Christian singer and songwriter, Cade Thompson released a new single called “New Normal” to provide hope for students who fear gun violence.
Thompson shared with CCM Magazine that “New Normal” stems from his own personal experience.
“I remember I was a senior in high school a couple of years ago. I was walking in my school just like any other senior in high school would and that day I found out there was actually a school shooting threat at my school,’ he remembered.
He described the feeling he felt at that moment. “I remember the fear began to fill me up from the inside out [and] I called my mom, [but] she didn’t answer the phone.” Thompson later learned that the threat was not as severe as he initially thought. “There was a lot of unknown and thankfully I ended up going home that day safe and it ended up not being a credible threat.”
However, Thompson was still curious to understand why the incident startled him in the way that it did. He found answers through conversations with his mother. “As I was talking with my mom, I realized that growing up in today’s society, a school shooting had been one of my biggest fears growing up.”
The singer then remembered a similar experience he encountered as a child. “It all started when I was five years old. My mom and I were taking my sister to middle school. There was an active shooter at her school, and I remember hearing about that and kind of living through that at a young age. That really put something on the inside of me that caused there to be fear,” Thompson realized.
Sadly, school shootings are incidents children and adolescents encounter all the time. That is why he felt compelled to create a song that would give hope to students who are fearful about it. Before writing, he thought to himself, “What better way to respond to that [a school shooting] than to write a song?” The title, “New Normal,” came to him and the song was created. “I walked in the writing room and I knew that I wanted to write an anthem that was really a hope for a new normal.”
Thompson wants to continue to be an example of light for other people in the world. “We can be a light,” he said. “We can change the atmosphere around us as we look and strive for a new normal that ultimately can be found in Jesus Christ, and that is why I wrote this song.”
The artist is currently under the Red Street Records, a Christian music label owned by Jay DeMarcus of Rascal Flatts. DeMarcus believes that Thompson has a heart for this generation.
“When I met Cade, I knew he had his finger on the pulse of this generation’s dreams and fears,” DeMarcus said. “I’ve become a sounding board, encouraging Cade to give voice to his passion.”