By L. Kent WolgamottLast Word Features Steven Curtis Chapman grappled with the dilemma facing every recording artist when he began to contemplate writing songs for his latest album, “Still”: in the streaming era, when little physical product is sold and most listeners choose only a song or tw o from any artist, is there a reason to make an album? “That’s a question I’ve asked myself quite a bit: Really, does it make sense to make a record?” Chapman said. “Do people do that anymore or do they just make singles and stream songs? I love albums. But they’re not being listened to that much.” Steven Curtis Chapman performs during the Dove Awards on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) However, Chapman said, his internal struggle was deeper and more existential than simply contemplating changes in the manner in which people experience music.  “My real wrestling, honestly – I’m being open, vulnerable and honest with this – I wrestled a lot with ‘does anybody really care?’”  he said. “I went to see the Doobie Brothers, Journey, Toto,” Chapman said. “One of them said ‘We’ve found new songs make people want to go to the bathroom.’ The funny part was he then said, ‘This song made people go to the bathroom in 1982,’ and it was a giant hit. All artists that have been around for a while can relate to that.” That gave Chapman, 63, the most awarded artist in contemporary Christian music history, pause. After all those albums, five Grammy Awards, some 60 Gospel Music Dove Awards, including a record seven Artist of the Year awards, he had to ask himself if there was a reason to create music for the audience who has embraced him since his first hit, 1988’s “His Eyes.” “So you think, ‘if I’m going to do this, are enough people going to be interested?’ ” Chapman said. “I have people come up and talk to me about my music. They’re really well meaning, but they’ll say, ‘The new record is great, but there’s never going to be another ‘Great Awakening,’ ‘I Will Be Here,’ ‘Cinderella’ or whatever. That’s a beautiful, wonderful thing. But as a creative person, I think ‘I don’t need to do this new song.’ ” Musician Steven Curtis Chapman performs in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, Thursday, May 4, 2017, during a ceremony where President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at easing an IRS rule limiting political activity for churches. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) As it turned out, Chapman seemingly needed to do at least one new song – “Don’t Lose Heart,” which made him the first contemporary Christian music artist to have 50 No. 1 hits in the genre. But “Don’t Lose Heart” isn’t a stand-alone composition. It’s a key part of “Still,” the album Chapman wrote and recorded during the pandemic and released in late 2022. “As the world has changed and gone through so much over the last few years with the global pandemic and everything that’s going on socially, I’ve lost friends and family members, gone through some tough things, emotionally and in my life, I’m wrestling things out in songs,” he said. “That’s what I’ve always done.” One of the “Still” songs, for example, was triggered by the Black Lives Matter protests. It’s “Living Color,” a tribute to his best friend in seventh grade, Carlton Bell. Chapman had begun the song about Bell, who is black, 20 years ago and finished it for the album, leaving in a line where he expresses concern about writing about race. Other songs deal with his pain, grief and recovery from tragedies, such as the 2008 death of his 5-year-old daughter. “The song “Unfixable,’ it’s all of these things,” Chapman said. “I’m a fixer. I’ve come to realize my whole life my role has been to fix broken stuff. Then we went through all this stuff, like the death of my daughter a few years ago, and I had to learn I can’t fix all the broken stuff. There are just things you can’t fix this side of heaven. How do you deal with that?” That personal approach sets Chapman’s songs apart from the hymns, praise music and evangelically oriented songs that typify “Christian music.” “I want that honesty, that there are things you are searching for in scripture,” he said. “You don’t have to write this fancy, religious song. You can write ‘I listen when you say help’ or ‘I’m hurting.’ I can hold onto that vulnerability, being honest.” His tours to promote “Still” have been rewarding on a personal level.    “The thing about the tour and the record ‘Still’ is, after 35 years plus, I, as a singer/songwriter and a follower of Jesus who tries in the songs I’m writing, the poetry I’m writing, to tell about this journey I’m on, which has been more wonderful, more painful than I could have imagined. Still, I want to keep doing this, singing about it,” he said. But this month, Chapman is shifting gears to shows that will celebrate the 30th anniversary of his “The Music of Christmas” album. The tour stops Tuesday in Colorado Springs for a show at Rocky Mountain Calvary. “This tour is going to be something special – classics, favorites, surprises, strings, choir,” Chapman said on his YouTube channel in announcing the tour. “I’m so excited to share this night with you!” IF YOU GO What: Steven Curtis Chapman’s The Music of Christmas Tour When: 7 p.m. Tuesday Where: Rocky Mountain Calvary, 4285 N. Academy Blvd. Price: $45 general admission, $160 four-pack; ticketweb.com ...read more read less