Brad Paisley Tackles Religion in 'Those Crazy Christians'

Brad Paisley is dealing with the backlash from his highly-debated tune “Accidental Racist,” but there’s another song on his new album, Wheelhouse, that could raise a few eyebrows of fans who prefer their country music without controversy.

Paisley tackles religion in “Those Crazy Christians,” written from the viewpoint of a nonbeliever. Born and raised a Southern Baptist in West Virginia, Paisley is still a churchgoer (and an appreciator of traditions like Lent, for which he gave up bread this year), but he likes looking at topics from different angles.

“This is what I would consider a gospel song, the most important one I’ve ever done—a lot more important to me than ‘What a Friend We Have in Jesus,’ ” he told PARADE’s March 24 cover story.

With lyrics like “A famous TV preacher has a big affair and then…One tearful confession and he’s born again” and “Every untimely passing, every dear departed soul/Is just another good excuse to bake a casserole,” this isn’t your mom’s gospel song.

As Paisley told PARADE, “I wrote it shortly after my cousin-in-law passed away in 2011,” he said. “He was young, and he fought against a debilitating disease. There weren’t five minutes of intensive care that there weren’t at least two church members at the hospital, around the clock, and I remember thinking, what makes people take shifts for somebody they haven’t known very long? Well, it’s belief.

“To play the part of the skeptic in that song is a much more powerful argument to me—in favor of [belief] as well as looking at some of the things that are baffling. My most devout friends love it and so do my agnostic ones, but for very different reasons. I [chose] the tittle because I remember thinking, ‘Those crazy Christians. Look at them go. Look at them swoop in to save the day.’”

As with “Accidental Racist,” Paisley isn’t one to preach, he’s only asking the questions.

“They look to heaven their whole life,” he sings in “Those Crazy Christians.” “And I think what if they’re wrong but what if they’re right…You know it’s funny, much as I’m baffled by it all…If I ever really needed help, well you know who I’d call…Those crazy Christians.”

Paisley says he isn’t too worried if the edgier material on Wheelhouse doesn’t click with all his fans. “Maybe I’m naive, but I give them a lot of credit for having been with me a long time and knowing me really well. So it’s not like with one album I’m a whole new guy. I’ve had a great career, and if I don’t have one after this …”—he chuckles—“… then so be it.”

What are your thoughts on the singer’s hot-button tunes? Tell us in the comments. To find out more about Brad Paisley’s new album, Wheelhouse, read the full PARADE interview.

Winter Jam Tour Again #1 Among All Tours

The Winter Jam Tour Spectacular has shattered its own record to become the #1 tour in the world (first quarter) for the second consecutive year. According to Pollstar's 2012 Worldwide First Quarter Ticket Sales Charts - Top 100 Tours, Winter Jam outpaced attendance for all other tours, including Cirque du Soleil - "Michael Jackson: The Immortal," Pink Floyd's Roger Waters, The Black Keys, Jason Aldean and Brad Paisley, among others.

Founded and hosted by NewSong and this year headlined by Grammy®-nominated Skillet, the 47-city tour ended April 1 and saw 32 sold-out concerts and surpassed last year's record attendance by more than 10,000, playing to a total of nearly 535,000 people.

"Being the headliner on Winter Jam was an incredible opportunity for Skillet," said the band's frontman, John Cooper. "The fans, the music, and the message were absolutely relevant and impacted people's lives each and every night. The worst part of Winter Jam was having to end the tour and go back to 'normal' life!"

In addition to headliners Skillet, this year's tour also featured Sanctus Real, former Newsboys frontman Peter Furler, Kari Jobe, Building 429, Group 1 Crew, illusionist Brock Gill, and speaker Nick Hall. In addition, the OneVerse Pre-Jam Party included performances from Dara Maclean, For King & Country and We As Human.

Following its January 6 launch in Charleston, West Virginia, The Winter Jam 2012 Tour Spectacular played to capacity audiences in some of the country’s top venues, including Atlanta’s Philips Arena; The Wolstein Center in Cleveland; Oklahoma City’s Chesapeake Energy Arena; the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee; and the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina, where more than 20,000 were in attendance.

Since its formation by NewSong in 1995, Winter Jam has featured many of the top names in Christian music, including TobyMac, Jeremy Camp, Steven Curtis Chapman, Third Day, Newsboys, Tenth Avenue North and Fireflight, among others. The tour has also been instrumental in helping launch the careers of such acclaimed artists as Francesca Battistelli, Chris August and Sidewalk Prophets.

For further information, visit www.jamtour.com