She gained notice at the 2006 GMA Music in the Rockies, winning first place in the pop/rock songwriting competition with the compelling “Beautiful Outside and In,” the title track of her critically acclaimed indie record. A year earlier, Lippard impressed a nationwide television audience with her performance on “ America ’s Most Talented Kids.”

The Virginia native has been writing songs since she was 11. Joy Lippard wrote her first song on the eve of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Lippard recalls looking at the lyrics after the tragedy happened and sensing a real calling to encourage others through music. From that point on, Lippard has continued to develop her songwriting chops and studies music theory, piano, guitar and voice. “I like to listen to people and write down things that catch my ear or what they are dealing with. I’m always observing to get ideas.” Lippard writes songs that strike a chord with other young people while also having a universal quality that attracts listeners of all ages. What sets her apart, on her new self-titled album, is her ability to write insightful songs that cover a variety of topics from God’s grace to the challenges of daily life and the complexities of relationships. Though Lippard writes about life and relationships in a way that both Christian and mainstream audiences can embrace, she’s adamant about her music reflecting her faith. “I like writing songs that could go mainstream and reach a wider audience like the kids at my school who wouldn’t typically listen to Christian music,” she says, “but my heart is in it for the Lord and I want to glorify him.”

Joy Lippard exalts God not just with her music, but her life. She serves as a worship leader at a mega church in Virginia and has been on mission trips to Guatemala and Peru . Her youth group raised money to build orphanages in Uganda . “I want to be able to help kids,” she says. “My friends and I went door-to-door selling t-shirts and bracelets and together our youth raised $100,000!”

“Music has a lot of power,” Joy says. “I want to leave a legacy. I don’t want to go through life just doing my own thing. I want to be able to impact other people. I want people to be able to say ‘Yeah, she encouraged me!’ I’d like to leave that mark.”