|PIC1|Teenage Christian rocker Krystal Meyers is growing up. When she first broke out onto the music scene in 2005, she was just 16. As a mouthpiece for her generation, she brought out the popular anthem "Anti-Conformity" - a Godly-rebellion - with the US release of her self-titled debut album.

Now 18 and preparing for her third album, Krystal is ready to move on and tackle new themes, following her successful sophomore album Dying for a Heart, which was another anti-conformity themed project.

In this interview with Christian Today, Krystal talks honestly about the lessons God has taught her over the past few years, how she is 'moving on' from punk rock, the new musical goals she has set for her next album, and her love for Japan.


How has the response been for your latest album Dying for a Heart?

It's been really great. I think it's been embraced well. NBC actually picked up the song "Together" for Heroes and stuff like that. And of course it's been great in Japan; we did two videos for them.

What's your most recent involvement with Japan?

I haven't been there this year yet, but I think we're planning a tour for this summer. One of the most influential magazines there named me the second 'best-dressed woman' in Japan, which is awesome. Gwen Stefani was number 3 and I was like, "No, flip-flop that! That's not right!" Anyway, it's an honour. I can't wait to go back... I love the culture, people... and I love the food.

You like sushi?

Oh... it's my favourite.

Is anti-conformity still your main anthem?

It's kind of one of those things...well, I'm growing up and I'm having to think about what I'm doing for the third record and I'm already writing and stuff. I just know that that will always be a message that I embrace and agree with, and I know that it'll always have a special place in my heart.

And I'll still always be able to talk about it, but I want to be able to expand in other issues I can talk about. Anti-conformity was two records, and that's how people know me and stuff, but being in a ministry, there's going to be tons of different things to talk about. I know that anti-conformity does sum up a lot of things in one package, but I think just growing older and experiencing new things - there are more things I want to be able to talk about.

What sort of issues will you be tackling in your third album?

There's some stuff in the works. I don't want to speak too quickly yet - because I don't know what I'm going to keep and what I'm going to roll out - but we'll see!

What's the latest lesson God has taught you?

There's been a lot. He rekindled the passion for what He has instilled in my heart with music and stuff. I think for a while, I was beginning to doubt all of that, and just kind of wanted to throw it away.

There have been lots of times I've felt discouraged. I felt like there was so much negativity from people around me and stuff. It was more kind of like a personal thing. It was one of those things I had to turn back to God and ask, "Am I still doing what You have called me to do?"

Especially in live shows, I felt like I really wasn't there yet. I never had time to develop or anything. I got signed, I was immediately thrown out on the road, and that was a really hard thing for me. That was where the negativity came from.

But now I've been working with one of the best vocal coaches in the world for the past seven months. He has completely renewed my heart to kind of rekindle that passion back. Nobody believed in me more than he does. I'm reminded that I'm in a label full of people who believe in me and love me.

I'm actually excited to start touring again. It's been kind of a battle with God. I was like, "What am I doing? I hate going out there and making a fool out of myself!" It's just been a lot of personal things that God has taught me.

What do you do when you get spiritually weary?

There's lots of things. It's just kind of being able to have that self-discipline to be able to balance - which I have a difficult time with. I'm such a bad juggler at those kind of things, very ADD, and I'm awful at prioritising.

It's having that self-discipline. If I know that I have to wake up and have a sound check at 11:00am, that means I have to take an hour and a half to get ready, so I need to wake up an extra hour early to spend time with God.

Honestly, sometimes that is hard. I'm like, "I don't want to wake up at 7 or 8. I don't want to do that! I want to get up, relax, and then get ready." But God always has something new and amazing to teach you.

It's just being able to make that discipline and make that a priority. Thank the Lord that He hasn't made us into robots! Like, "I praise you because that's how I was made," or anything. It's that we wake up and God is like, "I want my daughter/son to talk to me. I have so many amazing things to tell her/him." It's just us making that effort and it makes God so happy.

So do you pray in the morning and before you perform?

Yeah, exactly. And it's really not that hard once you get into it. But... just making sure that God is always at the centre. Yeah, it is praying before shows, completely on a day-to-day basis, just mentally and physically and verbally making that a priority. Consciously knowing that God is there and has all these things to show you, and He knows what your day has in store, so just relying on Him.

Have you thought of a theme or title for your new record yet?

I have some thoughts musically about what I want to do. I'm really getting into bands like The Sounds, and I've always liked Gwen Stefani. So there's some stuff that I like that are kind of 80s style. I love that kind of music... I always want the rock side of the music to be part of it. Punk-wise, I think I just want to move on. It's not even something I look into anymore. So it's hard to be influenced by a genre of music that you don't spend any time trying to get to know. So musically, I know the theme, but title-wise, we'll have to see what kind of songs emerge, and we'll go from there.