The singer-songwriter spoke to The Knockturnal about his movement into Christian artistry and the release of his EP HAPPY TO BE HERE.
Whether in terms of musical identity or style, bodie embraces variety and change — two aspects of his artistry that feel right at home on his debut EP, HAPPY TO BE HERE. Released on Sept. 27, HAPPY TO BE HERE sees the artist establish a vast and versatile soundscape. “LIAR LIAR” packs an electronic sound, while “smile” takes the form of a sincere piano ballad. “whisper and the wind” found success in tying for No. 1 Most Added at AC radio in the week after its release. Founded in his love for alternative rock, pop and hip-hop, bodie’s lyricism conveys strength and earnestness as he tackles complex themes of love and humanity head-on.
The EP has also been an opportunity for bodie to redefine himself as an artist. His powerful vocals and genre-bending covers led him to place runner-up on Season 22 of The Voice in 2022, first garnering attention for his musical career. In the two years since his time on the show, bodie signed to Provident Entertainment, and the EP marks the artist’s first immersion into releasing music with faith at its forefront. HAPPY TO BE HERE bridges the gap between alt-rock and Christian pop, deftly covering emotional truths across tracks with a candid tone.
The Knockturnal spoke with bodie about the EP, touring with fellow artist Gio and how those who can do teach.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
The Knockturnal: You’ve recently returned home from touring the West Coast with Gio, which was your first tour. How was that experience? Was there anything about touring your new music live that surprised you, or that you really enjoyed in particular?
bodie: The tour as a whole was everything I expected, but even more. A lot of it was really hard in the best way. The songs that I sang on tour were so emotional, and I think I didn’t realize that as much until I was singing them each day. They carry a lot of weight in my heart and it could be tiring. So that was one thing I took away from the tour — like, wow. There’s a lot of vocal rest that takes place on tours. I’d go to sound-check, do a show and then not talk for the rest of the next day. It was pretty gnarly. But I fell even more in love with my songs than I already had, just singing them night after night.
The Knockturnal: You were able to bring a lot of songs on your new EP, HAPPY TO BE HERE, for a spin on tour. Was there a song that you found was your favorite to perform live?
bodie: I have a song called “whisper and the wind” that I really love singing live because I get to explain the meaning of it before performing. It just adds that much more depth to the performance. I also ended every single night with “RIP,” which was my first single.
The Knockturnal: It’s really cool to be able to formulate those new traditions when performing live, and it must have been great to connect with fans in person, especially those who might have caught on to your artistry through your time on The Voice. With HAPPY TO BE HERE, how has the response been on tour and online from newer fans as you begin to perform and share original material with them?
bodie: The response has been great, and really encouraging. This is the first project that I put out as a Christian artist. Prior to that, I wrote a bit more generally and more secularly. So I was a little bit nervous about writing more through my faith-based lens, and it’s been a really sweet response. All types of people from differnt walks of life have been responding well to it. And it’s been interesting to navigate coming out of The Voice. The day-one fans are always the best because they’re down for anything. The Voice is a pretty specific demographic, and I wasn’t sure how that would translate to my new music. I’ve retained a lot of really special fans who will message me like, “I’ve been a fan since The Voice,” and it’s really encouraging and affirming. My time on the show has meant so much to me. Now I’m getting fans that are like, “I didn’t even know you were on The Voice.” It’s pretty fun.
The Knockturnal: It sounds like it must be a really special, individual endeavor. You’ve recently signed to the label Provident Entertainment. Do you feel like being a signed artist impacted your process as a writer and producer on these new songs?
bodie: It’s huge. It’s been life-changing. Being able to write with writers and producers who are better than me blows my mind. I’ve always been a fan of collaboration, but it’s always kind of scared me because writing is so personal. I only wrote with a few people before that, so coming into this experience where I was kind of thrust into this space of like, “Hey, you’re you have six writing sessions this week, and it’s with a bunch of people…” It was scary at first, but then “RIP,” the first song I put out, was from my first writing session in Nashville with people I’d never met before. Now we’re all great friends and we write together all the time. It’s really special and just affirmed the idea that collaboration is going to create the best art.
The Knockturnal: Was there any specific stroke of inspiration that you hit during the writing and recording process for HAPPY TO BE HERE that you’re hoping to lean into in your future projects?
bodie: Totally. I want my next project to have a through line, and to level up my artistry. It’s really fun to write music, and it’s really fun to perform it. But how cool would it be to have a cohesive project, not just sonically, but aesthetically and thematically?
The Knockturnal: Being from California yourself, was there any particular show during your run there on tour that felt maybe particularly familiar to you, like a hometown show, or was it a pretty new experience all around?
bodie: I live in Orange County, and so I did a venue there, which was like my hometown show. That was the last show of the tour, and we packed that venue out. That was so, so fun. I had friends there, family and students. San Diego was another one. Those two were California hometown dates, for sure.
The Knockturnal: It must feel very full circle to have those moments where you have people that have supported you since before the show, before making music more of a focus. Seeing as you teach at your alma mater, has your relationship with teaching changed since you’ve started to release more music?
bodie: It’s an ever-growing, ever-changing piece of my life. And I tell the university this all the time: I plan on retiring there. It’s my passion project. No matter how busy I get or how slow things are, I love those students, I love that school, and I just have so much vision for the department I’m in, so I love it. It’s changed only in the way of my capacities stretching so I’m able to do as much as I can with the time that I have. But they’re so kind, and if I go on tour, they’re like, “Alright, we’ll figure it out. Have fun.” I love those students, and I know they’re rooting for me.
The Knockturnal: It must be amazing to have that home base to connect with between these musical ventures. Are there students that come up to you with ideas for their own music, their own artistry?
bodie: One hundred percent. That’s a big part of why I don’t want to leave. My good friend Preston works in the TV-film world — He was the best man at my wedding, I was the best man at his. We both went to the same college and now we’re both teaching there. We were talking, and he was like, “Man, let’s just do our best to never leave.” Because it’s so special to have teachers who didn’t just [work in the industry] in their prior life but are currently doing it and still finding time to pour into students. If I could have a teacher who’s also going on tour, and that’s what I want to do one day. How affirming and validating is that? They get to learn from someone who’s doing what they want to do. The more opportunities I get, the more I get fired up to teach my students. I work in the music department, and I help oversee worship as well. So it’s right in my wheelhouse.
The Knockturnal: I imagine it feels like you’re able to give back because of that and bring more of that touring and recording experience to the forefront of what you’re teaching. You’re able to capture this niche of indie-rock alternative sound within Christian pop. Are there people who have approached you about wanting to go into that niche specifically as well, who want to explore faith through music?
bodie: I just met with someone today. He loves alternative music, and he loves the Lord. It’s been really cool to hear students excited to work with me because of what I get to do. It’s a really special way for me to give back, because I’m not doing this for me. I want to do this because that’s what God’s created me to do. And I want to honor my family. And then, thirdly, I want to honor my students and help them find their calling, and to do it as best they can.
Photo Courtesy: Christina Kotsamanidis
