Blessing Offor Interview - Real, Somebody's Child, Songs

Over the past three years, Blessing Offor has emerged as an exceptional artist who has a powerful, soulful singing voice, and writes songs in the pop, R&B and Christian music genres. In early 2023 he released his impressive debut album, My Tribe, which subsequently received two Grammy nominations (for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album and Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song).

Now in 2025, Offor is returning with his follow-up album, called Real (on Bowyer & Bow Records, in partnership with Universal/Capitol Christian Music Group). This new album will take his music career to an even higher level. It’s an excellent collection of 16 songs that shows Offor’s continued growth as an artist & songwriter.

The first song from Real actually came out a year ago, when Offor released his single, “Somebody’s Child.” This is a beautiful, heartfelt ballad, that features a duet with country legend, Dolly Parton. Parton heard a demo of this song, and then she asked Offor if she could sing a verse on it. Offor was thrilled, they recorded the duet, and the video has now attracted over a million views on YouTube.

The new album, Real, is a consistently solid work that flows well from beginning to end. There is a positive, mostly joyful spirit and emotion going through this record, which is a pleasure to listen to. The songs are about love, hope and faith, and Offor displays a deep empathy for the people and themes he writes about.

Besides “Somebody’s Child,” highlights include the title cut “Real,” the foot-stomping uptempo track “Oh Child,” the playful song “Jordans,” the encouraging, uplifting songs “Lift Me Up,” “The Morning” and “Rise Again,” and the love song, “Just for You.”

Along with his music, Offor has a unique background and personal story to tell. He was born in Nigeria, and then he moved with his uncle to the U.S. when he was six, to seek treatment for his severe glaucoma. Unfortunately, he completely lost his sight by age 10, but this did not deter him from pursuing his love of music. Growing up in Connecticut, he learned to play piano & keyboards, and he developed his singing and songwriting.

Here’s the video of Blessing Offor’s duet single with Dolly Parton,
“Somebody’s Child.”

After high school, he moved to Nashville to attend Belmont University for two years, and he eventually settled in Nashville. He started collaborating with top songwriters and producers in Nashville, which eventually led to his signing a label deal. Soon after, he made an auspicious debut with his 6-song EP, Brighter Day, which features the popular title cut.

In recent years, in addition to his duet with Dolly Parton, Offor has also collaborated with top artists Lauren Daigle, Chris Tomlin and Toby Mac.

Currently, Offor will be going on tour to promote his new album. He is playing concerts in New York and Nashville, followed by many shows across the U.S.

We are pleased to do this new Q&A interview with Blessing Offor. He discusses the making of his new album, his duet with Dolly Parton, and writing his new songs.

DK: It’s been two-and-a-half years since you released your last album, My Tribe. Can you talk about your musical journey and your life since then?

Blessing Offor: It’s been an interesting two-and-a half-years…it’s been very good. I think My Tribe did everything we could have wanted a record to do. It got a couple of industry accolades (Grammy nominations) and successes, and I did a lot of touring on it. So all in all, it was a great start to a major label relationship and I was really happy with it.

My new record, Real, got started the day after My Tribe was finished. There are songs from that far back which are on this record now. So, Real is a chronicling of those two-and-a -half years between My Tribe coming out and this record coming out. It has all the high points and then the disappointing life notes that accompany what it looks like on the outside, when all your dreams come true and the reality of living that process. So it’s been an interesting journey and as people always say…I wouldn’t change anything.

Here’s the video of Blessing Offor’s song, “Real.”

DK: Last year, you released a beautiful duet with Dolly Parton on your song, “Somebody’s Child.” What inspired you to write this song?

Offor: I wrote that song with two wonderful people, Joy Williams from the band The Civil Wars, and Josh Ronen, who’s a great producer here in Nashville. We sat in the studio and I was like, “I have this weird idea, is there anything here?” And we started talking about the state of the world, and what can you say to everybody no matter what their walk of life is. What’s important to me is…what can I say to my friends over here and my friends over there? Because I want everybody to come to the show and I want everybody to feel known and welcome and not alienated for anything. So the songs that I look up to the most, are songs that do that really well, that sing to everybody at once because I think the truth belongs to everybody.

DK: How did you connect with Dolly Parton on this song?

Offor: That’s a very Nashville story. Josh Ronen’s father-in-law works for Dolly, and he played her the demo. Then we got a letter from Dolly that says, “Hey, this is one of best the songs I’ve heard in a very long time.” And she modestly said, “If it’s not too late or if you don’t mind, I would love to sing a verse.” I was like, “Are you kidding me? I would love that.” So it was a full circle dream, and I can’t believe that it happened.

