Former celebrity vocal coach shares how 'darkness' in Hollywood inspired album on spiritual warfare
A Hollywood celebrity vocal coach has shared how, after God opened her eyes to the “darkness” surrounding her in the secular music industry, she felt compelled to write a worship album focusing on spiritual warfare.
For years, Kira Fontana worked as a successful vocal coach to major labels and shows such as Glee and The Voice. But the longer she spent in the music industry, the more disillusioned she became by the darkness she witnessed all around her.
“It’s darker than most people could ever imagine,” Fontana told The Christian Post. “If you look at the content of the lyrics of the songs that are played on the radio, it’s unbelievably immoral and dark and anti-Jesus. When I started to see the sheer percentage of songs and videos that were leaning heavily in that direction, I came to recognize that it could not be an accident. People in very powerful positions are backing it; there are gatekeepers who are wanting this content that we hear now to be prevalent in our society.”
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“It’s akin to poisoning our community, and our kids are drinking from a very, very, very destructive cup,” she said. “I saw the effect on kids as I worked in the city, and that effect is spreading. LA is the communication center for this planet; when you go to other countries, you still see content made in Los Angeles. It became a really heavy responsibility.”
Though an unbeliever, Fontana felt a strong, invisible pull away from the secular music industry.
“I would always follow my dreams and do what I thought I was supposed to do, but I always had this sense, when I would get really close to something, that it wasn't the right thing, whether it was a big record deal or a big gig,” she recalled. “It was frustrating. I just felt like, at that time in my life, I had explored every path I could think of and none of them was a fit.”
Discouraged, Fontana stopped writing and singing. But at the end of 2017, something changed. Though “spiritual, but not religious” for many years, she felt compelled to truly read the Bible, asking God to show her truth.
“After about a year of really wrestling, I really did commit my life finally to Christ, and just kind of lay it all down. At that point, I started praying for God to show me how to use the gifts He had given me to glorify Him.”
One night as she lay in bed, Fontana prayed, “God, why did you even make me?”
“It was just a really hard time, and it was a really honest prayer,” she admitted. “I desperately wanted God to reveal Himself and show me my purpose.”
Shortly after praying that prayer that night, she began hearing a melody in her head — a song she realized would be called “Refuge.”
“It was the first song I had heard in a really long time, and I used to hear music all the time,” she said. “It was this amazing realization over the next several months, as God gave me song after song after song, that His answer to my prayer was, ‘I made you to worship me.’”
Eager to obey God’s calling on her life, Fontana recorded her debut worship album, titled Refuge, named after the first song God spoke into her life.
“I think the song 'Refuge' will always have a special place in my heart because that's where God started to just redeem everything for me by giving me that song,” she said. “It’s such a declaration of who He is. No matter what's going on around us, if we are abiding in Him, we are safe and secure.”
Largely focusing on spiritual warfare, the album is comprised of songs including "In Your Arms," "Beauty For Ashes," and "Return To You" — all filled with words of God's triumph over her battles.
“God opened my eyes to so much of the darkness in the industry I was working in,” Fontana said. “I had repeatedly prayed this prayer for God to show me truth. And He did show me truth of His love and grace. But He also showed me all of this evil in the world that I was quite blind to. It really opened my eyes to the need for a Savior.”
“When you look at the world as all love and light, there is no room for a Savior,” she added. “God showing me darkness and the spiritual warfare that we are in was vital to my spiritual journey. He’s the only answer, the only one who has conquered it. Through Him, we can have victory.”
Now, Fontana also serves as a Christian music producer and the founder of KINGDOM SOUND, a boutique music production company and record label.
Based on her experience in the secular music industry and radical conversion, Fontana said she wants to use her talents to combat darkness and create music that glorifies God and points people to the One who made and loves them.
“People can try to minimize what comes out of Hollywood and say, ‘Oh, it’s just entertainment,’ but it has a tremendous effect on the psyches and souls of our young people,” she said. “The Church needs to stand up against this darkness because it’s truly having a devastating effect on the next generation.”
“My hope for this album,” she added, “is that God’s will would be done and that they build up and encourage people in their faith and draw people closer to Him. I hope my songs reach people who don't know Him yet and people who are lost like I was lost, and that they might hear something that would start to draw in.”
