart metrics or viral buzz. At 26, she’s stepping boldly into a new era with her first explicitly Christian EP, Almighty, and she’s doing it with the same intense sincerity that’s carried her through every chapter—from viral child star to national TV contender to worship-anchored pop artist.

“It’s been such an honor to bring my faith in Jesus to the forefront of my art,” she told me. “And for a long time, I’ve been figuring out how to marry my passion for pop R&B with my faith. And I feel like I’m finally finding the creative teams to really explore that more. So it’s been a blast and feels very fulfilling.”

That fusion is front and center in “Hello,” her summer anthem that dropped in June and quickly landed on Spotify’s biggest Christian editorial playlists alongside her first Christian single, “Almighty” and its follow up, “Thankful”, released earlier this year. It’s smooth, joyful, catchy—but underneath it all is something rock-solid. “There’s a lot of songs out there in the Christian space that highlight people’s journeys with the Lord, where they had a falling out, or maybe walked away for a time and found their way back,” she said. “And I completely respect that and understand that. But for my particular journey, I just felt like I met Jesus, really experienced him when I was about 14, in youth group.”

That moment shaped everything. “That experience was just so beautiful and loving for me that I was so hooked,” she said. “I just wanted to soak up all the advice I could from the leaders at youth group. [I would read my Bible] every day for 20 minutes in the morning and say, ‘Hi God, is there anything you want to speak to me today?’ And it’s just been the most steadying part of my day ever since I was 14.”

But don’t confuse steadiness with ease. “Just because I’ve never felt the strong need or made the decision to walk away from the Lord doesn’t mean that it’s been all rainbows and butterflies,” she told me. “And I think we all need that reminder at some points—of feeling God speaking to you like, ‘Hey, there’s something good on the other side of this. I see so much more than what you’re seeing right now.’”

She smiles when talking about her new material, but the journey to this moment wasn’t simple—or short. “My career taking off and YouTube videos going viral, traveling back and forth to really start working… it did drive me closer to Jesus,” she said. “There was so much unpredictability in this industry and so many opinions and voices.”

It made her hang on tighter to Scripture. “A verse that really stuck out to me in middle school was: some people put their trust in the number of chariots and horses. Back then that was their ammunition for an army. But truly blessed are those who put their hope in God,” she said. “It just felt like… hey, there might be some people in your life who are putting their trust in the numbers, the views that you’re getting. They might be putting their trust in earthly success. But I felt Him beckoning me: ‘If you want to do this music thing My way, you’re going to be truly blessed—but it’s going to take so much longer.’ And I was like, I want to do it Your way, God.”

Fifteen years later, she’s still standing. “Honestly, if I had done it the world’s way, I would probably be so burnt out by now. I wouldn’t be sitting here today. I wouldn’t be allowing Him to do something new in my life. But here I am—15 years later—exploring a new genre, meeting new people.”

She’s not just making music moves—she’s relocating her whole life. “I’m actually going to move from Los Angeles to Nashville with my—will then be—my husband, in September,” she said. “When you follow Jesus, He keeps it exciting. There’s always something new.”

That sense of purpose showed up on The Voice last year too, where Maddi made a strong impression. But she doesn’t credit technique. She credits timing. “I witnessed incredible people who were so seasoned and their technique was so good, who did not make it past the blinds,” she said. “So I know that this happened because it was God’s timing for me. And it was just a reward, and it was Him speaking to me like, ‘You have done this for so long and I’m so proud of you and you need to keep going.’”

Even more than new fans, Maddi gained clarity from the experience. “It was just an encouragement to be brave, to go up there and worship Him regardless of if I got a chair turn or not,” she said. “Which required a lot of focus. And my mom and all of her prayer warriors were praying for me that whole time.”

That kind of grounding is rare—and powerful—especially for the generation growing up in the age of virality. When I asked Maddi what she’d say to the kids chasing their internet moment, or the parents trying to protect them through it, she didn’t give the usual inspirational fluff. She told the truth.

“Yeah… I would just want to reiterate to them—because I’m sure their parents have already told them this—but you have time. You have so much time,” she said. “And no matter who you see on the internet popping off… our culture is making fame look not just great, but necessary for validation and for having a successful life.”

She’s been there. And she’s not warning kids to stay away—she’s telling them to slow down. To go deeper. “By the time you grow up, what you’re really going to value is your skill set and your character,” she said. “If they’re passionate about music—spend that time getting good at your craft. Study the instrument. Study your voice. Get performance coaching, acting… prepare for later on in life.”

“You don’t have to have this big moment. Enjoy childhood. And just don’t let it be a business right now—because you don’t have to.” That message doesn’t come from theory. It comes from walking it out over fifteen years. From sticking to her faith when fame could’ve swallowed her. From saying yes to the long road. Now, Maddi’s walking boldly into this next chapter—with the Almighty EP on the way, a wedding in August, and “Almighty”, “Thankful”, and “Hello” opening a new door.

“I’m really grateful and I’m really excited,” she said. “The Christian scene does excite me… I’m seeing some of these genres I’ve always loved—like pop and dance—being incorporated into the worship space right now. It kind of feels like I’ve always been trained for this.”

“Hello” is streaming now. Follow @MaddiJaneMusic on Instagram and stay tuned for the release of Almighty this fall.