State Champ Radio Christian/Gospel
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Brandon Lake and Sadie Robertson Huff are set to co-host the 2024 K-LOVE Fan Awards on Sunday, May 26, at the OPRY House in Nashville. The awards focus on Christian music, with individual categories for film/television, books and podcasts. Lake was the top winner at last year’s show with three awards – male artist and song […]
Singer-songwriter TobyMac rolls up his 13th No. 1 on Billboard’s Christian Airplay chart as “Faithfully” rises to the top of the Feb. 17-dated ranking. It increased by 1% to 5.9 million audience impressions Feb. 2-8, according to Luminate. With his newest No. 1, TobyMac solely claims the most leaders among soloists since the Christian Airplay chart […]
Bri Babineaux earns her second No. 1 on Billboard’s Gospel Airplay chart as “I Will Wait” rises from No. 3 to the top of the chart dated Feb. 17. In the Feb. 2-8 tracking week, the song advanced by 7% in plays on over 30 reporting stations in the format, according to Luminate. “I Will […]
Cody Carnes tops Billboard’s Christian AC Airplay chart for the first time, as “Firm Foundation (He Won’t)” ascends to No. 1 on the survey Jan. 27. In the Jan. 12-18 tracking week, the song increased by 3% in plays, according to Luminate.
On the genre’s overall Christian Airplay chart, the track holds at its No. 2 best, up 2% to 5.4 million in audience.
Carnes, Austin Davis and Chandler Moore wrote the song, which Davis produced.
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The 34-year-old Carnes, from Atlanta, banked two prior Christian AC Airplay top 10s. “Ain’t Nobody” hit No. 2 last April and “The Blessing: Live,” with Kari Jobe and Elevation Worship, reached No. 5 in August 2020.
Carnes and Jobe married in November 2014.
Little, Stone Roll to No. 1
Damon Little’s “No Stressing,” featuring Angie Stone, rises to No. 1 on Gospel Airplay (up 3% in plays). It becomes Little’s second chart-topper and Stone’s first, in her first appearance on the ranking.
Little solely wrote and produced the song.
Little, from Baltimore, follows his first Gospel Airplay No. 1, “Stand Up,” which led for a week in December 2021. He boasts three prior top 10s: “I Won’t Be Defeated” (No. 2, February 2017), “Because of You” (No. 9, January 2015) and “Do Right,” with Nu Beginning (No. 7, April 2005).
Stone, 62, was formerly in hip-hop act The Sequence before posting seven solo entries on the all-genre Billboard 200 between 2000 and 2015. She hit a No. 11 high on the chart with The Art of Love & War in 2007.
Brandon Lake’s “Gratitude” reaches a milestone 20th week at No. 1 on Billboard’s streaming-, airplay- and sales-based Hot Christian Songs chart dated Jan. 6, 2024. The song, which first reached the Hot Christian Songs apex on the ranking dated Feb. 4, 2023, becomes one of only eight hits to have reigned for at least 20 […]
In 2025, the Gospel Music Association will open the Dove Center and Gospel Music Museum in downtown Nashville.
The Dove Center and Gospel Music Museum will be located at 147 Fourth Ave. N., at the corner of Fourth Avenue and Commerce Street, one block from the historic Ryman Auditorium.
“Developed to preserve the legacy of our historic past, support the impact of today’s artists, and plant seeds for the future, we believe the Dove Center will be a beacon of light for the kingdom of God,” Gospel Music Association president/executive director Jackie Patillo said in a video revealing details about the timeline for the upcoming Dove Center. “It will also be a key part of the GMA’s mission to expose, promote, and celebrate the Gospel through music.”
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The video also featured a rendering of the Dove Center, with plans including the Dove Awards Theater, a timeline of the history of the gospel music industry, exhibits highlighting artists’ stories, a Hall of Fame area spotlighting plaques for each member of the Gospel Music Hall of Fame’s approximately 200 members, and exhibits allowing visitors to create and mix their own song. The center will feature exhibit areas with titles including Lift Your Voice, Moving Up The Charts and Created to Worship.
