Christian Albums
Crowder crowns Billboard’s Christian Airplay and Christian AC Airplay charts, dated May 4, with “Grave Robber.” The song is his fifth and third leader on the lists, respectively. The single drew 5.8 million audience impressions among Christian Airplay reporting stations April 19-25, according to Luminate. It gained by 1% in plays among Christian AC Airplay […]
Singer-songwriter Seph Schlueter’s rookie single “Counting My Blessings” rises to No. 1 on Billboard’s Christian Airplay chart (dated April 13), becoming the first leader for the 24-year-old from Sunbury, Ohio. The song increased by 15% to 6.4 million audience impressions March 29-April 5, according to Luminate.
Concurrently, the track dominates Christian AC Airplay for a second week, up 3% in plays.
Schlueter — who signed with Sony Music’s Provident Entertainment in early 2023 — co-authored the song with Jonathan Gamble and Jordan Sapp, the latter of whom also produced it. It’s the lead track from Schlueter’s debut eight-song album of the same name, released in March.
“To see how much of an impact this song has had with people all over the world is so moving and inspiring,” Schlueter tells Billboard. “The whole reason I do this is so that people would come to know Jesus more, and hearing the stories of how God has used ‘Counting My Blessings’ to encourage, remind and touch listener’s hearts, particularly through radio, has been an incredible blessing beyond what I could have imagined.”
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Schlueter places the first freshman single atop Christian AC Airplay since Ben Fuller’s “Who I Am” led for a week last November. Meanwhile, “Counting My Blessings” ranks at No. 4 on the streaming-, airplay- and sales-based Hot Christian Songs list. It drew 1.6 million official U.S. streams and sold 1,000 during the tracking week.
Schlueter is currently touring with Matt Maher and Lizzie Morgan. They make their next stop in Naperville, Ill. on Thursday (April 11).
Brown Clark’s ‘Good’ Week
On Billboard’s Gospel Airplay tally, Maurette Brown Clark’s “I See Good” becomes her third No. 1. The song, which she solely wrote, increased by 8% in plays. It’s from her eight-song set He Loves Me, released last November.
Brown Clark last led as featured on James Grear & Company’s “I Wanna Say Thank You,” for a week last November. Before that, “It Ain’t Over (Until God Says It’s Over)” ruled for five frames in 2009. Her first of eight entries, and five top 10s, “One God,” hit No. 2 in 2007.
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.
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“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.
Matthew West earns his second No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Christian Albums chart as My Story Your Glory arrives at the summit on the March 4-dated list. The 22-song set, released Feb. 17, earned 7,000 equivalent album units in its first tracking week, ending Feb. 23, according to Luminate.
“I’m humbled by this news and thankful to my team at Provident Label Group for its hard work,” West tells Billboard. “Most of all, I’m thankful for all who let my songs be part of their lives.”
West first led Top Christian Albums when Live Forever arrived at the summit and spent a week at No. 1 in May 2015. With the new LP, he also adds his eighth top 10 and first since Brand New started at its No. 4 best in February 2020.
West posted his first of 14 Top Christian Albums entries in 2004 with Happy, which peaked at No. 28.
Meanwhile, “Me on Your Mind,” the launch single from the new album, ruled the Christian Airplay chart for five weeks beginning last July, awarding West his 12th leader. On the multi-metric Hot Christian Songs list, which combines streaming, airplay and sales data, the track dominated for two weeks in August, giving West his sixth No. 1.
West’s current single, the My Story Your Glory title track, pushes 12-11 on Christian Airplay, up 5% to 4.3 million audience impressions. On Hot Christian Songs, it rises 16-15 for a new best, also with 376,000 U.S. streams in the tracking week.
Thanks to music streaming, television synchs and television music competitions, older songs and album cuts are finding new life more often than ever before. Such was the case recently with singer-songwriter Brandon Lake’s “Gratitude,” which has spent four weeks atop Billboard’s Hot Christian Songs chart and resides in the top 10 of the Christian Airplay chart.
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“Gratitude” was an album cut on Lake’s 2020 album House of Miracles (released via Bethel Music), but it took some time for it to catch on. “Over the past couple of years, more people began gravitating toward it,” Lake tells Billboard. It was featured on the Christmas special for streaming series The Chosen, while The Voice contestant Bodie performed the song during season 22 of the music competition.
“Gratitude,” which he wrote with Benjamin Hastings and Dante Bowe, was released to radio in 2022. The track is a breakthrough solo hit for Lake, who has been a mainstay on Billboard’s Christian charts over the past few years, largely due to his collaborative efforts as part of groups including the Atlanta-based gospel and CCM group Maverick City Music, as well as Elevation Worship, Essential Worship and Bethel Music.
