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For anyone with alternative leanings in Christian music, Australia is famous for more than kangaroos, koala bears and vegemite sandwiches. The land down under also spawned singer/songwriter Rebecca St. James, whose latest album, Transform, hits store shelves Oct. 24.

At 22, St. James is one of only a few Christian artists to reach superstardom. And as a musician—Christian or otherwise—she ranks among a small number of artists who have taken home a Grammy Award, that most coveted of all music accolades.

But, talking to her, you get the feeling that accolades and awards fall low on the list of priorities for this gutsy young woman, whose passion is to spread the gospel to her generation in a way that smacks of reality.

Jen Abbas, of Family Christian Stores, caught up with St. James to find out what fueled the songs behind the new album, how she continues to hone her core message and, perhaps most important, what fuels St. James herself.

FamilyChristian.com: Your last album, Pray, came out in 1998 and earned you the highest award an artist can win: the Grammy. Now you're about to release Transform in October. How would you describe the sound on this new album?

St. James: It's kind of like movie soundtrack strings with live drums and guitars and European programming. It's really different. We've got some songs that are a little more like pop-club/European sounding, because of my international background and being in Europe for the last couple of years. I love having a lot of different influences in my music.

FamilyChristian.com: What song on the album are you most excited about?

St. James: The song "Merciful" is one of confession, but it's a song about His grace too, knowing that He forgives—that He knows everything about us but still forgives us and lets us move on.

FamilyChristian.com: What have you been up to over the past couple of years?

St. James: I've been on the road. Last year we finished up a 13-month tour. That was really tough. We were home a few days here and there but gone most of the time. And then after that I went to Romania on a missions trip, which was amazing. It was a personal dream of mine to do that. Then I spent a month in Australia—just kind of chilling out in my homeland. We live in Nashville, but we go back about once a year just to chill. This year I've been working on my new album. I've been out on the road a little bit here and there. We went to Australia and Holland and Norway. So we've been doing a few international jaunts as well.

FamilyChristian.com: Evidently, the missions trip to Romania made an impact on you. Can you tell us about it?

St. James: Ever since I was 8 years old I wanted to work at an orphanage. I just had a passion for that. I don't know if it was watching Oliver on television or reading stories about George Mueller and Mother Theresa, but I had a passion for helping kids like that. So last year I read about this ministry called Children's Relief Network in Bucharest, Romania, and as soon as I read about this ministry I sensed that God wanted me to go. I had been praying that God would show me the right ministry, and He did. It was very obvious.

I worked mainly with the rescue center, which helps kids who are still on the streets. We gave them clothes and food--really just being Jesus to them, putting our arms around them and loving them. You don't see anything like that over here. So many kids are still on the streets. There are thousands of them, living in underground sewers. We actually went down in there. They are so delighted that you'll come to the place where they live, but there's trash everywhere—it's dirty and smelly. Quite unbelievable.

FamilyChristian.com: How did the trip to Romania impact you?

St. James: It's so hard to share about the impact of something like that. It's kind of overwhelming while you're there. I think what it enabled me to see was how to practically live out the whole thing of What Would Jesus Do. You're in a situation where the kids are dirty, smelly, they're high on drugs a lot of the time, and if Jesus were there, He would hug them. He would reach out and touch them and be their friend, showing unconditional love. There were some kids who had made decisions to follow Jesus, but they still lived on the streets, so there was still that temptation. They would make commitments to live for God, and then, since they still had the temptation, they'd go back to it. And you'd just feel devastated. That's where you've got to trust that God is going to bring glory to Himself and bring about the change that He wants. That's a lesson I need to learn in all areas of my life--that I've got to give my best and ultimately trust that He's going to use it for His glory.

FamilyChristian.com: You've written a couple of devotional books. Any plans to write another?

St. James: We've been talking about that for quite a while, and we're in discussions with a publisher for another devotional book, but probably in a little different direction. My passion, in my music and in my life, is to point people to go deeper with Jesus. I think that's what this life is about—pursuing this great adventure of life with Jesus and just going deeper every day with Him. I really enjoyed doing those devotional books, and I think the thing is that they are very real. I share out of my diary; I share stories out of my life. My generation wants reality. They don't want you to beat around the bush, because they get that so much. They're sick of being fooled with. They want the truth, and they want it to be real. So if I have a chance to write another book, it will definitely be very real.

FamilyChristian.com: You are known for your commitment to prayer and purity before marriage. What advice would you give to the 20-something feeling pressure?

Transform by Rebecca St. James

St. James: I'm there—I'm 22. The thing I'm really aware of is that we've got to wait for God's best. We don't need to settle for second best, and that's something I share in concert: live God's way, because His way is the greatest way. His way rules. Don't get messed up in the junk that so many people get messed up in. I've had so many people come up to me and say, "I got involved with drugs and alcohol, and I had sex outside of marriage, and I regret it now." Don't get involved with the junk. Live for God. Wait for God's best. I'm willing to wait for a husband who will love me as Christ loved the church, somebody that will truly love me. And if he truly loves me, he's going to be patient and he's going to wait for me and he's going to want me to wait too. That's true love.

While I'm single, I can be totally focused on what God wants me to do now. I can also be growing in maturity and preparing myself for my husband. I think one of the joys of marriage is anticipating that, dreaming about it, being excited. At the same time, I can also have guy friends that I hang out with and enjoy as I wait on God's best and wait on His time.

FamilyChristian.com: You're surrounded by your family on the road. How does that affect your commitment to purity?

St. James: Not only do I have my parents and my brothers, but I have my band too! They're like my big brothers. It's wonderful, because they love God. They're wonderful men. Some of them are married and some aren't. We do devotions as a team. We pray before we go onstage. We're a really close-knit group. So I do have a lot of accountability, and I see myself as blessed in that way. If they saw me doing anything that was out of line or slightly questionable, I know they would challenge me. I feel like I have that extra fellowship that is so important, especially with what I do [professionally]. Being in the limelight can really mess with your head if you don't have people in your life who will help you stay grounded.

FamilyChristian.com: What is God teaching you now?

St. James: One of the new songs on Transform is called "Don't Worry." God's really been talking to me a lot this year about Philippians 4:6, which says, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and petition, present your prayers to God." Just giving things to Him and truly giving them away. Not taking them back. Just saying, "God, I trust You and I know that You will look after me and I know that You have my best interests at heart. I know that I'm Your child and I'm held in Your hands." That's been the big thing. He's like, "Do you trust me, Rebecca? I've come through for you every time, and even though circumstances don't look how you want them to be, I'm with you." So I think that's been the big one lately.

I've also been learning about His grace. My responsibility is to seek Him with all my heart. I'm not going to be perfect. I seek to live a holy life, but I'm not going to be able to earn God's pleasure [through anything I do]. He's pleased with me because Jesus covers me. I've been learning a little more about that. I haven't got it all figured out. I don't think that we ever get it figured out.

Jen Abbas, a writer in Grand Rapids, Mich., originally conducted this interview for Family Christian Stores' All Access music catalog.

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