TEXAS GOSPEL VOLUNTEER

Lauren Talley has released a new single, “Mercy,” taken from Elevation Worship’s GRAMMY- and Dove Award-winning album Old Church Basement. The release follows last month’s “Walls,” her first new music for Horizon Records since A Lauren Talley Christmas in 2024.

The recording was produced by Jason Webb. Talley’s version keeps the keyboard-driven feel of the original but pulls back on its larger sound, holding instead to the quieter, confessional tone of the song’s opening. Even as Webb brings in a supporting vocal chorus, the arrangement keeps the listener close to the words, a lyric that speaks plainly about personal redemption and the grace of God.

Talley has said the song became personal to her long after she first heard it. She recalls being asked by a young woman at her church to play piano while the woman sang it. “I loved the song then,” Talley said, “but I didn’t live it until later.” Now, she says, the song belongs to her in a different way. “When you live a song, you have to sing it. It’s my story; it’s everyone’s story of redemption.”

Talley is no newcomer to Gospel music. Born into a musical family, she sang her first solo at age two, stepping onto the stage during a family concert. She went on to become a member of the family group The Talleys, contributing lead vocals to eleven number one hits. In 2015, The Talleys received a Dove Award for their song “Hidden Heroes.”

Her solo career has been equally productive. She has recorded seven solo albums, including a 2019 release of two albums at the same time — Glorious God: Songs of Worship and Wonder and Loudest Praise: Hymns of Mercy, Love and Grace. Her 2017 album The Gospel reached number one on Billboard’s Southern Gospel chart. She is also the author of Songs in the Night, a devotional book connected to her 2010 album of the same name. In 2014, she received an honorary doctorate in Worship Arts from John Wesley University.

Beyond her own recording work, Talley is well known to audiences through her appearances on Gaither Homecoming videos and concerts, RFD-TV’s The Music City Show, and In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley. She also performs at women’s conferences and events across the country, both as a singer and a speaker.