Those collaborations have positioned him at the forefront at a time when nearly a quarter of this week’s Christian Airplay chart are collaborative efforts, while nearly half of the current Hot Gospel Songs chart is comprised of collaborative songs. In addition to “Gratitude,” Lake’s unfiltered, burly vocal is featured on three other songs on the Christian Airplay chart: “Fear Is Not My Future” alongside Chandler Moore and Maverick City Music, “Son of David” with Ryan Ellis and “Greater Still” with Essential Worship.
South Carolina native Lake’s breakthrough as an artist-writer came with his debut album, 2106’s Closer, which caught the attention of fellow artist-writers in Atlanta’s music circles. In 2019 he was a co-writer alongside Tasha Cobbs Leonard on the latter’s “This is a Move,” which won the GMA Dove Award for gospel worship recorded song of the year and scored a nomination for best gospel performance/song at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards. He followed that with House of Miracles, via Bethel Music. Lake also became a household name on Christian radio when he was the featured vocalist on Elevation Worship’s “Graves into Gardens,” which he co-wrote. At the 2021 GMA Dove Awards, the song was named worship recorded song of the year, while Lake was named songwriter of the year.
The prolific and collaborative work of Maverick City Music, alongside vaunted gospel music luminary Kirk Franklin, collected four Grammy wins earlier this month. Last year, Lake also sold out his first headlining tour, the Miracle Nights tour. “It has felt like being strapped to a rocket ship and trying to hold on for dear life, in the best way,” he says.
Lake spoke with Billboard about the essence of collaboration, the genre-bridging work of Maverick City Music and what is ahead for his next project.
How did “Gratitude” come about?
I love to write with different people. At the core, I’m more in love with being a songwriter than anything. I had an opportunity to write with friends in Australia who are part of Hillsong and on this particular day I was writing with Benjamin Hastings at his apartment, overlooking the Sydney Opera House. We got into this conversation about how nothing we can offer God is that impressive to him and how humbling that is and the lyrics started from there.
The craziest thing is, it wasn’t even one of my favorites when we first began recording it. The production just wasn’t moving me at first. I re-recorded it probably four or five times and then just said, ‘Let’s take all the production away. Just put me in front of a microphone with an acoustic and I’m going to sing it as organically as I can.’ The version you hear is basically a one-take of me singing it, and then we put [production] around to support that.
You are a featured vocalist on a few songs on the charts right now. Collaboration seems to be critical for you.
Not to over-spiritualize it, but I think that’s what the Kingdom of God is about. It’s family and working together. And also, collaboration has made me better in so many ways. I can tell I’ve had different influences from vocalists and songwriters I’ve spent time with. But collaboration also changes culture — you look at any top [chart] and it feels like the world is starting to understand on a deeper level what collaboration gives. People love their favorite artists getting together and creating something they couldn’t have created on their own.
You raised all the money for your first solo record, Closer, which released in 2016. How did your first career breakthrough happen?
I raised the money for the album and had a friend help guide me through the process of producing my own record. I have 23 last names tattooed on my leg, because that was me raising the last $10,000 to be able to pay for the record. I said, “If you give a certain amount of money, I will tattoo your name on my leg.”
You were a co-writer on Tasha Cobbs Leonard’s “This Is a Move,” which earned you your first Grammy nomination.
That was a big breakthrough moment for me, because she didn’t just write the song with me — she took me under her wing and treated me like a little brother. She is an incredible mentor to me.
“Graves Into Gardens” also represented a huge hit for you with Elevation Worship, and you were previously signed with Bethel Music for a few years.
That has been one of the biggest factors in me growing an influential platform, is writing songs with Pastor Steven [Furtick] and [Elevation Worship leader] Chris Brown. God’s done so much through the songs we’ve been writing and continuing to write. Bethel was an absolute blast. Just the culture they carry is so beautiful. And during that season at Bethel, is when I came out with House of Miracles and got connected with one of my songwriting heroes, [Hillsong’s] Brooke Ligertwood and began writing with her.
The Maverick City Music collective has been incredibly, putting out more than a dozen projects since 2020. But more importantly, the group has bridged divisions within the creative communities in Contemporary Christian Music and Gospel Music.
Our founders, [Tribl Records co-founders] Tony Brown and Jonathan Jay, that’s been their heartbeat. Tony Brown co-wrote [the Chris Tomlin hit] “Good, Good Father” and has been in all these writing rooms and has experienced enough in the industry to see those divides. It always felt uncomfortable that the industry was so divided. He said he wrote a song that won urban gospel song of the year and he was like, ‘What does that mean? I just wrote a worship song.’
