The youngest up-and-coming Catholic musician on our radar is back with a new fantastic release in 2024, with the promise of more to come over the summer. Juliana Grantz, whose song for St. Gianna was honored by the Archdiocese of Milan at the saint's centennial, has returned with another heartfelt tune, “All or Nothing,” for which Juliana was inspired by the life of Sister Clare Crockett.
Sister Clare
Sister Clare was born in Ireland in 1982 and grew up expecting to be a movie star -- and with good reason. Blessed with a natural beauty, a wonderful singing voice, and a brimming artistic talent, her natural charisma won her a spot as the host of a children’s program on UK’s Channel 4 at just 15 years old. While her successes pointed towards a career on the silver screen, she began to become disillusioned with the starlet lifestyle.
Before she was 18, Clare found herself sitting at the back of a church on Good Friday. When she went to venerate the crucifix, as is part of the liturgy for that day, the simple gesture became a life-changing moment.
After the Mass, a nun found her crying in the back of the church, overwhelmed by the realization that: “He died for me. He loves me! Why hasn’t anyone ever told me this before?” She would participate in just one more film before she washed her hands of the superficiality and sin offered by the cinema world, instead joining the Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother.
Grantz inspired
Juliana explained to Aleteia that she was first introduced to Sister Clare’s story by a YouTube documentary that she saw when she was 14. The story of Sister Clare’s life touched her in much the same way as St. Gianna’s story, especially in the way she rejected secular stardom for a life in service to God.
“I felt so incredibly drawn to Sister Clare and how she desired to be famous, but decided to give her life to God; and not just bits and pieces of it, but everything. She declared she was going to give 'all or nothing' for Jesus, and so she gave Him her all and never turned back.”
Juliana felt incredibly connected to Sister Clare’s story, as she has experienced some of it herself. At just 14, she achieved international recognition for one of the first songs that she ever wrote, “Gianna’s Song.” Her natural talent as a songwriter and her professional approach to the craft have led some who are close to her to suggest that she try out for singing competition shows like American Idol, but Juliana explained that she would rather consider her music to be her mission:
“There was a moment in my life when a staff member at a summer camp told me, ‘For the sake of Our Church, keep writing and singing,’ and that has been my motto [ever since]. I saw so much of myself in Clare in the way she wanted to be famous, but knew being famous in God's eyes was so much more beautiful and important than anything else.”
“All or Nothing”
Drawing the core lyrics of the song from a quote from Sister Clare, provided at the end of the lyric video, Grantz constructs a song that is simultaneously drawing on both her own experiences and the life of Sister Clare.
The flow of the song almost feels like a stream of consciousness, with the contemplation of a religious vocation expressed in the chorus stilling the tumultuous storm of uncertainty conveyed in each verse.
Grantz’s musical style is largely driven by piano and her adept vocals. She is especially talented at building interesting musical textures in her bridge and pre-chorus sections. There’s a wonderful moment in the latter half, where she sings “For I was lost, but now I’m whole,” when the entire song changes to a joyous, bouncing romp, in which Grantz sings the word “whole” almost like she’s laughing; as though this final decision to take the plunge into religious life has filled her with such jubilation that she cannot contain the joy.
Get ready for more Grantz
Juliana shared with Aleteia that “All or Nothing” is just the first release that we can expect from her in 2024. While she doesn’t have any release dates set in stone, she said she intends to start releasing singles for her first full-scale album soon, and hopes that the entire album will be out before the end of the summer.
Be sure to follow Juliana Grantz on YouTube, as well as popular streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music, so you don’t miss this exciting next step in the musical career of this fantastic Catholic musician.
