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Following the rise of his first single across North and even South America, Seph Schlueter gives listeners a little insight into his music and faith.
"I really loved music throughout my whole childhood," says Schlueter. "In high school, is really when I began to play the guitar and start to sing for the first time. For me, it was such a cool way to connect to my emotions and express something. I became so captivated by music."
It was through songs that Schlueter had a powerful experience with God.
"Christian and worship music in particular was where I encountered the Lord in powerful ways. I thought all this other music is cool because it helps me express something. But this worship music that I found is helping me encounter Someone. I got to meet the person I was singing about."
Surreal Moments in Music
Schlueter is from Columbus, Ohio. Right after high school, he got involved in a Christian band called Damascus. This is where Schlueter's music writing took off, and he wrote a song for a retreat.
"A lot of people were asking for it, so I got a friend and recorded it. Around that time, there was another song I wrote that I was even more excited about. I was like, let's do this up a little bigger."
Taking a leap of faith, Schlueter sent the song to 40 different people in the CCM world.
"Phil [Wickham] was one of the only people to respond to me. He's just so kind and such an amazing guy. We had a couple of brief back-and-forths. In November, he was going on a three-day tour in Florida, it was the first post-COVID thing he was doing, and I sent him a DM, like, 'If you're looking for someone to open for you,' and he said yes to it. Which is crazy. He's just the most real person."
Schlueter's first radio single, released in 2023, was "Counting My Blessings." It has gone 'viral' and gained over 220 million global streams as well as over 95 million YouTube views. The same year he was nominated for two GMA Dove awards and named Billboard's No. 2 New Christian Artist.
"I can see the power of music and the power of a song, what it can do to just bring Jesus to people. Everything we do is an offering to the Lord and a gift we get to give him. It's not up to us to multiply it. If He wants to multiply it like He did with the loaves and fish, great. If it's just something small that He sees and He's just loved by it, like the widow who brought her coin, that was all she had. Jesus didn't multiply it, but He was loved by it."
New Music and Connections
While listening to music one day, Schlueter came across Canadian Christian artist Samantha Ebert's song, "Flowers."
"I was listening to it and I thought, this is a really beautiful song. I posted it to my Instagram, which I don't usually do. She said, 'This is so sweet, thanks for sharing,' and I just said, 'Yeah, keep up the good work.' A number of months later, her team asked if I would be interested in doing a feature on the song. It was so fun getting to work with her. She's such a kind, beautiful soul."
On July 11, Schlueter will be releasing his Counting My Blessings album. In a few months, Schlueter will be releasing a deluxe version, including a song featuring Matt Maher.
"You really have to understand your 'why' when you do this, because I think it's sometimes easy to glamorize the musical artist life. It's not easy. It's a lot of work, travel, being away from home, and weird hours; it's a lot of rejection, and highs and lows. It has to be a really compelling why. My 'why' is because I want people to encounter Jesus. My little mission statement is to bring as much glory to God and as much heaven to Earth as possible."