Currently, Jelly Roll and Brandon Lake — two of the biggest draws in their respective genres of country and Contemporary Christian music, respectively — are gaining traction with a new collaborative version of Lake’s hit “Hard Fought Hallelujah.” The collab is in the top five on Spotify’s Viral 50 – USA chart, and the two performers joined forces to perform the song together at the Grand Ole Opry recently, as Lake made his Opry debut.
The two discussed their respective faith journeys and working on the song during a joint interview for CCM radio giant K-LOVE, with Jelly Roll saying, “I’m honored that I was the call…I’m a Brandon Lake fan.” Jelly Roll added, “What he’s doing for Christian music, even outside of Christian music — he’s taking it further than I’ve seen anybody take it in a long time.”
Country music, of course, has always had songs of faith as a through line in its canon, ranging from the country music mainstay “Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” to Hank Williams Sr.’s “I Saw The Light” as well as Carrie Underwood’s Grammy-winning “Something in the Water,” and Randy Travis’s “Three Wooden Crosses.”
The past few years have seen a string of country-CCM collaborations. Worship music titan Chris Tomlin teamed with former duo Florida Georgia Line for the 2020 album Chris Tomlin & Friends, which featured a slew of country artists including FGL, Lady A, Chris Lane, Brett Young and Russell Dickerson. Meanwhile, CCM luminary Steven Curtis Chapman released a bluegrass-tinged project Where the Bluegrass Grows in 2021, and was inducted as a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 2024. Underwood also issued her own hymns album My Savior in 2021; the project included a collaboration with CeCe Winans on “Great Is They Faithfulness.”
Here, Billboard looks at five more recent country-CCM collaborations.
On Feb. 28, ACM entertainer of the year winner Thomas Rhett and CCM artist and “Good Day” hitmaker Forrest Frank revealed their collaboration,“Nothing Else.” It’s a breezy, poppy, summertime jam about being grateful for the small joys in life.
This tender track looks at the ways starting a family can forge greater maturity and changes in a parent, on verses such as “You learned to walk/ I learned to walk in my faith,” tracing the parallels of how a child and father each grow through the process of a child’s growing years.
On her 2024 album Rebel, Anne Wilson fused country and Contemporary Christian sounds and messages, on songs such as “Songs About Whiskey” and “Stand.” Among the standouts on the album was a collaboration with “4x4xU” hitmaker and CMA/ACM entertainer of the year winner Lainey Wilson, as they paid tribute to the faith and strength of their mothers on the song “Praying Woman.”
Written by “Brighter Days” hitmaker Blessing, Josh Ronen and Joy Williams, this collaboration features Blessing’s piano playing and soulful vocals, bolstered by Parton’s unmistakable voice, all backed by a vocal choir.
Parton has previously won two Grammy Awards for her collaborations with other CCM artists, including teaming with For King & Country on “God Only Knows” and with Zach Williams on “There Was Jesus.” Both songs won a Grammy for best contemporary Christian music performance/song.
Brett Young, known for his country hits including “In Case You Didn’t Know” and “Lady,” teamed with CCM singer-songwriter Riley Clemmons in 2022, for the song “Godsend.” The song was featured on the deluxe version of Clemmons’ album by the same name.
“Brett has always been one of my favorite musical storytellers,” Clemmons said in a statement at the time. “It’s a true honor to have his voice and unique perspective be a part of telling the story of ‘Godsend’ on this new version.”
Young added, “The first time I heard this song it really moved me and I was honored when I was asked to be part of it. I’m a big fan of Riley and excited to see what else she does next.”
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