Although an occasional gospel artist like Sam Cooke breaks through, pop music has always been predominantly secular. The size of the pop audience, however, cannot help but be attractive to religious artists intent upon evangelization. It is for this reason that there are tons of artists searching for a way to bring Christian music into the realm of pop.
Little did they know it was a job for a priest.
Father Rob Galea perfectly captures the spirit of pop while staying true to his Catholic nature with his new single “Dominoes.” Joined by fellow Maltese singer Ira Losco, he created a catchy, ultra-trendy ear worm which explores Catholic themes from the secular perspective.
The biggest pitfall of Christian music, and why it often fails at crossing over to pop, is that it is often too overt – hitting the “God” note too strongly, and chasing away pop listeners who need the message. Fr. Galea, however, sings about uncertain, broken people looking for redemption through surrendering to love. He offers Catholic teaching in terms accessible to everyone, over a track that is reminiscent of Ed Sheeran.
He spoke with The Malta Independent about his new release and what led him to the priesthood. Galea did not always expect to be a priest. In fact, he used to pray to God, begging not to be called to the priesthood. It was only after he began working as a musician that he met a priest who inspired his vocation.
As for “Dominoes,” he said:
“It’s a pop song which talks about brokenness of us and all of us. It talks about how we are broken into a million pieces but when these billion of pieces come together, your million my million, they create a work of art. When we bring love into the equation. We all fall down but we are all here to pick each other up. I co-wrote it with another friend of mine called Gary Pinto and Ira also added some parts when she recorded her part. This song is very much a pop song and it’s going to be in my new album and this will be my seventh album.”
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And today we celebrate...