Annette Nandine is Learning to Let Go
Growing up in Malawi, Annette Nandine learned to sing alongside her late father, who taught her not only how to use her voice, but how to see music as a form of ministry. Years later, she’s carrying that legacy forward in her own way, blending genres like R&B and pop while sharing the stories God is writing in her life.
In this conversation, she opens up about her father’s influence, learning to extend grace to herself, the meaning behind “Potter’s Hands,” and why she is increasingly measuring success not by numbers, but by the lives her music reaches.
For readers who are just discovering your music, can you tell us a little about yourself and how God first called you into music?
Annette: So I'm a Malawian Christian and I create a variety of genres. Lately I've been really into R&B and pop Christian music, but I've dabbled in a lot of different genres. And how I got called into it. Well, initially, my late father was a person who taught me how to sing and taught me about music ministry. And growing up in the church, I always sang with him, and he taught me how to sing solo as well. And so it's always been a part of me. And then later on when I grew up, after he was gone, it was part of the legacy that he left me. He was really passionate about ministry through music. And I wanted to carry on doing that because I saw how impactful it was when he did it. And I'm not much of a Preacher or teacher, but I've always been able to emote really well and connect really well with people through music. And I just felt that God was calling me to do the same. I have a family of musicians, and I think we all feel a strong sense of duty to bring our music as a tool to bring people closer to God and to heal people with it when we can. And it's also healing me honestly. Anyway, that's a long winded way of saying I grew up in the church and I've always sang and as I've grown up, it's taken on new meaning.
How has your relationship with God changed the way you write worship music compared to when you first started?
Annette: I think I was really hard on myself before, and I think my understanding of God was that he's hard on people too. I'm laughing while I write this, but yeah, I think that, I think, I thought that the standard was just impossible to reach, and I shied away for a while from actually writing worship music because I just thought it could never measure up, and I just did other stuff. But I think going through,, devastating times, difficult times, gave me a lot more grace for myself because I understood the grace within which my relationship with God exists. And so now I know that it doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to be sincere and he'll do the rest of the work if that makes sense.
I'm less trying to convert millions and more trying to tell my story and understanding that there's power in that. And at the end of the day, you know, God is the one that speaks. And so it's not really up to me. I guess in a roundabout way, I'm saying with time, I got over myself. Because God showed me that, you know, at the end of the day, it's not about me. And, yeah, I'm still working on the extending grace to myself, but I'm trying to mirror him in the best way that I can. And this is not to say I'm not trying my best to uphold a certain standard, but I feel that It's coming from a place of love for God and love for this ministry now..
Many of our readers may be hearing your music and even learning about Malawi for the first time. What has your experience been like serving God through music in Malawi, and what do you hope people around the world understand about the Church there?
Annette: Well, first off, Malawi is a really warm place and we are pretty religious. People in this country love God and we identify as being God-fearing as a nation. So we have a lot of love to give and a lot of gospel to share amongst each other, but also to the world. We have a unique story, as every country does. I think Malawians are very good at blending their culture with everything else that we've been exposed to. So we have a lot of people that are fusion artists, and I find that to be really special and unique. We are also multilingual, so we can share our story in a way that is unique as well. And serving God through music in Malawi is a great experience because we love God and so it's popular. It's popular to be someone who sings about God and nobody's going to look at you sideways or anything like that for doing that because it's part of our culture. It's part of who we are. And so I would say gospel, it's its own lane, but it's pretty mainstream here as well.
Your music is written in both English and Chichewa, from songs like “I’m Good” to “Chiphadzuwa” and “Wanudi.” How do you decide which language a song is meant to be written in?
Are there challenges specific to building an international audience from where you’re based?
Annette: Well, I guess not a lot of people have heard of Malawi, and even if they have, it might not be for music. But, you know, it could be seen as a limitation or It could be seen as an opportunity to make a difference. I'm also smiling as I answer this, just because I think building an international audience is kind of hard from wherever you're from. but specifically in Malawi our industry is growing, And so maybe because we don't have an established music industry, it's kind of hard to integrate ourselves into a world that's ahead of us in certain aspects of the industry. But I mean, I guess the global industry feels way ahead, is what I'm trying to say. but there's some people in the industry that are doing really well. They've done a lot of collaborations with artists from all over the world. And I think that there's beauty in collaboration and it's an awesome way to, you know, interact with an audience beyond home.
