Contemporary Christian artist Brandon Lake and pop singer Nick Jonas have released a two-song collaboration, featuring the new single “The Author” and a remix of “Hope.”
The project, released May 1 after weeks of online teasers, includes Lake’s ballad “The Author” alongside a reworked version of “Hope,” a track that originally appeared on Jonas’ solo album “Sunday Best.”
“Picked up the Book for the first time in ages/ Still washed me clean with the dust on the pages/ My life is a story I struggle to write/ But is it one worth telling? Is it one You like?” Lake sings in the opening verse, before moving into the chorus.
“So who am I? Who am I?/ Am I just a poor preacher’s prodigal son?/ Troubled child, running wild/ Chasing the glory instead of the One/ Who says that I, even I, have something still left to offer?/ So who am I?/ Who am I to question the pen in the hands of the Author?”
Jonas joins on the second verse, singing, “Like every good story, you learn from the loss/ And I lost the plot every time I played God/ I live in a moment You already wrote/ It’s proof that I’m someone, yeah, someone You love,” before joining Lake on the refrain.
According to a release announcing the collaboration, the song was written during a writing camp hosted by Lake, a five-time Grammy winner, in late 2025 and is credited to Lake, featuring Jonas.
Lake’s recent mainstream visibility has grown following his collaboration with Jelly Roll on “Hard Fought Hallelujah,” which helped expand his reach into arena tours and secular festivals. The track earned a Grammy Award for best contemporary Christian music performance/song, along with song of the year honors at the K-LOVE Fan Awards and the Dove Awards.
The collaboration also arrives shortly after Lake’s April 3 release, “The Jesus I Know Now,” with Lainey Wilson.
Jonas, a member of the Jonas Brothers, has previously spoken about his faith journey and the challenges his family faced when his father lost his position as a pastor after the group signed with Columbia Records in 2005. The group, which recently performed with Switchfoot, initially started out as a Christian band.
“Our dad was at that church for 10 years. It was a real safety net for us and a place where we felt a part of a community,” Jonas said during an appearance on the “Jay Shetty Podcast.”
He added, “Some of the families that were there prior to our arrival did not like my dad and made it their mission to get him pushed out of the church. So effectively, he lost his job while also funding this dream of ours.”
“We had to move out of our home because we were living in the church parsonage, which is owned by the church,” Jonas said. “We moved into basically a little house in a place called Little Falls, New Jersey. The owners of the home were kind enough to let us rent it from them for basically nothing while we were in this transitional period.”
Jonas said the transition, combined with early career pressures, led him to wrestle with his faith.
“It all kind of collided at the same time, and you look up and life just looked very different,” he said.
“It took a lot of faith, and even questioning faith at that time,” Jonas said, “going from the safety net of the church to all of a sudden being sort of betrayed by them and having to redefine your relationship with God while going through some of your toughest moments.”
“Throughout those years following our exit from the church, I really questioned faith and what relationship I would have to organized religion at all,” he said, “which is something that I can say now knowing that my relationship with my God is totally intact and that my belief is totally intact.”
In addition to “The Author,” the pair reimagined “Hope,” an organ-driven pop-soul track in which Jonas reflects on his church upbringing and sings, “I need some hope/ Where’s the silver lining cutting through all the smoke?/ I need some hope/ I’m praying that the devil loosens up his hold, hold, hold/ I need some hope.”
Previously, Lake shared with The Christian Post how he hopes his music reaches both the Christian struggling with hurt and doubt, as well as non-Christians. Healing from church hurt is possible, he said, and God, through His people, can restore what has been broken.
“Your primary call isn't to ministry, it's to intimacy,” the worship leader said. “Let everything flow from that. Just focus on your relationship with God. Take one day at a time. Surrender daily. Don't worry about tomorrow. Focus on what He asks you to do today, and you'll end up where you're supposed to be.
“Everyone's going to be hurt by a Christian,” he added. “But it doesn't mean God hurt you. At some point, the church is going to let you down. But it doesn't mean God did. Church isn't perfect, because you're there and I'm there. So if you've ever had food poisoning, you don't stop eating food. You have to eat again at some point. So just keep moving forward. Find healthier and healthier people to surround you. Keep your arms up, keep your faith on fire, and be quick to forgive.”
