State Champ Radio Christian/Gospel
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Multi-genre superstar Kanye West is Billboard’s Top Gospel Artist of 2023, marking three straight years that he claims the top honor. He’s the first act to be the year-end Top Gospel Artist in three years since 2017, when Tamela Mann claimed her third triumph.
On the Billboard charts dated Sept. 11, 2021, Donda started with a bang. It debuted in the penthouse on the all-genre weekly Billboard 200 plus Top Gospel Albums and Top Christian Albums with 309,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S., according to Luminate.
Explore All of Billboard’s 2023 Year-End Charts
It marked West’s 10th Billboard 200 leader and his second No. 1 on Top Gospel Albums (as well as Top Christian Albums).
Donda followed his first spiritual LP, Jesus Is King, which crowned both lists as well, plus the Billboard 200. King started with 264,000 weekly units in November 2019, which was a record at the time on the two faith-based lists.
On the Top Gospel Albums year-end tallies, Donda is No. 1 and Jesus Is King is No. 5.
Also, Donda has ranked at either No. 1 or No. 2 on the weekly Top Gospel Albums chart so far this year. Jesus Is King has also remained strong, holding in the Top Gospel Albums top 10 throughout 2023.
Since Top Gospel Albums launched in 1983, Donda is the longest running No. 1 (over 100 weeks), and Jesus Is King is second (over 65 frames).
Billboard’s top duo/group of 2023 and No. 2 among all acts is the Atlanta-based worship collective Maverick City Music. The popular act repeats from 2022 in the rankings.
Old Church Basement, the collaborative project with Christian act Elevation Worship, ranks as the Top Gospel Albums No. 2 LP of 2023. The set, which opened at No. 1 on Top Gospel Albums in May 2021 with 19,000 units and spent 17 frames at the summit, has been in the top five for all of 2023.
The Nos. 4, 6 and 10 albums of 2023 are also from Maverick City Music. At No. 4 is Kingdom: Book One, a collaboration with gospel star Kirk Franklin. The LP opened at its No. 2 peak in July 2022 with 8,000 units. Maverick City, Vol. 3: Part One is the No. 6 set of 2023; and No. 8 is Move Your Heart with Upperroom.
Maverick City Music finished 2023 with the release of The Maverick Way Complete: Complete Vol. 2 with Chandler Moore and Naomi Raine. It arrived atop the weekly Top Gospel Albums list dated Nov. 11 (which places it within the 2024 chart year) with 11,000 equivalent album units. Concurrently, it also crowned the weekly Top Christian Albums chart.
Also, the year-end No. 1 on Hot Gospel Songs is “Jireh,” a collaboration from Elevation Worship and Maverick City Music featuring Chandler Moore and Naomi Raine. The song debuted at No. 1 in April 2021 and has spent the sum of 2023 in the top three.
Gospel icon CeCe Winans is the leading woman of 2023, ruling the year-end Top Gospel Artists – Female tally, and No. 3 on the overall Top Gospel Artists recap. Her hit “Goodness of God” led Gospel Airplay for four weeks starting on the Feb. 18-dated tally, giving Winans her fourth leader. It’s No. 5 on the year-end Gospel Airplay Songs roundup. Plus, it’s the leading track of the year on Gospel Digital Song Sales.
The No. 1 Gospel Airplay Song of 2023 is Erica Campbell’s “Feel Alright (Blessed),” which dominated the weekly version of the chart for two frames beginning July 29, 2023. Campbell, who has tallied three Gospel Airplay chart-toppers so far, comes in as the that chart’s leading artist of the year. In the top female category, Campbell finishes fourth. Billboard’s Top New Gospel artist of the year is the Hampton Roads, Va.-based choir Voices of Fire, which is led by Bishop Ezekiel Williams, who is Pharrell Williams’ uncle. Voices of Fire’s “Joy (Unspeakable)” featuring Pharrell Williams peaked at No. 7 on Hot Gospel Songs in July.