DK: A few months ago, you released the songs “Lift Me Up” and “The Morning.” Can you talk about writing those songs?

Offor: With “Lift Me Up,” I’m going to give credit to Morgan Taylor Reid and Fraser Churchill, who I wrote it with, along with our friend Pablo Hurtado, who’s a great guitar player. We wrote it in the middle of a tour and everything was going swimmingly, but I was exhausted. And I remember being on a flight back to Nashville, where I canceled my whole day. I just needed to rest…I had been running and running. It was right before the breakdown, you know what I mean? Where you don’t know how to ask for help, but you really want to ask for help. And that’s the song that came from that moment.

Here’s the lyric video of Blessing Offor’s song, “Jordans.”

I wrote “The Morning” with a woman named Rita Springer, and she’s an excellent songwriter. When I went to her place for that session, she made me Nigerian food, which I thought was really sweet. I was like…this is what a great way to start a session. Rita had been to Africa, and we just vibed, with hours of talking. I said, “What are we going to write about?” One of us said, “The morning has never failed to come.” And isn’t that like a promise—there’s never not been a morning. “The Morning” is that thought in a nutshell. So whatever it is, that is your midnight, and here comes the morning. Here comes the sun…as the Beatles say.

DK: I like that your songs are mostly positive…about hope, love, and faith. Would you say that with your music, you try to be positive and encouraging with most of the songs you write?

Offor: As per the title of the record, I try to be real, and in being real, there is a acknowledging the moment and then there is a looking forward to something different. I don’t know that I even do that purposefully, I think that’s just what’s in me. Like where I’m from, that’s how we think. We are fully aware of the moment we’re in, and yet we are taught at a very early age that none of that lasts forever. The suffering doesn’t last forever, pain doesn’t last…it’s going to be okay. And so there’s always this built-in hope thing that I think you always find in anything I do, no matter how sad it might even start out. There’s always that element that says…but this isn’t the whole story.

DK: I like your song, “Jordans,” and when I first saw that title, I thought it might be about Michael Jordan’s shoe brand. But obviously, it’s more Christian, religious and joyful. What inspired you to write this song?

Offor: The thought you had was exactly the point. I wanted people for a minute to think I lost my mind that I was writing about shoes. But it’s actually like finding a different way to say the same thing we all say, which is to tell someone to hang in there. For a moment you might think it’s about shoes, so it lets your mind be a little more open to what’s about to come, which is a song that says…Listen, the river is opened, right? So impossible things can happen. And it’s a matter of time before you see that outcome.

Here’s the video of Blessing Offor’s song, “Oh Child.”

DK: On your new album, besides the songs that we’ve talked about, what are your favorite songs?

Offor: There’s a track called “Oh Child” that’s a lot of fun, and it’s one of my favorites. The musician in me always wants to add really interesting elements to things. I think we did a good job balancing a lot of interesting musical elements that people that aren’t musicians wouldn’t notice, but they are in there for those who have ears to hear it. And people at the label who get to listen to my music early, many of them have kids and they go, “My kids love this song.” So it’s simple enough that three-year-olds get it stuck in their head immediately.

There’s also a song called “What’s Tomorrow For,” which is one of my favorites. There’s a lot of tempo in it. And “The Roses” is a fun song, and “Set It In Stone” and “Just For You” are good ones. There are 16 tracks and there’s something for everyone on that record. I can’t wait to see where the songs land in the world.

DK: In recent years, besides singing a duet with Dolly Parton, you’ve also done collaborations with TobyMac, Chris Tomlin and Lauren Daigle. Can you talk about these other duets?

Offor: I love collaborations because it lets you dig into other aspects of your talent. So when I’m singing with Lauren, I go…Okay, how can I match her level? When I’m singing with Toby I think, how can I channel some of Toby? So it’s a way of getting to flex another part of your musical language and complement someone instead of going off on your own and doing this individual thing. You go…Okay, this is now a team, so how do we make the team great? So it’s a different skill set, and I really love exercising it.

Offor: I want to ask you about your concerts and live shows. You’re playing many shows in August and September. Can you talk about your live show and your band?

Offor: We’re doing a bunch of dates with Robert Randolph (gospel artist) that’s going to be a lot of fun. It will be more stripped down, with me, a percussionist and guitar player. Then we’re doing a bunch of shows in Texas that are much the same. I have friends in Dallas, Houston and Austin that will be opening for me. And I’m gonna play the record for people and tell them the story behind the song and keep it super-intimate before we get into the full band stuff. And nothing makes me happier than meeting people when I play shows. So we literally set up a whole run of shows, based on, “Let’s go meet people.”