In an Instinct Magazine exclusive, groundbreaking country music artist and author Ty Herndon and Michael Passons (formerly of Avalon) share the official music video for their reimagined 2026 version of “Testify to Love,” featuring Melissa Greene, produced by Grammy® Award-winner Wayne Hahn and released by Herndon’s label home, Club44 Records. The official video will be available everywhere on May 29.
The music video (directed by Ford Fairchild) wisely puts the focus on the pure authenticity of the three artists’ performances and totally on-point vocals. This is what honest, uncluttered joy looks like.
Originally a career-defining hit for Passons’s Christian music band Avalon, “Testify to Love” spent six weeks at No. 1 and became one of the most recognizable songs in the history of Contemporary Christian Music (CCM). This 2026 version strips away the barriers of the past, reuniting Passons with fellow former Avalon member Melissa Greene, who is featured on the track, to deliver a vocal performance that celebrates authenticity, faith, and inclusion.
Following the release of the reimagined “Testify To Love” on May 15, Herndon took to social media to celebrate the track hitting Number One on the iTunes Christian charts.
“This song has always been about the power of love,” said Herndon, who has spent the last decade championing LGBTQ inclusion in Nashville with his Concert For Love & Acceptance. “By bringing these voices together, we’re sending a message that faith and identity can coexist in beautiful harmony.”
It’s worth noting that the first lyric of “Testify to Love” is “All the colors of the rainbow.” For Passons, who famously shared his story of being ousted from Avalon due to his LGBTQ identity, this recording is more than just a cover; it is a restoration.
“For years, I sang these words while hiding who I truly was,” said Passons. “To record this now with Ty, Melissa, and this incredible group of artists—standing fully in my truth—is a full-circle moment I once thought was impossible. It’s a testimony to the fact that love doesn’t exclude.”
The track is elevated by an all-star chorus featuring a lineup of powerhouse emerging LGBTQ artists and advocates, including Jada Cato, Andrew Mitch, Jessica Rose, and Bryan Ruby, who provide backing vocals on the track alongside Herndon, Passons, and Greene.
Heady Times For Ty Herndon
Between 1995 and 2002, Ty Herndon charted 17 singles, including his three number ones and seventeen top 10 hits, such as “I Want My Goodbye Back,” “Loved Too Much,” “A Man Holdin’ On (To a Woman Lettin’ Go)” and “Hands of a Working Man.”
The new music video comes on the heels of Herndon’s latest triumph — the recent release of his long-awaited memoir What Mattered Most, which chronicles his personal struggles with religious trauma, drug addiction, mental health, and coming out as the first major male artist in country music. For more info, head over to www.tyherndon.com.
During Passons’s tenure with Avalon (1995–2003), the group achieved twenty No. 1 radio singles, earned six GMA Dove Awards, received two GRAMMY® nominations, and won the 2003 American Music Award for Favorite Artist, Contemporary Inspirational. Soon after that win, he announced his departure from Avalon, saying he intended on pursuing a solo career.
But in 2020, Michael broke his silence, sharing that he was ousted from the group for being gay. With that, Passons reemerged with a renewed sense of purpose and artistic vision. Now, in 2026, he returns to the microphone for the first time in over two decades with this new recording of “Testify to Love.”
Herndon is no stranger to reinvention. Back in 2019, he released a new version of his massive 1995 hit, “What Mattered Most,” singing male pronouns about a love that got away.