“Potter’s Hands” brings to mind a powerful biblical image. What was God teaching you during that season?
Annette: Yeah, so like I said, a tendency to be quite hard on myself, and so I think that this song came from a place of surrender, and just saying, hey, I'm really not, like, perfect at all. And it's really not my job to make myself perfect. I can only surrender myself to the Potter, and he's the one who can continually, work on me to become better and become, the person that he created me to be. And so, yeah, it was just, it was coming from that place, like... I can just rest the mess. I can just rest everything that I think is wrong with me. And just leave it in his hands and it will all be all right.
Over the past few years, you’ve experienced a lot of growth and were recently recognized with a nomination for Best Upcoming Artist (Female) at the 2025 MASO Music Awards. What has God been teaching you about stewarding this season well?
Annette: Yeah, yeah, that was a big one for me. I was really shocked to see that nomination. It was coming after a season where I'd taken a pretty long break and I had my own frustrations about doing this whole music thing. And so it was just kind of like, oh, wait, you know, the industry can see what you're doing, even though you feel like you might be invisible and you're not really getting traction the way you, you know, hope that you would be by this point.
I would say that I was really excited, very grateful to even be considered for that. And I think beyond the recognition I just realized that I had my own metrics for what success looks like. But since then you know I not even really looking for that kind of industry recognition I'm more so hoping and praying that whatever I do put out, even if it doesn't hit the masses in the way that I want or the way that I hope it would, that whoever it does hit, it's impactful.
Because it's more about quality than quantity for me at this point. And I feel very blessed even having a conversation with one person. And they say, “oh, that one song you sang is what I needed to hear.” Or “God spoke through you”. That is a lot more impactful for me now. And I'm, I mean, obviously always grateful for any kind of nomination or anything like that. But I think it was a good wake up call just for what my priorities are and how I measure success as an artist.
What’s one Bible story you never get tired of reading and why does it continue to speak to you?
Annette: I love the book of Joshua. I just think it's a great book. the story teaches about faith and courage and obedience and God keeping his promises. And I also love the verse in 24, where it says, as for me and my house, I will serve the Lord. But basically the book is about stepping into what God has promised and trusting him through the battles and choosing to remain faithful. And I feel like that just encapsulates my experience as an artist and as a human so well. Anytime I feel like I'm going through it, I'm reminded that even in the case of the Israelites, God did not just hand over promised land. They had to fight. I think it's a great example of how being a believer isn't a passive experience. It's an active one and it requires you to have faith, but also to have grit and character and perseverance.
What has God been putting on your heart lately, and what can listeners look forward to next?
Annette: I think the songs that I put out recently, like Comforted and Potter's Hands, were very much about peace that passes all understanding type vibes, like surrendering and just letting go. I think that I was holding on to a lot of things. And so I'm now pushing towards letting go. And scripturally, I think those were the readings that I was most drawn to, just because of the season that I was in. I'm not sure if I'm out of that season yet, to be honest with you, but I'm still learning to relinquish control. It's kind of against my personality, to be fair. So I think there'll be a lot of that still while I figure it out.
Putting You On Segment: If you could introduce your audience to one Christian artist or song that’s currently under the radar but blew you away, who or what would it be and why?
Annette: Okay, so if you are not Malawian, then you might not have heard of him, but in Malawi he is a pretty big deal and his name is Kelvin Sings, and he's just a super gifted worshiper, a super gifted performer, writer, multifaceted. I look up to him. He's an industry giant over here, but, you know, to my international readers, yeah, he's definitely who I would put people onto, just because he's my favorite Malawian gospel artist. But yeah, this is for anyone who's not Malawian. If you're Malawian, you know who I'm talking about, and I'm sure you agree.
As Annette enters this new season, she’s learning what it looks like to let go, which is something she admits doesn’t come naturally to her. That process is already finding its way into her music. From the peace and surrender at the heart of “Comforted” to the reminder in “Potter’s Hands” that she doesn’t have to fix everything on her own, these songs give us a glimpse into what God has been teaching her in real time. And as she continues learning to relinquish control and make room for God, we get to hear those lessons become songs.
Be sure to follow Annette Nandine:
Go read up on all of our other artist interviews on our blog!
