Track Listing
1. Beauty
2. Superstar
3. Not Afraid
4. Renew Me
5. You Alone
6. Waitin On You
7. Over It
8. In My Eyes

Score: 90%/A-

MAIN REVIEW
Most of us tend to remember our teenage years and sometimes forget how it really felt – the things that mattered then. The significant things like trying to figure out life, your own feelings, who you are and who God is in your life. In her album, Not Afraid, Stephanie Smith lets us into her world. Smith presents herself as an authentic medium relating to her generation in songs that deal with topics so relevant to them including stardom, beauty, acceptance and disappointment and God’s presence in it.

Like Avril Lavigne on the secular charts, Stephanie Smith reaches out to Christian audiences with an album poised to make its intended mark. Not Afraid superbly hits the highs and the lows; the speed ups and the slow downs. Its punk, rock and pop styles fuse together a multifaceted storyline. The songs on the album are laced with significance. Smith makes both cultural statements and personal, consoling ones as well. Her personal revelations impart truth that is truly cross-generational.

The music on Not Afraid is solid and well-orchestrated. The listener-friendly rock chords, rousing choruses and timely effects provide an ideal foundation for Smith’s poetry. Tracks flow one to the next creating a single combined soundtrack. The sound feels new and fresh and somehow innately familiar. Set apart from the lyrics, the music on the album is touching and motivating in its own right.

Alongside socially significant radio anthems like “Beauty”, “Not Afraid” (title track) and “SuperStar” are three brilliant and unmistakably Christian contemporary standards, “Renew Me”, “What If I Made a Mistake” and “You Alone” that really help to take the album to the next level. You’ll want to bookmark these three hits for your playlists because they’re intellectually honest, Christ-honoring and difficult to get out of your head.

All considered, Not Afraid is a fun and inspiring balance of energy and subtlety. If a successful album is about pure lyrics, solid vocals and great music, then Not Afraid is a resounding success. You won’t be disappointed. In fact, I think you’ll be encouraged to be bold and reminded that the Lord stands with you.

CLOSING THOUGHTS
Listen for the solid sound and the feeling of young exuberance. Connect with Stephanie in her life experiences and Christian walk on the tracks “Renew Me”, “What If I Made a Mistake” and “You
Alone”. The album Not Afraid will motivate and encourage you. In fact, I bet you’ll keep it on heavy rotation.

For more on Stephanie Smith and to see the full review, visit: http://www.christianmusicreview.org/stephaniesmith_notafraid.html