Seph Schlueter

Seph Schlueter
Counting My Blessings

For artist and songwriter Seph Schlueter, his debut single “Counting My Blessings” hitting No. 1 on Spotify Brazil’s Viral Playlist was beyond unexpected. It’s a story covered in God’s fingerprints, one Seph is all too happy to share.

As a young high school graduate, Seph joined a missionary group/youth retreat in Ohio as a worship leader. “I gave my life to the Lord in high school,” Seph shares, “and made the decision to give Him my whole life. I joined Damascus to be a part of bringing revival to the Catholic church, for students and families to have a real encounter with Jesus.” As he grew in leadership at Damascus, Seph was also developing his songwriting skills. The more he wrote, the more his songs gained traction within the Damascus and Catholic community. Friends encouraged him to send his songs to record labels in Nashville. “I didn’t know anyone in the music industry or where to send my music. An artist I followed on Instagram made a post thanking a bunch of people at her label, so I wrote down all their names and sent my song to them as well as a bunch of artists I looked up to. That usually doesn’t work too well,” Seph jokes.

He wasn’t expecting anyone to respond and was overwhelmed when he got a message back from Phil Wickham. He and Seph became friends and Phil eventually invited Seph to play some shows with him. Another response he received was from A&R executive Jon Sell. Jon brought Seph to Nashville and set up several co-writes, eventually becoming his manager. “The people I was writing with were terrifying to me because I would look them up before the co-writes and freak out at their resumes.” Despite his nerves, Seph worked diligently on making connections and writing new songs. The team at Provident Entertainment loved what he was doing and signed him to a record deal. His debut EP, Counting My Blessings, is a bright, Ed Sheeran-esque collection of songs filled with Seph’s organic pop sensibilities and relatable lyrics that speak to his all-consuming love for Jesus.

Lead single and viral sensation “Counting My Blessings” is a catchy, pop-fueled letter of thanks to a God who never fails. “I wrote this song with Jonathan Gamble and Jordan Sapp, both incredibly talented people. We were all in this place where we were living in the answer to prayers we’d prayed years ago. It’s easy to move on to the next dream, the next goal, but we wanted to pause and thank the Lord for where we were right then, to remember that even in the hard times, we can still look at our lives and see all the ways God has been good and faithful.” Little did Seph know he would be counting many more blessings as the song exploded both in the U.S. and Brazil. After an Instagram post using the song caught fire, it quickly flew to No. 1 in Brazil on Spotify’s Viral-50 Brazil playlist, the only English song appearing on the list.

“This song is about gratitude and that’s so universal. Everyone can relate to gratitude. In a world where there’s so much negativity and complaining and fear, to see a song blowing up about gratitude is so important.” As the song’s popularity grew, Sony Brazil artist Isadora Pompeo recorded it in Portuguese, titled "Bênçãos Que Não Têm Fim.” Her version went top 5 on the “Top 50-Brazil” playlist, the highest placement ever for a Gospel/Christian song. It also went on to earn more than 70M streams in less than four months, a staggering number for a song about faith originally recorded in English. The two versions combined now have more than 12M user-generated short-form video creations across Instagram and TikTok that account for well over 1B views. Additionally, the official music videos for the song account for more than 100M views (YouTube).

“It hasn’t been anything to do with me,” Seph says. “I was on my honeymoon when the song blew up and was doing zero promotion. To see the Lord taking it and doing something great with it has been so amazing. I can’t take credit for it.” Another standout track from Counting My Blessings, “Stay,” is a moving, emotional ballad showcasing Seph’s soaring vocals, sharing how God’s presence is the only thing we need. “I wrote this song with Colby Wedgeworth and for us, it was saying, ‘Lord, as long as You’re with me, I’m gonna be okay. I can face anything. Things will be all right if You’re with me.’”

“Running Back To You,” co-written with Jacob Sooter, is a driving, high-energy, joyful song about the freedom found in repentance. “This song’s about how His arms are always open, even when we make mistakes,” Seph says. “There’s joy in turning around, joy in repentance and coming back to the Father.” Seph’s most personal song, “Love Me Still,” is a piano-driven ballad celebrating God’s open arms. “You know how when you’re a kid and you mess up and you sort of hide from your parents for a while? That’s how I would sometimes approach the Lord. If I did something I knew I shouldn’t have, I’d try and fly under the radar thinking God was going to be mad at me. But He’s the best place to go when you mess up. We need to go right to Him. His love doesn’t change. He loves us still."

For Seph, launching Counting My Blessings on the heels of a viral hit only adds to his prayer for these songs. “I hope this EP gives people a framework for Jesus. These songs are my loaves and my fish for the Lord. If He wants to multiply it, that’s great. Multiplication isn’t my job, faithfulness is. If no one on earth heard my songs but only heaven sang them, that would be enough."