Andrew Ripp has had quite a journey in the music industry, making his name as a Christian artist and then finding success as a songwriter on the secular side. For almost two decades Ripp has been funneling his talents towards pop stars, but now he’s back with a new track that reached #1 on the Christian airplay chart, “Fill My Cup.”
In a recent interview with Michael Foust of Christian Headlines, Ripp opened up about his time in pop music, composing songs for singers like Ryan Cabrera and Jessica Simpson. His songs were often popular, with Cabrera’s 2005 album You Stand Watching reaching the top 25 in sales and Simpson’s “Shine On” charting firmly in the top 100.
Though he was recognized with accolades for his work, including a Grammy nomination, Ripp described his time in secular music as more listless than satisfying:
“I was running for a long time. I didn’t really know what Christianity meant or looked like. So I just wrote songs to gain my work. I needed work, I needed to be loved,” Ripp told Christian Headlines.
Despite his successes, which extended to his songs being used for television shows like The Vampire Diaries, Ripp could tell that there was something wrong. He began having panic attacks while he was on tour in 2017, and they really impacted his work. Eventually his mental health became so bad that he sold his guitar and quit music altogether.
Over the next two years, Ripp started making other plans for his life, like starting a house building business with his wife, but as he tells it, God had other plans. His time away from music gave him an opportunity to really listen to songs without analyzing them from a producer’s mindset.
“I was listening to it like these guys [Christian musicians] do. I was like, ‘Oh, wait, this is just powerful stuff. These [songs] are like weapons …’ I realized that the gift that God had given me was not for me. It was for His use,” Ripp added. “It’s been a beautiful new season since the Christian music world has opened its arms to me.”
Back in the world of Christian music, Ripp released two enormous hits, “Jericho,” and “Fill My Cup,” the latter featured above. Both of these songs reached #1 on the Christian airplay charts. He’s continuing to write songs with other artists to great success as well, like Rachael Lampa’s song “Somebody To You,” which peaked in the top 20, and Zach Williams’ song “Rescue Story,” for which Ripp was nominated for another Grammy.
Of Christian music, Ripp said:
“We have a truth that never changes that we sing about. So we need to keep singing about it. But we need to do it in an authentic way … get the business mind out of the way, get the carnal mind out of the way and let the Spirit lead.”
Learn more about Andrew Ripp at his official website, and follow him on YouTube to keep up with all his releases.
