'Special song:' Zach Williams reflects on 5 Grammy nominations and 'There Was Jesus'

Zach Williams has been nominated for a Grammy five times and he still can't believe it.

The Christian artist called it "pretty crazy" to be preparing for the 63rd annual Grammy Awards as a nominee for Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song.

In an interview with CBN News' Studio 5 earlier this month, Williams explained the significant meaning behind his song "There Was Jesus."

The song was performed alongside Dolly Parton and is her 50th Grammy nomination.

Williams says the song reveals his own journey over the past 20 years.

"Even if I go back further than that to my childhood, I think about all these moments that I missed in my life ... now I can look back and see that God was in the middle of every one of them and working out the details.

"It's just a special song," Williams says.

How Parton came to be involved felt like another God moment.

Williams says he wrote the song with a few other people and he heard a girl's voice on the track when they were listening to the demo. He says the voice reminded him of Parton.

"I said 'wouldn't it be really cool if we could get Dolly Parton to really sing on this.' Everybody kind of laughed but we tracked down her management and she agreed to listen to the song," Williams remembers.

"The day that I met her, she told me that she didn't even make it to the chorus and she knew it was special."

"There was Jesus" was Parton's first number one on Billboard's Christian Charts, according to Billboard's magazine.

Williams says his latest song, "Less Like Me," focuses on our own human imperfections and the ability to strive for more with God.

"For myself as a Christian artist I can kind of beat myself up, trying to feel like I have to be on a pedestal 24/7 for a lot of people that are on the outside looking in," he says.

"I just wanted a song that felt real to people, to let them know that I struggle probably more than most and I have my days when I get it right, but I probably have more days that I get it wrong."

Williams says his goal every day is to be mor like Jesus.

Last year, Williams took a break from performing. The time off allowed him to spend time with his family.

"It was honestly kind of a nice change just to get back and connect with my wife and kids after being on the road for the last few years," he says.

Williams says he is looking forward to getting back on stage. The break, however, may have caused some memory loss.

"I didn't realize it had been five nominations already," Williams says of the upcoming Grammys. "I was pretty shocked about it."