A longtime member of worship ensemble Maverick City Music, Naomi Raine stepped into a spotlight of her own in 2022 with the release of her debut solo album, Journey.
An unabashedly honest 22-track collection, Journey is a vulnerable look into Raine's process of navigating a musical career, faith, motherhood, marriage, mental health and more. Throughout the album, Raine manages to keep her focus on a positive mindset without shying away from the darker, more challenging parts of life. Nowhere is that truer than in "Okay," a song that speaks to Raine's experience with anxiety, stress and people-pleasing.
In this episode of Positive Vibes Only, the singer spells out how the day-to-day stresses of life can make her feel like she's in over her head. "And every day I grind away, make the dream a reality/ But every night I'm in a fight, Sleepin', grindin' my teeth/ I try to pray, take it away, all the stress and the business/ But I just can't stop saying yes," she sings early on in the song.
Even as Raine taps into common anxieties, she also manages to find a more positive perspective and she works her way through the song. In her performance of "Okay," Raine sits at a microphone, wearing a white and gray jumpsuit, surrounded by gauzy white streamers. Behind her, a backing band offers a gently lilting musical backdrop and ethereal harmonies.
That's because — despite all the stresses she mentions in the song — Raine knows that her faith will ultimately help things work out in her favor. "A work in progress, it's a process/ But He'll keep His promise," she points out at the emotional climax of the song.
Three months before releasing Journey, Raine became a GRAMMY winner thanks to her work in Maverick City Music. The group's collaborative live album with Elevation Worship, Old Church Basement, won Best Contemporary Christian Music Album at the 2022 GRAMMYs.
Press play on the video above to get to know Raine as a solo artist, listen to Journey here, and check back to GRAMMY.com for more episodes of Positive Vibes Only every Sunday.
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