Our continual search for the finest Catholic music recently led us to a collection of songs written and performed by Julia Grantz. This 17-year-old songwriting prodigy had our jaws on the floor with her wholesome brand of altogether soothing music.
We first noticed Grantz when her official performance video of “Different Kind of Love,” was released in June 2022. The tune, featured above, is everything we would have expected from an artist with decades more experience than Grantz could possibly have at 17.
Her lyrics are concise and extremely well thought out, showing a capacity for deeply introspective thought that marks some of the best Catholic-themed tunes. This is an aspect of religious songwriting that can elude even some of the most celebrated artists, but Grantz seems to achieve it naturally.
She doesn’t sacrifice the melody for the lyrics either. If she has more words than will fit to a certain pattern, Grantz isn’t afraid to switch things up; altering the rhythm to fit in more lyrics where needed. This in turn serves the music to keep each verse fresh and allows each song to build and grow throughout.
“Just a Little Work of God”
There are many aspects that can mark a prodigy, and while Grantz isn’t performing unachievable technical feats on her instruments, her songwriting alone qualifies as prodigious. For an example, we turn to her 2021 release, “Just a Little Work of God,” a song that is just brimming with joy.
Here, Grantz sings of her own awe over all of God’s creation, from the serene sceneries of nature to the smallest newborn. The multi-instrumentalist trades in her piano for a ukulele and fills out the rest of the song with layered vocal harmonies that give the whole thing a relaxing laid-back feel.
Her innocent melody is perfectly joined by imagery of downright adorable babies in the official music video. She even gave the video a little personal touch by adding clips from home movies featuring her younger sister and cousin. In this song, Grantz has made an unabashedly pro-life product, without any reference to the social issue. It is an impressive feat that many in the industry could learn a lot from.
“Gianna’s Song”
While many of us may not have been acquainted with Grantz’s superb brand of music until now, there’s a whole community in Italy that has been following her since 2019. When she was just 14 years old, Grantz was touched by the story of St. Gianna, and felt called to write a song to honor her. Not only is it a great song, but at 14 years old, Juliana displays a vocal prowess that would be the envy of any aspiring singer.
According to Catholic Courier, St. Gianna’s daughter heard the song and praised it. Now, a video Grantz made of “Gianna’s Song” will be screened during the Archdiocese of Milan’s centennial celebration of the saint’s birth.
Of her music, which she considers to be a mission, Grantz told Catholic Courier:
“That’s kind of like my way of being a missionary,” she explained. “There are some people that are going to go preach, there are some people that are going to go to different lands. I think the gift that God has given to me is to write songs and perform.”
Learn more about Juliana Grantz on her official website and be sure to follow her on YouTube and Spotify for all her latest releases.
And today we celebrate...