Alyce Metallo Talks About Not Making a "Rival" Out of Grief

International singer and songwriter Alyce Metallo releases her new single "No Rivals" with English and Spanish versions available on iTunes, Amazon and GooglePlay.  Through "No Rivals", the Washington, DC native proclaims that Christ should take first place in our hearts, without rivals to precede it. Alyce encourages "No Rivals" as an offer of praise in the midst of the dark moments.  In the face of her father's disappearance and subsequent death, Metallo turned to songwriting as the catalyst of her healing, writing the song "No Rivals" in response to his death and her testimony to God's sovereignty.

"No Rivals" was born out of this profound and cathartic healing process. Poignant lyrics set against an upbeat and hopeful melody are at the heart of this song.  Such vulnerability needed to be entrusted into the right person. Alyce, who arranged and co-produced the song, found it in producer Nathan Walter - former member of the Christian band Plus One, discovered by producer, David Foster (Celine Dion).Metallo's love for music is paralleled with her passion for people and foreign languages.

She earned a degree in Music Education and Piano from the College of Fine Arts at Howard University and was an exchange student at the University of Madrid, where she also studied Arabic, Hebrew and Portuguese.  And as a graduate student at the University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain, Metallo honed in on this passion, fully embracing the language that has greatly influenced the path of her ministry and musical career.

Metallo is currently the Director of Worship and Technical Arts at Capitol Church in Northern Virginia.  Metallo's unwavering commitment to sharing the Gospel through music is the reflection of a life serving others as she serves God.  Nevertheless, this commitment does not conform to only sharing her Christ-centered message through song, but does so in a creative platform that is powerfully relevant.Metallo and her "No Rivals" single recently won the InspireSong 2016 Songwriters Award for Best Song.  

Q:  Thank you Alyce for this interview.  Let's start with your own testimony.  I was shocked to read about your dad's disappearance and subsequent death.  What happened there?

Thanks, Pastor Tim. You are very welcome. Yes, my father died tragically three years ago. He was in an assisted living in Washington, DC and was on an outing with several other residents and assisted living staff for his birthday on March 11. He slipped out of the restaurant unnoticed and was missing on the streets of DC for ten days. The police immediately started searching for him and my brothers and I organized our own search parties to try and find him, but we couldn't find him. It snowed several days into the search and he still hadn't been found. His body was finally found in a grassy area on South Capitol Street by DC Public Works on Friday, March 21. He died of hypothermia.

Q:  How did you cope in the face of such tragedy?

Jesus is the only reason why I was able to make it through such a devastating experience. Losing a loved one who even passes away during their sleep is hard, let alone, someone who freezes to death by the side of the road! But, guess what? My Bible tells me that God is sovereign and that He cares. And most importantly, that he's worthy of my praise. Either I'm a believer or I'm not. And either God is sovereign or He's not. And as a believer, I've chosen to place my hope in trust in God and His word, so I know that He's got me. It was as if God had taken me by the hand and said, "I'm going to lead you through this!" And He did. He really did lead me through it. It's still very hard today to see snow and to experience a cold breeze, but, day by day, the Lord is helping me to be stronger and stronger. Besides, my father loved the Lord, so I know he's absent in body and, oh, so present with the Lord!

Q:  Was it because of this event that inspired your new song "No Rivals"?  

Yes! ( When one of my pastors said that Jesus shouldn't have any rivals in our hearts, I realized that I had been making a 'rival' out of the grief I was experiencing with my Dad and that Christ had taken a back seat to receiving my praise. I was reminded of Exodus 20:3 which says that I am to have no other gods other than the Lord. 

Q:  The song "No Rivals" is also recorded in Spanish.  I believe you are also prolific in a few languages.  Tell us a little about your love for languages.

Yes! I am fluent in Spanish. I've actually been speaking Spanish for most of my life as I had a Spanish-speaking nanny who lived with my family when my brothers and I were growing up. I was exposed to diversity at a very young age, as I remember many of my parents had foreign friends with all kinds of accents. I also think that because I'm musical, foreign languages come easy for me. My husband is from Italy, so I speak fairly well in Italian. I also studied Arabic, Hebrew and Portuguese when I went to the University of Madrid in Spain. So, although English is my first language, I think everything sounds better in a foreign language! :)

Q:  "No Rivals", I believe, is from your forthcoming album.  Give us a foretaste of the upcoming album-- who did you work with on this record?  And how would you describe the style of music?

Yes, No Rivals is from my upcoming album that I'm currently still writing! I'm working with a friend of mine named Nathan Walters (from the Christian boy-band PLUS ONE) who's an amazing producer, writer and singer who's now working at Capitol Records as one of their producers. Nathan and I are in the process of selecting the songs, producing them, building tracks and hiring musicians and singers to help it come to life. It's an exciting and fun process! The silt of the album will definitely be pop, but always with a Christ-centered message!

Q:  When will the new record come out?

The record is due out this summer!

Q:  You are also a director of worship at a local church.  Tell us about your ministry there.  

Yes, I am currently the Director of Worship and Technical Arts at a wonderful church called Capital Church in Vienna, VA. We are the church that holds the annual sunrise service at the Lincoln Memorial. I am responsible for leading several teams of amazing volunteers including worship band, praise team, cameras, audio, lights and media! IT's is an exciting job and a promotion from my position at my former church. I knew that God was taking me out of my worship leader job and placing me into some new, unchartered territory for me. I have a lot of experience being involved in producing church services as my former church was a mega church, but leading an entire ministry of both worship and technical arts, is something new for me. ,y senior leadership is very supportive, I love my volunteers and the congregation, so I feel driven to work hard for them and make the Lord proud as I serve the body of Christ!

Q:  After all you've been though, how has your faith been strengthened? What do you have to say to some of our readers who may also be suffering loss now?  

That's a great question! All that I've been through has simply taught me that God is a faithful God who cannot disappoint. It's not in His nature. Rest assured knowing that He's got you and that you're not alone in your suffering. No matter what Your circumstance, He is still on the throne. He's still sovereign and He is STILL worthy of praise

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To learn more about my music, please send your readers to www.alycemetallo.com or have them follow me on social media via Twitter and Instagram @alycemetallo and on Facebook /alycemetallo. Thanks, so much, Pastor Timothy, for this interview! Blessings on you and your ministry!  

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