CCM and gospel, at the heart, are the same thing. It’s just categorized more so by the way we look, and sonically, there are different sounds that have shaped what we call “gospel” or what we call “CCM,” but to limit who can win a category based on little ways we finesse a song, or vocal expressions — and then also by skin color — it’s something that needed to change. Our sound was a blend of what you would categorize as gospel and what you would categorize as CCM. It’s really just about the spirit in the room and it just had this undeniable family component to it.
Our heartbeat is that everyone’s welcome and has a seat at the table. We’re not just inviting gospel writers and not just inviting CCM writers. We’ve had people literally in every area of the industry participate.
How has your work with Maverick City Music impacted you?
Before this movement started to make changes in the world, it changed me. I grew up in Charleston, South Carolina, where most of my friends are white. I stepped into this community where I’m more of a minority. I have people I’ve grown up with that have struggled with racism. When you are a child, you hear things said, and I’ve always known that even if it was a joke, it was wrong. But it starts to put things in your head and even though it wasn’t my fault I heard those things as a child, it became my responsibility to rewire my thinking, being transformed by the renewing of your mind.
I watched this community renew my mind, and it became family and it was transforming. I’m proud to be a part of something that is helping facilitate that for hopefully a lot more people, millions of other people.
Your 2022 album, Help! (released via Tribl) also put a spotlight on mental health issues such as anxiety.
I never intended to put out a mental health-focused kind of record, but once I started touring, my anxiety came about through, actually, amazing things happening in my life. I had no idea that the body receives good stress and bad stress the same. I came home from the road and had a breaking point. I learned that if I’m going to be going the pace of a race car and not a minivan, I have to learn to change my tires often or I’m going to crash and burn. I had to learn new tools and rhythms to combat that anxiety, so I started writing songs about what I was feeling. The album started when I realized these songs weren’t just for me.
Are you working on a new record?
Yes, I have a ton of songs and we are figuring out which ones will land on the new album and we are getting into pre-production. We also have some songs on the next Elevation Worship record that are coming out, so collaboration is not slowing down.
Are you looking at collaborations to include on your next album?
Absolutely. Almost every song is collaborative, with who I’m writing with, people from different movements, cities and countries I’ve been writing with. There is definitely a collaborative thread throughout the record.
More than two decades into a career that has cemented Matthew West as one of Christian music’s most prolific singer-songwriters, with a dozen No. 1 Billboard Christian Airplay hits to his credit as an artist-writer, in addition to writing numerous songs for other artists, he is still finding new ways of challenging his artistry.
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On Friday (Feb. 17), West will see the release of his first double album, the 22-track My Story Your Glory, via Provident Label Group. The album is divided into two portions—the first half brings continuity to West’s longstanding talent for spinning fans’ personal stories into intricately detailed, faith-building story songs, such as his 17-week Christian Airplay chart-topper from 2013, “Hello, My Name Is.” The second portion breaks new ground for West, who for the first time releases a collection of worship songs.
“I’ve always wanted to pave new roads and I’ve always felt limited somewhat creatively when it comes to putting out an album every couple of years that only has like 11 songs on it,” West tells Billboard, seated in a music venue just prior to an album preview event in downtown Nashville. “I looked around the industry in Christian music and I said, ‘I’ve never seen a Christian artist put out more than the standard number of songs on an album.’ I don’t think I even told the label how many songs I was working on. When I turned it in, I think literally my contract is for 11 [songs] and I handed them 22.”
West also took inspiration from the massive albums country artists have been releasing, including Morgan Wallen’s 30-track Dangerous: The Double Album, and Eric Church’s triple album Heart & Soul.
“I’ve gotten to know Eric a little bit over the past few years—our wives are good friends—and I was talking to him while he was creating Heart & Soul,” West says. “I loved how these guys wanted to create a statement bigger than chasing a hit single. At this stage of my career, I want to be about that, too.”
His song “My Story Your Glory” is at No. 11 on the Christian Airplay chart, following his five-week chart-topper “Me On Your Mind.” “You Changed My Name,” feels like an extension to “Hello, My Name Is.”
“In Christian music, there is this fine line between two types of songs—songs literally about worshiping God,” he says. “Then there are songs about life, but through a faith perspective. For most of my creative career, my songs have been in the latter category–writing about grief, but bringing in the hope of heaven. Telling the story of trying to be perfect, but truth be told, we rarely measure up [in ‘Truth Be Told’]. When it came to this album, I was relearning how to worship in my own life, and that impacted making the worship songs here.”
In writing for the worship portion of the album, West studied hymns both classic and modern, such as Matt Mahr’s “Lord I Need You” and Phil Wickham’s “This Is Amazing Grace.” He also turned to respected worship music writers including David Leonard, who appears on “Maker,” and Bethel Music’s Jenn Johnson, who is on “I Trust Jesus.”