The Gospel Music Association, which puts on the annual GMA Dove Awards, was founded in 1964. The Dove Awards were conceptualized by singer-songwriter Bill Gaither in 1968. The inaugural Dove Awards were held in 1969 in Memphis, Tennessee, before the awards moved to Nashville in 1971. The Awards were held in Atlanta in 2011 and 2012, before returning to Nashville in 2013.
The building that will house the Dove Center is also home to Lipscomb University’s Spark Center. Since 2013, the Gospel Music Association and Lipscomb University have had a partnership, where the annual GMA Dove Awards have been held at Lipscomb University’s Allen Arena, while the Gospel Music Association operates from its headquarters at 4012 Granny White Pike in Nashville, on Lipscomb University’s campus.
This 54th annual GMA Dove Awards winners this year included artist of the year winner Brandon Lake (who picked up four total awards during the evening), while Tasha Cobbs Leonard, Toby Mac, Blessing Offor and Jeff Pardo each won two awards.
The Dove Center will join several other music-focused museums in Music City, including the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum, the National Museum of African American Music, the Johnny Cash Museum, the Patsy Cline Museum, and the Willie Nelson and Friends museum.
Rapper Nicki Minaj’s “Blessings,” featuring gospel star Tasha Cobbs Leonard, blasts in at No. 1 on Billboard’s streaming-, airplay- and sales-based Hot Gospel Songs chart (dated Dec. 23). It becomes Minaj’s second No. 1 and Leonard’s fifth.
The pair previously teamed for “I’m Getting Ready,” which led Hot Gospel Songs in its debut week in September 2017.
In the Dec. 8-14 tracking week, “Blessings” garnered 3.1 million official U.S. streams, according to Luminate. It also sold 3,000 downloads and arrives atop both Gospel Streaming Songs (where it’s Leonard’s fifth No. 1 and Minaj’s first) and Gospel Digital Song Sales (marking Leonard’s 10th leader and Minaj’s second).
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The collaboration is from Minaj’s album Pink Friday 2. Released Dec. 8, it enters the all-genre Billboard 200 at No. 1 with 228,000 equivalent album units in its first week, including 92,000 in album sales. It marks Minaj’s third chart-topper.
Along with “Blessings” and “I’m Getting Ready,” Leonard has led Hot Gospel Songs with her initial entry, “Break Every Chain,” for 12 weeks beginning in June 2013; “For Your Glory,” for 14 weeks starting in January 2015; and “Put a Praise on It,” featuring Kierra Sheard, for five weeks beginning in August 2016.
Leonard extends her record for the most Hot Gospel Songs No. 1s among female soloists since the chart began in 2005. She ties Maverick City Music and Kanye West for the second-most among all acts, after Kirk Franklin with eight.
Meanwhile, “Blessings” marks the second Hot Gospel Songs No. 1 debut in three weeks. Bobbi Storm’s “We Can’t Forget Him” opened atop the Dec. 9-dated tally and reigned for two weeks.
‘One Night’ Is No. 1
Tye Tribbett scores his fifth Gospel Airplay leader as “Only One Night Tho” jumps 5-1. The song, which Tribbett solely penned, increased by 21% in plays during the tracking frame.
The song gives the New Jersey-based Tribbett his fourth straight Gospel Airplay No. 1, as it follows “New,” which led for a week in February; “Anyhow” (two weeks, June 2021); and “We Gon’ Be Alright” (one, September 2020). He banked his first leader when “Victory,” with backing group G.A., ruled for three weeks beginning in September 2006.
After pole dancing his way into hell and grinding on the devil, Lil Nas X is ready to climb his way back up to the pearly gates with an enchanting new clip.
In a tweet on Wednesday evening (Nov. 29), the “Industry Baby” singer shared a video of himself lip-syncing to an unreleased song. Dressed in a long denim skirt and a T-shirt saying “if God doesn’t exist, then who’s laughing at us?,” Lil Nas sang out a prayer in the new clip. “Father stretch my hands/ The lonely road seems to last the longest,” he crooned. “Help me with my plans/ Everything seems to go nowhere.”
Calling on “angels” to help him “keep my faith” at the end of the clip, the 24-year-old made his intentions crystal clear in the clip’s caption. “y’all mind if i enter my christian era,” he asked his followers.
