“Empire”- Inspired Birmingham Singer Goes Viral
After watching "Empire" Wednesday night, I did my final Facebook scan and came across a video of my friend Melissa Sanders singing a cover of Estelle's "Conqueror." I clicked "Like" and kept it moving, but the next day....
The next day, I woke up and as I scanned through Facebook, I was amazed to see how many people had shared her video. The response has been amazing! Here is the video:
Those who know Melissa know that she wasn't seeking any kind of attention and that in making this video, she was just doing what she normally does. Let me tell you what's funny about it. This song has been out since last summer, but because Melissa is so far removed from most things secular, she'd never heard the song until hearing it on a television show she was watching for the first time. Perhaps it was meant for her to watch this particular episode, as she has seemingly encouraged so many people with her version of the song.
(I shared this with Melissa last night.) When I first heard "Conqueror," I listened to it and then I listened to it again and again and again. The chorus is what stuck with me most:
I'd rather stand tall
Than live on my knees,
'Cause I am a conqueror,
And I won't accept defeat!
Try telling me no,
One thing about me
Is I am a conqueror,
I am a conqueror!
There are a number of songs and sayings that come to mind when I need them, but there's something about "Conqueror" where whether I need to hear it at that moment or not, as soon as I hear it, I feel empowered. If the chorus wasn't enough, these lyrics right here....
Got a vision that no one else sees,
Lot of dirty work, roll up your sleeves,
Remember there's a war out there,
So come prepared to fight!
You never know wherever the road leads you,
Not everyone's gonna believe you,
Even though they're wrong, don't prove them right.
I don't know of another secular song out now that is as empowering! There have been quite a number of gospel-turned-secular and secular-turned-gospel songs in the last decade or so, but this one is one of the few that sound like the genre is totally irrelevant. No matter what kind of music you prefer, this song speaks volumes!
Kudos for the the writers and for Melissa's tapping into the spirit of the song enough to share it with the masses. People who don't listen to secular music needed to hear the song, and those who only listen to secular music needed to hear the depth of the message as delivered by Melissa.
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