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With over six million YouTube views, 70,000 Facebook friends, and 8,000 Twitter followers, it’s a good thing Coffey Anderson is high energy. Known for his jovial manner, the 30-year-old loves to help people. That’s a big reason he decided to post guitar tutorial videos on the Internet. On youtube.com/coffeysouthernman, Anderson shows how to play his original music on the guitar but also remixes popular hits, such as “Umbrella” by Rihanna and “I Gotta Feeling” by Black Eyed Peas, with lyrics more focused on God. The entertainer started using YouTube as a way to get record labels to hear him sing. “I just wanted people to hear me … I have more fun [singing] than anything else,” the artist explains. Two years after appearing on NBC’s Nashville Star — a reality show in pursuit of the next big country star — the Bangs, Texas native signed with Dream Records of Los Angeles in April and released his first major album in September. The record combines a myriad of musical styles, including pop, R&B, rap, and worship. “I love every type of music … when I play these different styles, I mix them together,” the performer explains. Coffey Anderson includes the song “Free,” a worship and praise anthem, and the YouTube hit, “Better Today.” All but three of the 11 tracks were produced and recorded by Anderson. The album has broad appeal — songs range from upbeat to melancholy to easy listening and also include worship songs. A portion of sales will benefit the Los Angeles Dream Center ministry. Although raised in a Christian home, Anderson struggled with life and the death of his mom to cancer — when he was 10-years-old — until he learnt more about God. “When I was 16-years-old, I had a youth minister tell me about the grace of God. I had never heard, ‘It’s okay to be human, God’s not going to love you any less.’ “I really understood that God is on our side … no matter what our past has been. As I started to read and study Jesus, I was like, man, this is real. I thought, alright, I’m not just going to have Him as my Saviour, I’m going to have Him as the Lord of my life.”
Keeping God at the centre of his life has led Anderson down an unexpected path. The social networking icon grew up singing gospel tunes but became a basketball star in college. Singing became the last thing on his mind, until one day. “I was in college, and I was kind of dating this girl. Her daddy was awesome. Her dad would hang out, and he played guitar. One time I started singing and he said, ‘Boy, you can sing! Take this guitar home and learn how to play,’ and he gave [the guitar] to me,” the Howard Payne University graduate recalls. After that initial encouragement, Anderson started playing with a Mel Bay beginner’s book and perfected the G, C, and D chords. “I taught myself in my dorm room; people in the college started hearing me sing, and a friend came up to me and said, ‘We want you to open up for this band that’s coming out.’ ”
“The show was a lot bigger than in the past, being on NBC as opposed to a cable show. When I saw the opportunity, I thought I would try it out,” Anderson tells Living Light News. On the show, he impressed both judges and viewers and won third runner-up. Judge Jeffrey Steele told him, “You’re a great showman … you’re a star …” Other judges agreed but came to the conclusion that Anderson was “not country enough,” which encouraged the singer to start producing multiple genres of music instead of just one. The married father of one reflects fondly on the experience. “I took away friendships, what the pros use, how to sound check, the importance of making good friends in radio … it was really neat seeing things from the inside out as opposed to the outside in.” Anderson, who was open about his faith throughout the show, recalls, “Being a Christian on the show had its moments, you want to make sure you walk in an upright way … When the judges say something you don’t like, you have to bite your tongue and be cool about it. It’s no different than anywhere else except now you’re in front of 12 million people.” Besides uploading new videos on YouTube each week, the technologically savvy star also posts them on Tangle.com, a Christian version of YouTube, and regularly tweets with his many fans. “[Technology] has taken me worldwide as opposed to being local,” says Anderson, who attracted 1,200 people to a show in Switzerland. The artist’s musical inspiration stems from his mother’s passing. After her death, Anderson says, “I was like, man life isn’t fair, but God is good and that makes me (even) happier than singing and making people laugh. I realized life is short … why not do something that’s meaningful.” For Anderson, what’s meaningful is telling people about God’s love. “On YouTube I will do a popular pop song so that everybody will be like, oh, I like this song, let me hear his version, alright let me hear more music. And maybe they will buy my music, and in buying my music, also hear the story of Jesus and His love.” photo courtesy Rogers & Cowan [LLN-Online] [Adopt-a-Block] [Newsbriefs]
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Within 90 days of learning how to play guitar and knowing only three chords, Anderson opened for Christian pop band MercyMe, best known for their hit, “I Can Only Imagine." “My motto is be available to the Lord in all things … you’ll never know where He’ll take you,” he says. Coffey believes He took him to Nashville Star.