Hillsong Worship “Great I AM” Album Review

Prime Cuts: Yahweh Great I AM, Fighting for You, Yes He Lives

Overall Grade: 3/5

Hillsong Worship returns with their first project in three years. Great I AM arrives in the wake of the church's internationally headlining scandals and the mass departure of prominent leaders such as Brooke Ligertwood, Hannah Hobbs, Taya Smith, Ben Fielding, and Reuben Morgan. Rather than leaning on a small circle of familiar voices, the new EP broadens the pool of songwriters and worship leaders, signaling a shift in the way Hillsong curates its creative expression. Compact in form but ambitious in focus, the four-song collection seeks to re-center the worship collective on the eternal character of God-the One who was, and is, and is to come.

So, how does the new record fare? The newly reconfigured Hillsong Worship feels at times like it is still stuck in the past, reaching for familiar formulas rather than charting new ground. Perhaps the most notable inclusion is "Yes He Lives," a resurrection anthem first recorded and co-written by Hannah Hobbs on her 2023 solo project Sundown. Hobbs has long been a central songwriter within Hillsong, contributing beloved tracks such as "Touch of Heaven" and "Thank You Jesus," and her fingerprints are unmistakable. Yet her presence here is bittersweet: while the song brings lyrical depth and melodic strength, its inclusion also underscores the absence of many of Hillsong's once-defining voices.

Musically, the EP harks back to Hillsong's signature stadium sound, built on crescendo-driven riffs and soaring climaxes, most evident in the title track "Yahweh Great I AM." While the arrangements are polished and undeniably powerful in a live setting, the lyrics often fall short of the same impact. Many lines feel pedantic and overly elaborate, reaching for grandeur but settling into repetition without the poetic sharpness that once set Hillsong apart. "Fighting for Us," an intimate and more reflective ballad, is good but it is hampered by its pedantic lyrics: God is fighting for us/He has won the battle/Have faith and watch Him move/There's nothing that He cannot do.

Hillsong once led the worship genre with career-defining anthems that not only shaped the sound of contemporary worship but also set the bar for creativity and theological resonance. Songs like "Shout to the Lord," "Mighty to Save," "Hosanna," and "What a Beautiful Name," didn't just fill setlists, they became cultural touchstones, reorienting what congregational worship could be on a global scale. Those tracks carried a freshness and urgency that resonated far beyond church walls.

Now, however, Hillsong feels more like a follower than a pioneer, peddling familiar phrases and predictable structures already echoed by countless other worship collectives. Where once their songwriting carried a prophetic edge, it now risks sounding safe, recycled, and overly polished, as though designed to fit neatly into playlists rather than to break new ground. The EP leans heavily on the familiar Hillsong formula-build, repeat, crescendo, resolve-without the lyrical originality or theological daring that once made their music unforgettable. Instead of leading the way with bold, career-defining anthems, Hillsong is in danger of blending into the crowded worship landscape they themselves helped create.

 

 

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