Jonny Diaz is an artist that needs your attention, if he doesn’t have it already. His first single off his national debut, “More Beautiful You,” just went to #1 at radio, and his album is touching the lives of thousands. Produced by Steve Wilson (Hawk Nelson, Jeremy Camp, Josh Wilson), this aptly descriptive and intelligent pop effort reveals lyrics, melodies and instrumentation that go far deeper than the stereotypical pop hit. With all songs written or co-written by Jonny, More Beautiful You captivatingly illuminates Jonny’s heart--a heart that is passionate about reaching his generation with the message of God’s love, forgiveness and grace.

It has been an incredible ride so far for this talented and young singer/songwriter. He is ready for what lies ahead, as God orchestrates the journey of Jonny Diaz.

NRT’s Bill Lurwick recently caught up with Jonny to talk about what that journey has brought so far, from walking away from baseball scholarships to living as an independent artist for the past three years. What Bill discovers is an artist ready to follow where God leads, and challenge believers to live out their faith. However, there’s always time for some small talk about his favorite sport.

We’re speaking with Jonny Diaz from Lakeland, Florida. Are there any spring training teams in Lakeland?

The Detroit Tigers! My dad actually does the bible studies for them down there.

Wow! Give me some names of a few Christian Tigers. Do I know any?

Well, I moved out about six years ago, so I don’t know the most recent ones. Just the old ones.

Who are the old ones?

Travis Fine, Todd Jones…

Todd Jones! I know him because he played for the Phillies for one year and that’s where I’m from. Your brother, Matt, plays for the Atlanta Braves, right?

He does.

I hate the Atlanta Braves. I just want to get that out in the open here. I’m a Phillies fan and the Braves won the division thirteen stinkin’ years in a row!

Fourteen.

See? You, had to rub it in. [both laugh]. Now, Diaz is a Swedish name and people always say ‘Dee-az.’ How did it become ‘Dy-az’ and not ‘Dee-az?’

It happened long before I was even thought of. I guess when my name was moved to America from Spain? I thought about changing it and had narrowed it down to Davis but then we had a family vote and everyone just wanted to keep Diaz. I’m constantly correcting it.

Your first single, “More Beautiful You,” is a great song with a great message. For those who haven’t heard the song, tell us what it’s about. It’s solid.

Well thank you. It’s a song that I wrote to young females specifically, which is very crazy because I know nothing about young females--just ask my wife! But one thing I’ve learned is that they have this innate desire to feel beautiful, and I think as guys, we don’t really understand or grasp that. There’s nothing wrong with it, but the problem arises when these girls start believing the culture’s definition of beauty--that you have to look a certain way, weigh a certain amount in order to be beautiful. That’s just not what scripture says at all. After spending time with my wife and spending time with student groups around the country, I’ve been able to see this struggle so much and I wanted to write a song that just speaks truth into the lives of these girls.


These girls have heard that message before from people like Rebecca St. James or Plumb, but coming from a guy is something totally and completely new.

Yeah, I mean, it’s a little different.

But it’s good though.

I hope so. They have heard this before, but maybe coming from a 25 year old guy, from the opposite side of the whole spectrum, they might believe it. That’s the goal.

Now tell us about growing up, because you went to Florida State on an athletic scholarship but decided God was taking you in a different direction? How did that turn out?

Baseball was a huge part of my upbringing. I have three older brothers, and all three of them went to college on baseball scholarships.

And District 1 colleges! We’re not talking District 2 or 3. Forrest Lake is in the World Series a lot.

Yeah, it was just our thing. We had a batting cage in our backyard growing up and as if that wasn’t enough to annoy our neighbors, we put up lights as well.

Midnight batting practice at my house again!

I mean, no matter how white and unathletic you may be, if you hit that many baseballs, you’re bound to get pretty good at it. So that’s kind of what happened with us. We’re not super athletes, but for fun, we’d just go out there and hit. I thought that’s what I wanted to do and I thought that was where I was going to be. I sailed through high school and got to college and just felt like God was really speaking to me clearly. When I say that, I don’t mean audibly. I haven’t had that experience. Maybe someday that’ll happen.

It wasn’t like after a 0 for 47 slump or something?

[laughs] No, it was just through circumstances and through people, through my mentor at school, and everything just kind of saying, “You know what? Maybe God’s got something else for you.” At the same time that was happening, these doors started opening for music. Up until that point, music had just been something I enjoyed, but it was just a hobby.

When you found out that baseball wasn’t for you, was that the most ridiculous thing?

Well, music was something I loved, so it wasn’t completely off the wall. It was something that I felt gifted in but I had never really taken the time to share that gift. That made it a little bit scary. I wasn’t ready for God to say, “Hey, you know those songs that you wrote in your bedroom just for you? I want you to share that with other people as well!” I couldn’t fight it because, to my surprise, the opportunities were coming left and right. There were opportunities to not only play, but also record my first independent record.

You’ve got three independent projects already under your belt and a lot of touring in the Southeast?

Yeah, I just started playing anywhere in Florida where people would let me, and I branched out from there. So I’ve really been doing this for three years as an independent artist. The majority of what I do is in the southeast, but thanks to the magic of airplanes, you can get just about anywhere with the guitar these days.

What are some of the other cuts we should we be listening for on the album? Is there a personal favorite of yours?

My personal favorite is “Stand For You.” It’s acoustic but it has a machine-like R&B beat behind it, which is new territory for me. I really like how it turned out though. Another favorite of mine is the very last track, which is kind of a bonus track. It’s called “The Opener” where I just poked fun at how I get asked to be the opening act all the time. I’ve been able to open for some really cool people and you just stand out there in front of five thousand people, thinking that not one of these people actually came to see me. So rather than be depressed about that I am able to just poke fun at it. It seems to be a great way to break the ice when I’m able.

Are you surprised at the success of “More Beautiful You” at radio already?


You know, I’m very honored because I never understood what it took for a radio station to add a song. I used to just think that they play what they like and just pop it on. Now I understand what is involved. I’m very honored that stations have added it and listeners have responded.

What are some of your musical influences?

I’m kind of all over the map, but as far as songwriting, there are some country guys that I really like. Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts--some of those guys. As far as Christian music, I love Shane & Shane, Bebo Norman and MercyMe. Really, anybody with a singer/songwriter vibe is a big influence to me. I love the writing part of this whole thing.

What do you want people to take away after they hear you?

My audiences have already been introduced to Jesus and I know that because they’re already in the church and they’re already listening to the Christian radio station. So rather than spending my time introducing them to Jesus, I’d rather challenge them with different aspects of their faith. Right now, I’ve been challenging audiences to just go home and love their neighbors. Their neighbor could actually be a neighbor or it could be a friend or a schoolmate--just somebody that desperately needs the love of Christ--and ultimately use that to earn the platform to share Christ. That message from me changes from time to time, but for the past year that’s what God has been laying on my heart to share.

Well, I hate to say it, but I’m glad you gave up baseball. As much as I love the game, this is obviously where you belong. Thanks for joining us today!

Thanks for having me!