Of course, releasing a gospel-adjacent song doesn’t change who Lil Nas is at his core — a top-tier troll. When some X users began criticizing the rapper for “mocking” Christianity, he made sure to put them in their place. “making christian music does not mean i can’t suck d–k no more,” he wrote. “the two are not mutually exclusive. i am allowed to get on my knees for multiple reasons.” When one user tried to clap back and tell the singer that’s “not how Christianity works,” Nas was swift in his response: “watch out everybody it’s the christianity correctional officer.”
While Lil Nas was more than happy to mess with trolls and joke about his shift in sound, he did get very real with his audience, asking them to take his music a little bit more seriously. “y’all see everything i do as a gimmick. when in reality im just an artist expressing myself in different ways,” he wrote. “whether im a cowboy, gay, satanic, or now christian y’all find a problem! y’all don’t police nobody else art like mine. y’all hate me because im fun cute and petite.”
Billboard has reached out to representatives for Lil Nas X for more information on the release of his new song.
The new song clip comes amid a quiet period for the “Old Town Road” singer. His last single “Star Walkin’,” a collaboration with the multiplayer online game League of Legends, was released in September 2022, peaking at No. 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 the following October.
Lil Nas is well aware that his fans miss hearing new music from him: In a tweet mimicking Spotify Wrapped posts from other artists, the rapper joked that he earned a grand total of 2 streams in 2023. “damn not releasing music really starting to take a toll on my career,” he quipped.
Check out the full teaser for Lil Nas X’s stirring new song below.
Housefires and JWLKRS Worship rise to No. 1 on Billboard’s Christian Airplay chart dated Dec. 2 with “I Thank God,” featuring Blake Wiggins and Ryan Ellis.
The collaboration also reaches No. 1 on Christian AC Airplay.
During the Nov. 17-23 tracking week, the song drew 5.4 million audience impressions, according to Luminate.
“I Thank God” was written by Dante Bowe, Chuck Butler, Jesse Cline, Maryanne George, Enrique Holmes and Aaron Moses. It was produced by Tony Brown, Jonathan Jay and Aaron Robertson.
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The song is the first entry on both Christian Airplay and Christian AC Airplay for Atlanta-based worship collective Housefires, following four entries, including two top 10s, on Top Christian Albums: Housefires lll hit No. 3 in September 2016 and We Say Yes reached No. 6 in June 2017.
On the streaming-, airplay- and sales-based Hot Christian Songs survey, the act has logged five tracks. “I Thank God” lifts 14-13 on the latest list, a new career high for Housefires.
Orlando, Fla.-based JWLKRS Worship (the first word in their name is pronounced Jaywalkers) logged one prior Christian Airplay appearance as “Silence” reached No. 43 in August, as well as No. 31 on Hot Christian Songs in February.
“I Thank God” marks the first billed Christian Airplay and Christian AC Airplay entry for Wiggins, who is a member of Housefires. Ellis, meanwhile, has one additional top 10 on both lists: his own “Heart of the Father” hit No. 3 on the rankings in 2022.
Angel Taylor’s ‘Speak’ Now No. 1
Angel Taylor ascends to No. 1 on Gospel Airplay with her first solo entry on the chart, “Speak,” which increased by 13% in plays Nov. 17-23.
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Taylor is one of the founding members of Trin-I-Tee 5:7, which formed in New Orleans in 1997. The act has notched three No. 1s on Top Gospel Albums: its self-titled LP, in 1998; Spiritual Love (2000); and Angel & Chanelle (2011).
The outfit has earned three top 10s on Gospel Airplay: “Listen” (No. 9, 2008), “Over & Over” (No. 2, 2011) and “Spirit Break Out” (No. 3, 2016).
Anthony Brown & Group Therapy reach No. 1 on Billboard’s Gospel Airplay chart (dated Nov. 25) with “Speak Your Name.” The single increased by 2% in plays during the Nov. 10-16 tracking week, according to Luminate. Brown solely wrote the song and co-produced it with Justin Savage. “Every artist creates music with the hope that […]
