Lyrically, the song looks at how stressful, and fear inducing, our current world can be, but focuses on the solution to these problems found in Christ. In the chorus, Wood sings, "We can rise from the ashes; rebuild what's broken. Lift our voices, let the Truth be spoken." KJ further brings home the hopeful message found in the bridge spitting, "We've been lost, yeah, we fell apart, but God's still here healing every heart. Step by step; every single sound. We've got the strength; we can turn it around." No matter what we may be facing in our lives, we have the strength and hope in Christ to persevere and make it through.
Brightstar could be a fun band to look to in the future. Their short EP, FIGHT, features the title track, a moody Evanescence-inspired tune called "Fading Echoes," and the instrumental "Rise Again." It's only a brief eleven minutes in length, but it's worth the listen. In the meantime, fans of KJ-52, or hip-hop infused rock music, should definitely give "FIGHT" a listen. This has potential to be one of your favorite new songs of 2025.
- Review date: 7/11/25, written by Michael Weaver of Jesusfreakhideout.com
Record Label: None
Album length: 1 track: 3 minutes, 23 seconds
Street Date: June 6, 2025
Buy It: Amazon Music
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Adam Wood: It's pretty wild! Most of my music industry experience has been helping others (management, production, etc.). There were a lot of times I started to dip into working on my own thing and life would kind of just happen. So, to finally reach a point where life is a bit more predictable has allowed me to open some of those doors again and walk through a bit more confidently. It's a really great feeling, mixed with a little fear because I want to do it justice! I've had plenty of opportunities to record something, but it was never up to par with what I was comfortable throwing out to the world. I always told myself I would only release something if it was above average quality-wise. I think with the team we've been working with, we've accomplished that.
Adam: Man, this was totally random. I've listened to KJ since the early parts of his career. I remember seeing him for the first time when I was a teenager at a lock-in! When I wrote FIGHT, I knew it needed an element that I wasn't able to provide, so I reached out to him as a hip hop artist that I respect and asked him if he would be willing to help out. He agreed, a lot quicker than I expected, and then we just made it happen! I produced the music with the team, Jessi and I tracked out vocal parts at our home studios, and then sent the files to KJ in Florida, where he tracked his parts. It was actually a pretty flawless process and I'm super thankful that God provided for this to become a reality. I think it helped that I came to him with a product that was already good, and we just worked to make it better!
Adam: I started writing the lyrics for this song when I was living in Nashville in the mid-2000s. It was just one of many lyrical blurbs that I would quickly write down as they came up, but nothing ever came of it. Once I decided to start working on music last year, I knew this was a concept that I wanted to explore, given all of the pressure and division in the overly political landscape that we live in.
So, I brought up what I had lyrically and figured out a melody, then got to work on production. It happened very fast. I actually wrote the whole song, but the rap pieces I had written were a bit more aggressive, so KJ just reworked the verses to fit his signature flow. It's all still very close to the original lyrics I had written, but it would not have been the same without him!
Adam: I always say that Jessi is the real talent in the group. Fading Echoes was the first song I finished. In my mind, it had that Evanescence sound, so I wanted a richer female voice to track a majority of the song. Jessi fit into that very well. I can sing okay, but I have to work super hard for it, and we still end up doing some tuning on my final vocals. Jessi is almost flawless during tracking, so our editing people really love her! I'm thankful that she gave the song what I felt it needed in order for me to get started with this journey. So, we decided to keep going!
Adam: For me, Brightstar is a platform that God has given me. In my mind, it's a voice for the ministry element of everything. It gives us a platform to point back to other things that God is doing in our lives. So, whatever God decides to make of that, I'm open to exploring. This first year was just intended to get my footing and figure this out again. We're going to start working on elements of a live performance, but that will be something that's a bit less frequent. My first priority in life is my son, Klayton, who is a 9-year-old with Autism Spectrum Disorder (Level 2), and my life is really built around him. So, whatever that looks like, has to accommodate him more than any other factor. Jessi also has children who are neurodivergent, so life is just kind of unique in that way for both of us.
Adam: Autism and Faith Inc kind of happened by accident (for me, anyway). When God brought me back into full-time ministry, I became a full-time pastor, which is still where I serve primarily. I was ordained in 2024 after a season of education and growth while leading a church. Somewhere in that process, I felt the urge to write. So, I wrote a couple of books. One of those books was Autism and Faith. It was designed to help equip pastors with the ability to be more inclusive of those with Autism and other neurodivergent needs. Accepting Autism and including those with Autism are two different things.
So, my goal with the book was to provide a tool to use as a small-group discussion guide for church leaders to start that conversation. At some point, God laid it on my heart to do more in this area, as we are developing other resources to help in this space, like a podcast, educational videos, community educational programs, etc. We have limited financial resources, so we're trusting God to provide along the way. But, this is one of the things that I believe Brightstar was brought into existence for - to give a larger platform.
But also, it's not only autism for us. It's mental health in general. Jessi is a big advocate and has a heart for those struggling with mental health and addiction. I am also finishing a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Liberty University, with a minor in Autism. So, our songs are really focused on meeting people where they are, even if those places are messy and dark. We hope to be a light in that darkness for people who many not otherwise know that they're seen.
Adam: God has really been teaching me to slow down and be patient. I have ADHD as well, so I've largely lived my life a bit off-the-cuff, without much of a real, solid plan. In the last decade, I've experienced divorce, the journey with my son, being called back into ministry, and a host of other transformations. It all started with my son and his diagnosis. God taught me how to view life and love people through a unique lens that I feel like only this lifestyle can provide. So, I feel like the biggest thing I've been learning is how to slow down and be intentional. Eugene Petersen wrote a book called "A Long Obedience in the Same Direction." I believe that's what this journey is. Just continuing to be faithful in discerning the movement of God, so that we can remain planted and intentional to finish works that we might not be able to if we were constantly moving around and scattered.
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