Annie Bosko has teamed with Amy Grant for a new duet version of her song “God Winks,” and the powerful lyrics derive directly from her own experience.
Who Wrote Annie Bosko’s Amy Grant Duet, “God Winks”?
Bosko co-wrote the song with Rachel Thibodeau, Jet Harvey and Michael Wilkes, and as she tells Taste of Country, “It was just special. We kind of knew right away when we wrote it. They sent me the demo 24 hours later, and I was bawling on my balcony.
“‘God Winks’ is one of those songs where you realize, ‘This is sort of divine,'” she adds. “We were in the room, but God really orchestrated it and made it happen.”
What Inspired Annie Bosko’s Amy Grant Duet, “God Winks”?
“God Winks” was a phrase that Bosko’s mother used. She’d written it down in her songwriting notes and was “waiting for the right moment, the right people to finish it with.”
When she got together with her co-writers, Wilkes played a musical track he was working on, and Bosko suggested her idea would be a good fit.
The others agreed, and Bosko drew on her personal experience for the song’s opening lines, “I saw a hummingbird outside of my window / I knew it was her just sayin’ hello / Been 7 long years to the day He called her home.”
Bosko’s mother used to cry whenever she’d see a hummingbird, she explains, because she believed it was her late grandmother visiting her.
When she suggested the line, Thibodeau shocked her by sharing that she had seen a hummingbird hovering at her own father’s funeral, and she took it as a sign that he was present.
“I was like, ‘Well, we’ve both lived it, so that’s got to be in there,” Bosko recalls.
They tied the very personal elements to a chorus that is powerful and universal:
God winks right outta nowhere / Just to let you know He’s still there / When it’s looking like nobody cares / God winks in funny times and places / When all the dreams you wish feel wasted / When you think your ship’s about so sink / God winks.
Once they got started, the song came quickly.
“We were done in a couple of hours,” Bosko says, and while they later made some minor lyrical tweaks, the recorded song is mostly what they wrote that day.
Bosko didn’t consider pitching “God Winks” to any other artist.
“I felt it was important that it needed to be me,” she says.
How Did Amy Grant Get Involved in Annie Bosko’s “God Winks”?
Bosko released the song in a solo version earlier in 2025, and Grant’s participation in the new duet came about after they’d known each other for several years. Vince Gill has also lent his voice to one of her songs in the past, and she met Grant through him.
She became closer with Grant after they performed at the same event.
“She’s inspirational,” Bosko raves. “If you’ve ever met an angel in human form, it’s her. You just feel that you’re closer to God when you’re around her.”
It was an easy choice to ask Grant to sing on the track.
“‘God Winks’ is about the little, tiny moments and signs when you feel God’s directing you, and I’m a big believer in signs,” Bosko states. “It was like, who’s that angelic voice speaking to you from God? And that’s just her. She has that really special quality to her. She’s a phenomenal, fantastic human being who was honestly kind of a God wink to me when I was struggling.”
Bosko released her debut full-length album, California Cowgirl, on Oct. 3, and she says “God Winks” plays a central role in her plans for the next year. She also thinks it will find a permanent place in her live set, based on the overwhelming emotional reactions the song draws live.
“Just recently I was doing a show, and a woman in the front row was just crying and singing every word, and just so into it,” she relates.
After the show, the woman told Bosko that she’d lost her husband, “and this was the first time that she’d been out in public, anywhere. She felt compelled to come to my show because she heard the song and loved it, and she talked about how her husband spoke to her in signs.
“I just thought that was so sweet. To have an impact like that, it makes you realize the power of music.”
11 Country Stars Who Speak Out About Their Faith
When it comes to country music, you don’t have to search for too hard to find songs that bring Jesus in.
Country stars tend to be bold in speaking out about their faith and the struggles they’ve had trying to walk that straight and narrow path to find God.
It’s also no surprise that many of fans’ favorite artists have either released Christian-leaning songs or have collaborated with gospel-singing neighbors.
We’ve rounded up several country singers who have unapologetically spoken to their faith for the world to see and who spread the Gospel, one song at a time.
Gallery Credit: Jess Rose
11 Country Songs That Mention Jesus by Name
Country music has its themes of drinking and carousing sometimes, but the genre is also rooted deeply in the Christian faith. Some of the biggest stars in country music have recorded songs that mention Jesus by name, as you’ll see in the list below.
Gallery Credit: Sterling Whitaker
