Natalie Grant Earns Her Third No. 1 on Top Christian Albums With ‘Seasons’
Written by djfrosty on October 18, 2023
Natalie Grant debuts at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Christian Albums survey dated Oct. 21 with Seasons. Released on Oct. 6, the set earned 6,000 equivalent album units, with 5,000 in album sales, in the week ending Oct. 12, according to Luminate.
Seasons marks the ninth chart entry for Grant, who hails from Seattle, and her third No. 1 among seven top 10s.
“You Will Be Found,” with Cory Asbury, was the first single from the new set, presenting the pair’s spin on the song from the musical Dear Evan Hansen. Seasons also contains a new version of “Shackles (Praise You),” with Mary Mary, the gospel duo’s signature song that reached No. 28 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 in 2000.
Among other collaborations on the LP, Dolly Parton duets on an update of Whitney Houston’s “Step by Step” (written by Annie Lennox) and Tasha Cobbs Leonard joins Grant on “Bridge Over Troubled Water”; the original by Simon & Garfunkel ruled the Hot 100 for six frames in 1970.
“I’m just so grateful to continue doing what I love, and that people continue loving what I do,” Grant tells Billboard. “It’s all just such a gift. And to hear how these reimagined versions of classic songs are so deeply affecting people was the purpose behind this record in the first place. So, I feel very fulfilled today.”
Seasons follows Grant’s No Stranger, which debuted at its No. 2 Top Christian Albums high in October 2020 (with 33,000 first-week units, her best one-week total).
Seasons marks Grant’s first No. 1 since Be One opened in the penthouse in December 2015. She first led with Hurricane, which entered on top in November 2013. She posted her first entry in 2003 when Deeper Life started at its No. 25 high. Awaken followed in 2005, debuting at No. 12 before hitting No. 3, awarding Grant her first top 10.
“You Will Be Found” reached No. 6 on Christian Airplay in August, becoming Grant’s 11th top 10, and Asbury’s fourth. On the streaming-, airplay- and sales-based Hot Christian Songs ranking, it hit No. 10, marking their ninth and fourth trips to the top 10, respectively.
The ballad also holds at its No. 14 high on the secular Adult Contemporary chart, having become Grant’s first entry since 2006.