Discovering Ella Hartt is another God story. Actually she found me. I had posted a video on Instagram about what I believe was a message from God…”Let the Renaissance Begin.” I had a vision where I saw this Announcement document and located at the top of it it said “Kingdom Holywood” and I felt I needed to share it on Instagram. She saw my video and it grabbed her attention so she reached out with a personal message. She said, “I’m nearly crying watching this!! I definitely believe God is currently at work making himself known to many through media!!!”
Within moments I went to her Instagram page and I knew instantly she was the next MM Up & Comer, but also that she couldn’t give up—she has to keep going. It was a complete delight spending an hour and a half on a Zoom call getting to know her. It’s so fulfilling watching God create shining stars out of humble, yet determined people. This is Ella.
Ella is a singer, songwriter and storyteller and as you can see from her biography to the right she’s “One to Watch,” named by the Nashville Songwriters Association International. There’s something sweet, feminine and refreshingly innocent about her. I think she has a true air of a country girl and she carries something really special and trustworthy in her demeanor. Her last name seems to be very fitting! She wears her heart on her sleeve and has a mercy gift that oozes out of her even if she doesn’t realize it. She genuinely wants to see people healed from the stories they’ve told themselves.
Ella’s journey during the pandemic brought to the surface struggles people have with insecurity and comparison. “I remember one time in particular during the pandemic, I was having a bad day and I had posted a photo, [it] had been obvious that I had been crying and immediately people are writing—‘Are you okay? Are you okay?’ Which I appreciated. But at the same time, it’s like… I’m allowed to have days like that.”
“It won’t change our worth if we share our hearts” sings Ella in her most recent song “The Story You Tell Yourself.” This song was created to lift people up in a world where we are constantly pushed down. Many people around the globe (including Brazil, Mexico and Portugal) have responded with genuine appreciation and felt encouraged by this message. God revealed to Ella that her purpose was to “help others believe the best about themselves and their lives” and that is what became the mission of her artistry. God has beautiful, wonderful promises for His children, more than we can ask, think or imagine, and the enemy will do anything to promote his lies about who we are, creating doubt in who God created us to be. That is why the rising renaissance of Christian songwriters and storytellers (like Ella) within the entertainment industry are desperately needed in this seemingly self-absorbed, yet insecure culture. Too often we live in comparison and we’re not able to ever capture the view of ourself that God has, but He sees His children as beautiful.
We all need to know it’s ok to have a bad day, it’s ok to be authentic and real and as Ella shares “…we all have days like that, but nobody shows [it]. And I think in an age where we all filter our faces, we all try to make ourselves look better, I [wanted] to remind people that even in that comparison [mentality where others seem to look better] in their photo, and [we’re thinking] is my photo not good enough? and…why don’t I have as many likes? I [want] people to know that their worth is not based on [popularity].”
We can be grateful for the likes without depending on them to affirm our importance. “I think to know that we’re the story we tell ourselves, as long as it’s a good story we’re telling ourselves—that we’re strong, brave, beautiful, and one of a kind.” It’s important because a lot of times the story going through our minds can be negative…’I’m not enough, I’m not loved, I’m not strong enough.’”
In writing the lyrics with a good friend (Alexandria Hughes) they wanted to write the opposite of the lies often swirling through every human’s mind at one point or another—“it’s a very natural human feeling, however, that’s not how God designed us to feel,” Ella shares. The lyrics were born out of what God declares—you are one of a kind.
Her friend had decided she didn’t feel like she should be the one to record the song so Ella said, “Do you mind if I record it instead? I think it’s an important message.” And she said, “Absolutely. I would love that.”
So it became her single. Ella states “it’s always hard to choose what song to put out into the world and what message you want to share with people. And I think what I’ve decided, and what I feel like I’ve kind of talked over with God, is that I want to release uplifting music.”
Ella shares “I feel like The Story You Tell Yourself has been an important [song] to me because I feel like it’s tied to what I believe God told me my purpose was, to help others believe the best about themselves and their lives. And looking back on my own life, I can see evidence of how even throughout different jobs I had, or in growing up, how God used me in circumstances to help others believe the best about themselves and their lives.”
“I think it’s so important because we can be told so many lies on a day-to-day basis about who we are, which are not true. And I think that God has such beautiful promises, and though that song might not be Christian, it still has promises in there that are true about people.”
Ella shared with me that someone had said to “release a different song,” but she’s glad she didn’t listen because now she’s been able to encourage people all over the world who “genuinely appreciate the message.” The song, to her surprise, has been played most in Brazil, Portugal and Mexico.
It’s very obvious that her motive to be an encouragement through her music is pure and that like all of us creative kingdom people have a sincere desire to draw people to God; and for them to know they’re loved, seen and never forgotten.
Ella wants her music to be used for a purpose and she hoped this song could help girls or people that are being bullied. The morning of our interview she was pleasantly surprised again…“last night, the song got played on a webinar that was for anti-bullying, [the] music video got played, but it was just such a special kind of full circle moment that I didn’t [have] anything to do with [and] I didn’t plan. It was like, God [saying look], ‘I’m using it.’”
Ella likes the fact that she has been independent because it allows her the freedom to continue to promote her songs if she feels led to rather than be told to move onto the next song. “The fact that this song is still finding homes for people, providing people with encouragement, I think it just means that God is still using that song. It’s life isn’t over, [it] will keep working and keep encouraging. That’s my hope. I genuinely want people to know that they’re loved. I think some of the things that we struggle with most are, ‘Am I loved and do I have a purpose?’ I think that to me it’s just one of the things that breaks my heart when people don’t know that. I want people to know that you are loved and you have a purpose. Because at the end of the day, those are two of the main things that [all humans] struggle with. We struggle with all kinds of doubts, questions, fears, but I think to know the promises that God has given us are so important, and to hold on to those promises.” In a world where, or even in life, when things are up and down, [we can choose to] hold on to truth.
The Story You Tell Yourself Lyrics
If I wiped off my make up
And let my roots show
Would they like it and heart it
Or choose to unfollow?
We’re stuck in a moment
The world’s just a highlight reel
Where confidence is built on
Things that aren’t real
So why do we decide to hide
Who we are inside
Excuse me, can I get your attention?
I think there’s something you’re missing
So listen up
I gotta speak up
Don’t hold on to the lies you’re believing
No matter how you’re feeling
You’re enough
You’re strong, you’re brave, you’re beautiful
You’re one of a kind like no one else
You’re the story you tell yourself
If I posted a photo
And said how I feel
I might be insecure ‘bout it
And what it’d reveal
Would people start asking
If I’m doin’ okay
But I’d be doing alright
Cause we all have bad days
Oh it won’t change our worth
If we share our hurt
Excuse me, can I get your attention?
I think there’s something you’re missing
So listen up
I gotta speak up
Don’t hold on to the lies you’re believing
No matter how you’re feeling
You’re enough
You’re strong, you’re brave, you’re beautiful
You’re one of a kind like no one else
You’re the story you tell yourself
The story you tell yourself
Excuse me, can I get your attention?
I think there’s something you’re missing
So listen up
Gotta speak up
Don’t hold on to the lies you’re believing
No matter how you’re feeling
You’re enough
You’re strong, you’re brave, you’re beautiful
You’re one of a kind like no one else
You’re the story you tell yourself
The story you tell yourself
The story you tell yourself
— “The Story You Tell Yourself,” © Alexandria Hughes, Ella Hartt