Hillary Scot has been singing for almost her entire life, but she still is able to discover new things about her vocal abilities. The Lady A  member found herself on new ground with her recent collaboration with For KING & COUNTRY, on their “For God Is With Us” song. The new spin on the hit single earned the three a Grammy nomination, for Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song.

Career accolades aside, Scott is grateful for the experience, and the unexpected benefit of singing with Joel and Luke Smallbone, the brothers who make up for KING & COUNTRY.

“Collaboration is, honestly to me, one of the most special things that we get to do in music in general,” Scott tells People. “To be able to do that and it be so organic and natural … I love being able to find a new place in my voice and performance with this song in particular.”

Joel and Luke originally penned “For God Is With Us,” along with Jordan Reynolds and Josh Kerr, intending for the song to be on their 2020 A Drummer Boy Christmas album. But it didn’t take long for them to realize that the song had potential to be much more than just a holiday favorite, and tweaked the song to make it work all year long.

“[It] became maybe the most spiritually overt song that we’ve ever written, about the journey of the birth, the death, and the redemption of Jesus Christ,” Joel tells Grammy.com. “We just stayed sensitive to what the song wanted to be. The ultimate [version] of the song was when Hillary’s voice was on it. It was like, ‘Ah, that’s what it was always meant to be.’ Our only frustration may be that she’s not on the original version.”

Scott is no stranger to collaborations, spending the last 17 years singing alongside Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood as part of Lady A. But to sing with Joel and Luke, especially on a song with such a positive message, is an experience Scott says she will always remember with gratitude.

“Not only is the message of the song so hopeful, it is so worshipful,” Scott says. “I was a fan of it before I got to feature on it. To be part of it with just two of my dearest friends — and the more we hang out, I feel it is such a special bond and friendship. I know I’ve personally been so open and excited to collaborate and just really waiting on the timing to line up, and I feel like this was the time.”