Amy Grant is looking back on one of the biggest songs of her career-and revealing that her record label almost didn't believe she could make it a hit on her own.
During a recent appearance on Rolling Stone's Nashville Now podcast, Grant shared that executives were hesitant about releasing her now-classic 1991 smash "Baby Baby" as a solo effort. Instead, they reportedly wanted to pair her with a music legend.
"They wanted me to duet with somebody. They talked about Aretha Franklin," Grant recalled. "They said, 'We need to deliver it in a brown bag. Who's gonna listen to this from the girl from the Contemporary Christian Music world?'"
The revelation highlights the skepticism Grant faced as she attempted to cross over from the Christian music market into mainstream pop. At the time, she was already a major force in Contemporary Christian Music, but many industry insiders questioned whether secular audiences would embrace her.
Their concerns ultimately proved unfounded.
"Baby Baby" exploded into a cultural phenomenon, becoming Grant's first No. 1 hit as a solo artist and helping propel her landmark album Heart in Motion into one of the most successful crossover releases by a Christian artist. The song remains one of the defining hits of the early 1990s and continues to be a staple of Grant's catalog 35 years later.
Grant also recalled the moment she realized her life had changed because of the song's success. After a radio station in San Diego began receiving overwhelming listener requests for "Baby Baby," the singer soon experienced a new level of fame firsthand.
"Touring had been big before that, but my life had still felt private," she said. "I remember walking out of the Donut Den and some girls from Hillsboro High School were next door and they started screaming."
Today, Grant is celebrating both the anniversary of "Baby Baby" and a new chapter in her career. The six-time Grammy winner recently released her latest album, The Me That Remains, a reflective project exploring life, faith, aging, and resilience.
While it's difficult to imagine anyone other than Grant singing "Baby Baby," fans are now left wondering what might have happened had one of the greatest voices in music history, Aretha Franklin, joined the track. Instead, Grant proved the doubters wrong and delivered a career-defining hit all by herself.
Thirty-five years later, "Baby Baby" remains one of the most successful crossover songs ever recorded by a Christian artist-and a reminder that sometimes the industry gets it wrong.