“I was very intentional about sitting down with writers that I have respected how they approach the craft of writing,” West says. “I was finishing writing ‘I Trust Jesus’ with Jason Ingram and I knew I wanted a female voice on it. He mentioned Jenn and she loved the song and thankfully wanted to be on it.”
The collaborative and worship aspects of the project are both essential and timely, given the proliferation of worship-centered music from groups such as Maverick City Music and Elevation Worship rising on the charts. West says more worship collaborations could be on the way as a result of My Story Your Glory.
“I think more songs will come in that direction,” West says. “I was reaching out to people like Brandon Lake and Phil Wickham and we had talked about doing something together but never landed on something. I feel like there are still exciting things on some of these voice memos I have from artists and writers I respect.”
Another key message on the album comes on “Greatest Hits,” a collaboration with country artist Granger Smith that finds them focusing on deriving the greatest sense of accomplishment from family and relationships rather than career accolades. The connection came via a songwriting session between West and Spirit Music Group Nashville chief creative officer Frank Rogers, with whom West had previously written “The Waiter,” a song on Scotty McCreery’s Same Truck album.
“Frank knew Granger. I followed Granger’s story and started listening to his podcast where he is speaking into people’s lives. I had never met him but I just had a respect for him. When I was thinking about the theme of the song, it was important for me to find another artist who I knew it would resonate with—someone who had kiddos of their own and had a grip on not chasing celebrity. It has a bit of a country lean to it and I thought about pitching it, but part of the freedom of the way people listen to music these days and the freedom of a double album is the boundary is off on your own artistry. There are some songs that sound country singer-songwriter, and that’s part of what I am.”
The Smith collaboration is a timely and natural progression as country-Christian cross-pollinations continue with increasing frequency. West previously teamed with Carly Pearce for a rendition of West’s Christian Airplay chart-topper “Truth Be Told,” while Chris Tomlin teamed with Florida Georgia Line in 2020 for a project that included such country collaborators as Lady A, Thomas Rhett and Brett Young. Dolly Parton won two consecutive Grammy wins in the best contemporary Christian music performance/song category with her collaborations with CCM artists For King & Country and Zach Williams. Lady A’s Hillary Scott also won a Grammy for her CCM song “Thy Will,” and she recently teamed with CCM artist Anne Wilson on “Mamas,” a song from Wilson’s debut album. Carrie Underwood, who previously sang background vocals on “Something Greater,” featured on West’s All In album, released her own collection of classic hymns with My Savior, including a collaboration with CeCe Winans.
“I feel like boundaries are dissipating in a really neat way,” West says. “I’m excited to write more country music that has a faith message. Even artists I work with like Anne Wilson, she’s unapologetically country in her style and unapologetically Christian in her message. I see a lot of country artists saying they want to be bold in their faith. To me, some of the strongest Christian messages—‘Three Wooden Crosses,’ ‘Something in the Water,’ ‘Live Like You Were Dying’–these songs point you toward hope.”
Before he was a five-time Grammy-nominated artist, West launched his career in Nashville’s writing rooms, penning songs for other artists. He’s since become as in-demand as a co-writer as an artist, contributing to recent hits for Wilson (the Grammy-nominated “My Jesus”), and Tasha Layton (“Look What You’ve Done”). Last year, Nashville Songwriters’ Association International named West its songwriter-artist of the year, making him the first predominantly Christian artist to win the award in more than two decades, and joining past winners such as Luke Combs, Taylor Swift and Luke Bryan.
Through co-writing and his company Story House Collective, West has continued championing younger artists such as Wilson, who signed with Story House for management last year.
“Several years ago, I brought my management in-house,” West says of Story House’s origins. “I was reading Billboard and seeing artists like Beyonce and Taylor Swift kind of foregoing the traditional management model and just surrounding themselves with great people. So with Story House, I wanted to bring my operation—music, touring, books—under one roof. Then, when the time was right, we would have the systems and vision in place to champion other artists.”
That long-term vision was truncated when he began writing with Wilson, who swiftly became one of CCM’s most-talked about new artists thanks to her breakthrough hit “My Jesus”—but who was also looking for a new management home as she geared up for her debut album launch.
“I hated to see her without representation during a crucial time. She was opening some shows for me and we were co-writing, so our Story House team helped her with the album launch while she went and had meetings with other managers. She took three months while our team helped with the album launch, and after taking meetings, she said she wanted Story House Collective to continue managing her. So at that point, Story House Collective became a growing startup.”
For West, Story House Collective is a natural evolution in a career that has seen him progress from songwriter to writer-artist to businessman.
“People also kind of looked at me sideways because I’m an artist myself and people want to put you in a category. It’s hard to see you as a manager, but I dealt with the same thing years ago when people saw me only as a songwriter. I’ve learned to be comfortable with other people’s discomfort about my career. I just keep my head down and try to do great work.”
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