A lot has changed for 1GN. Now a trio (Carmen Hadley, Kayli Robinson and Lauryn Taylor Bach), the group changed its name from "1 Girl Nation" to "1GN," choosing to both reflect their maturing sound and reach out to a wider audience. After a successful debut album featuring the hits "While We're Young" and "In the Eyes," 1GN is back with an energetic, fun and more mature sophomore album Unite. 

1GN has a musical style reminiscent of many top mainstream superstar acts, but without the negative messages. 1GN showcases an upbeat blend of confident, catchy Christian pop music with lyrics intently focused on overcoming hate with love and having fun while living a life of authentic faith. 

We'll be singing and dancing before Him for eternity. This song gives believers a foretaste of that celebration. One of my favorite things about "singing a new song to the Lord" is that the idea of worship in Heaven is an exciting picture for me, and that's the glimpse that we gain from this collection of high energy songs. I had the chance to speak with the band about "Get Hype."

Please tell me the personal story behind this song.

Carmen: When we were writing this song, we honestly had such a blast. As believers, we have so much to celebrate, and we wanted this song to reflect that and our personalities. It is a super fun song, and we just did a music video for it, which is exciting. We want this to be a song that people can dance to, and we wanted it to be a celebratory song.

Lauryn: A verse that's really anchored us a band this past year is "the joy of the Lord is our strength." Another verse that goes with this song is 1st Thessalonians 5:18: "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." This past year, no matter whether we were having a good or bad day, or in a good or bad season, we were supposed to give thanks. Our joy doesn't come from life circumstances, it comes from the Lord.

Kayli: Looking back at the journey we've walked through together this past year, it's kind of beautiful even though it didn't seem that way when it was happening. Gold is refined by fire, and we've walked through the journey together. This song is perfect to come out of the gate with as we've had the joy of the Lord sustain us.

Which Bible verses connect to the message of the song?

1 Peter 2:9-10 (NKJV): "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy."

1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NLT): "Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus."

Matthew 5:14-16 (Voice): "And you, beloved, are the light of the world. A city built on a hilltop cannot be hidden.  Similarly it would be silly to light a lamp and then hide it under a bowl. When someone lights a lamp, she puts it on a table or a desk or a chair, and the light illumines the entire house. You are like that illuminating light. Let your light shine everywhere you go, that you may illumine creation, so men and women everywhere may see your good actions, may see creation at its fullest, may see your devotion to Me, and may turn and praise your Father in heaven because of it."

Nehemiah 8:10 (NKJV): Then he said to them, "Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."

Psalm 60:12 (Voice): "Only through God can we be successful. It is God alone who will defeat our enemies and bring us victory!"

Psalm 95:1-3 (KJV): "Come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto Him with psalms. For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods."

What is the takeaway message?

Carmen: Our message is going to be more impactful than ever because we ourselves have been through the fire. We understand more about what our fans are going through, and hopefully we can really engage them with songs and ideas that really speak to them. We feel like our generation is being pressured every day to fit in, with so many messages that aren't leading people to God. Songs on our album like "No Filter," "Haters" and "The One" are specific to those topics and how we can encourage our listeners to look to God first. Don't try to find your identity online. Don't try to believe what people say about you. We believe what God says about us in His Word. A lot of songs deal with that topic. When Jesus came to earth, He loved people who were different. We want to love people the way Jesus loves people. We want people to dance along and feel empowered to live more boldly for Christ.

Lauryn: We have been through so much together. We have shared great times and really dark times. But through it all we've come out stronger. The heart of our album is a song called "Guard Your Heart." It's really written from my journal, about going through school and being pressured and deciding to stand strong. In the Bible, it says "above all else, guard your heart." It's a song that encourages girls and people in our generation to stand strong. We're being sent so many negative messages through social media, and that's a huge part of our generation. We want that song to combat those messages. "Cinema" is a good song about what we've learned this past year and looking at why we're here. We took a look at our lives and thought "if our lives were a movie, would they point to Christ or ourselves?"

Kayli: As Christians, we have more to hope for and more to celebrate than anyone can imagine. A song like "Get Hype" is just a modern expression of the joy and excitement we should feel as members of the body of Christ. We are three normal women who get the opportunity to travel and share about what God has done for us. It's a humbling place to be and we are grateful. We are excited to be candid in how we talk and love on people.

Lyrics:
Crazy is my middle name
When the beat drops I go insane
Hey, hey, do the 1 Girl Nay Nay
Walk it out, but do it like a lady
Maybe it's 'bout to happen
Like tick-tock, tick-tock, time is passin'
Move aside for the main attraction
So I'm-a moonwalk like Michael Jackson

Are you ready, ready, set, go
Get up, get loud, tell everyone you know
'Round the world from left to right
(Are you ready?) It starts tonight
Are you ready, ready, set, go
Get up, get loud, tell everyone you know
'Round the world from left to right
(Are you ready?) It starts tonight

Get Hype
4 -- Get up, get down, get hyphy
3 -- Get up, get down, get hyphy
Get Hype
2 -- Get up, get down, get hyphy
1 -- Get up, get down, get...
Get Hype, Get Hype

Are you ready, ready, set, go
Get up, get loud, tell everyone you know
'Round the world from left to right
(Get Hype!) It starts tonight

Uh-oh, am I too loud
No, no, won't turn it down
Go, go, we're goin' all out
From the north to the south
DJ, this track is spinnin'
Put your hands up, move 'em like you're swimmin'
I'm grinnin', I'm feelin' like, this is one in a million
So ev'rybody get down, we call it "1GN'n"

Every time we hear that beat drop, we can't stop
My girls, we got this on lock, are you with us, say what
Put up your 1's, lift 'em up to the sun
Everybody jump, look alive while we're young
Hyphy means out of your mind sometimes 
We call it 1GN'n

We are challenged in God's Word in Matthew 5:14-16 as believers to not hide the light of Jesus that is in us as His redeemed sons and daughters. The children's song "This little light of mine" gives the word picture to not hide our light "under a bushel."  Many Christians feel that they should stay away from technology and avoid the world. It is true that we should be in the world but not of the world, and that we should "not conform to the patterns of this world" (Romans 12:2). However, you can't reconcile that to mean avoiding people altogether. Jesus also commands us to "preach the Gospel to every living creature" in the Great Commission. 

The energy and excitement of this song is infectious, and it makes me lift my hands up to God and dance before Him like David, unashamed, with all of my might. God enjoys when we have abandon before Him, like David, a man after God's own heart. You won't be able to help but want to dance and sing along with this super exciting new dance song. This song is a great way to connect with God daily in a fun and exciting way. That's cause for a dance party. This song and this great new album is a wonderful way to celebrate! 

God tells us repeatedly in His Word to sing and dance before Him. This song is a great answer to that calling. I love listening to this album when I want an exciting time of worship that glorifies God and gets me pumped about my faith. Unite is loaded with great up tempo songs, catchy melodies and solid lyrics reflecting unashamed faith in Jesus. I can't get enough of stand-out song "Get Hype" as the song cries out, "Are you ready, ready, set, go, get up, get loud, tell everyone you know, 'round the world from left to right, get Hype! It starts tonight." What a great challenge.

The message compels me to think about where God is calling me to go for Him. The harvest is plenty but the workers are few. As His sons and daughters, we need to take God's love with us and one way to live out the Great Commission is to "go, go, we're goin' all out, from the north to the south." Amen to that!

Watch the music video below.