Towards the end of 2025, in the midst of teasing a plethora of country-leaning collaborations, Brandon Lake shared an unexpected clip of him working on a song with Nick Jonas.

Fans immediately started speculating as to what this could mean, and whether they were working on a song for Nick's forthcoming album at the time, Sunday Best, or whether it was intended for Lake's genre-blurring new project. Then, at the start of May 2026, we got our answer, with the duo releasing a stunning original single, ‘The Author’, and a soul-stirring remix of Nick's Sunday Best stand-out, ‘Hope’.

Sonically, ‘The Author’ follows in a relatively traditional Contemporary Christian Music format, with Lake and Nick trading verses across a swelling, rousing piano-driven instrumental.

As they approach the powerful crescendo, they introduce an emphatic drum pattern and dial up the intensity of their deliveries to match the emotion of the narrative. There's a subtle addition of choral vocals as they sing the final hook, injecting an additional sense of Heavenly, spiritually-fuelled verve into the song's moving conclusion.

“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?”

‘The Author’ finds Lake and Nick reflecting on their respective shortcomings, with our protagonist beginning by admitting that it's been a while since he picked up the Bible.

There's a visceral piece of juxtaposition when they express how God and Jesus still “washed me clean” despite there being dust on the pages of their Bible, because it's been forgotten for so long. They continue the metaphor of their life being a story, confessing that they struggle to know what to write next. This lays the foundation for the realisation later in the song that this isn't a burden they need to worry about, because at the end of the day, God is the only one in charge of our stories.

“So who am I? Who am I?
Am I just a poor preacher's prodigal son?
A 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?”

Throughout the hook, our protagonist cries out, “Who am I?”, before delving deeper into the various ways in which he has misstepped, such as “Chasing the glory instead of the One”. Here, they touch on the idea that they have been fretting and worrying about their path, when ultimately, they can find peace in the knowledge that every single page of the books of our lives is being written by ‘The Author’, i.e. God.

There's a heartwarmingly personal note nestled in the hook, when Lake and Nick sing, “Am I just a poor preacher's prodigal son?” Both of their fathers used to be pastors.

“I see trauma, I see worthless
You see something You can work with
I see weakness, I see failure
You see something good on paper
And I've seen ashes turn to beauty
I've felt heaven working through me
I've seen panic turn to power
Felt Your peace in my darkest hour”

As the song storms towards its climax, Lake and Nick again lay out all the self-critical feelings and thoughts they've been having. The latter has been open about his struggles with panic and anxiety attacks, and the line, “I've seen panic turn to power / Felt Your peace in my darkest hour” feels like a touching nod to how he leans on God and Jesus to give him strength and comfort during these testing moments.

“I'm ink in the pen in the hands of The Author”

In many ways, this sums up the spirit of ‘The Author’, with Lake and Nick joyfully concluding that they are merely vessels through which God can carry out His will.

It's a similar concept Tim McGraw's ‘God Moves the Pen’, another wonderfully soulful offering that follows a protagonist who finds solace in knowing that God is always in control.

“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?
-
So who am I? Who am I?
Am I just a poor preacher's prodigal son?
A 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?
-
Like every good story, you learn from the loss
And I lost the plot every time I've played God
I live in a moment You already wrote
And it proves that I'm someone, yeah, someone You love
-
So who am I? Who am I?
Am I just a poor preacher's prodigal son?
A troubled child, running wild
Chasing the glory instead of the One
Who says that I, oh, 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?
-
I see trauma, I see worthless
You see something You can work with
I see weakness, I see failure
You see something good on paper
And I've seen ashes turn to beauty
I've felt heaven working through me
I've seen panic turn to power
Felt Your peace in my darkest hour
-
What grace is this?
Called me by name again and again and again and again
What grace is this?
Crossed out my shame
Forgives me again and again and again and again and again
-
So who am I? God, who am I?
Am I just a poor preacher's prodigal son?
A troubled child, running wild
Chasing the glory instead of the One
Who says that I, even I
Have something still left to offer?
Who am I? Who am I
To question the pen in the hands of The Author?
-
I'm ink in the pen in the hands of The Author
I'm ink in the pen in the hands of The Author
I'm ink in the pen in the hands of The Author”

For more on Brandon Lake, see below:

Brandon Lake

Artist

Nick Jonas

Artist