Skillet’s John Cooper, whose been open about his Christian beliefs, recently shared his views on transgender people and discussed how the band’s latest album touched on related topics.
“I love people who identify as transgender or whatever,” he noted. “That’s my faith. I love them just like I love other people. I don’t think that we should restructure all of society based on this because I don’t believe it, and I should be able to say what I think. That’s what the song, ‘Unpopular,’ is about. So, I’m like, ‘Today’s a good day to be unpopular,’ because these people have lost their minds.”
‘Unpopular’ came out in August as the first single from Skillet’s new album ‘Revolution.’ Cooper explained that they created the track and the rest of the album to make music that resonates with listeners and helps them feel supported.
He continued, “I wanted somebody to be like, ‘That’s a band that has my back, that gets it.’ So, the song, ‘Not Afraid,’ is really about that. We were talking about courage earlier. It’s the one that goes, ‘You know what? It’s my time to be David against Goliath here.’ You know, ‘I’m hoping somebody else is gonna do it.’ We all need to do it.”
“It might be in a small way. It might just be you teaching your kids what is real, knowing that you may get some backlash. Your friends might not like you anymore, but you’re teaching your kids. You’re training them. For us, it was different, knowing that we were gonna have this backlash against the music, which we do. But more than that, we have people saying, ‘Thank you so much for just being yourself and being authentic and making it okay to say something that you believe.’”
‘Revolution’ arrived on November 1 and faced criticism from some because of its themes and lyrics, especially in ‘Unpopular.’ Cooper later explained that Skillet wanted to connect with people who followed similar values as them and mock their critics.
The band now plans to promote their twelfth studio album with a 2025 tour. The shows are kicking off in late December in the United States.