Billboard’s year-end music recaps represent aggregated metrics for each artist, title, label and music contributor on the weekly charts from Nov. 19, 2022, through Oct. 21, 2023. Rankings for Luminate-based recaps reflect equivalent album units, airplay, sales or streaming during the weeks that the titles appeared on a respective chart during the tracking year. Any activity registered before or after a title’s chart run isn’t considered in these rankings. That methodology detail, and the November-October time period, account for some of the difference between these lists and the calendar-year recaps that are independently compiled by Luminate.
Singer-songwriter Lauren Daigle is Billboard’s Top Christian Artist of 2023, plus the top female Christian Artist of the year.
“It’s been an incredible year,” Daigle tells Billboard after hearing that she earned the top honor. “New creative collaborators, a new producer, new writers and most of all new friends. Our fans on the road have been so incredible and we can feel their love and their energy every single night, and for me that connection (to our music) is inspiring. I am so unbelievably grateful to them, to be able to do what I love and look forward to so much more in ’24.”
Explore All of Billboard’s 2023 Year-End Charts
In 2023, we saw new music from Lauren Daigle for the first time since 2018. On May 12, Daigle released a 10-song self-titled album with the promise that the deluxe version with 10 more tracks would come later. The LP paired the 32-year-old Daigle with new producer Mike Elizondo and was also her first through Atlantic Records, which her longtime label, Centricity, formed a partnership with in January.
The new set was her first new music since Look Up Child, which opened at the Top Christian Albums summit in September 2018 and proceeded to ring up a record 102 frames at No. 1. It was bolstered by the crossover smash “You Say,” which dominated Hot Christian Songs for an also unprecedented 132 weeks starting in July 2018.
On Christian Airplay, “You Say” reigned for 18 weeks. It also crossed over, crowning Adult Contemporary for two weeks.
Plus, “You Say” is the No. 1 track of 2023 on Christian Streaming Songs.
Look Up Child remains strong, placing as the No. 2 LP of 2023 on Top Christian Albums, second only to Kanye West’s Donda, which is the lead LP of the year on the Top Christian Albums and Top Gospel Albums tallies.
Daigle’s self-titled set launched at No. 1 on Top Christian Albums list dated May 27 with 25,000 equivalent album units, including 20,000 in album sales, in the May 12-18 tracking frame, according to Luminate. It marked Daigle’s fourth leader on the list.
Daigle returned to the Top Christian Albums penthouse on the May 16-dated survey. Her self-titled set, made available as a deluxe version, added 13 tunes to the original 10-song album.
After the deluxe edition was released Sept. 8, the set (with both versions combined into one chart listing) rebounded 5-1. It earned 13,000 equivalent album units (up 388%), with 8,000 in album sales. On the all-genre Billboard 200, it re-entered at No. 79, after it opened at its No. 21 high in May.
Daigle’s 2023 self-titled album finishes in the top 10. It’s No. 7 on the Top Christian Albums year-end ranking.
Meanwhile, lead single from Lauren Daigle, “Thank God I Do,” is No. 2 on the Hot Christian Songs year-end chart.
“Thank God I Do” became her fifth chart-topper on Christian Airplay, where it dominated for a week in July. On Hot Christian Songs, it awarded Daigle with her sixth No. 1, dominating for its first time in May.
Daigle is the only artist to date who has banked two Hot Christian Songs No. 1s that dominated for 20-weeks or more: “You Say” and “Thank God I Do.”
“Thank God I Do” is also tops on the year-end Christian Digital Song Sales tally.
Brandon Lake Leads: Singer-songwriter Brandon Lake wins a major category for the first time, crowning Billboard’s Top Christian Artists – Male roundup.
To say that Lake had a big year is quite the understatement, as he leads as the top Christian Airplay and Hot Christian Songs artist this year.
Lake’s hit “Gratitude” is the top song of 2023 on Hot Christian Songs. It gave Lake his second No. 1 in February and his first where he’s unaccompanied. Lake co-authored “Gratitude” with Dante Bowe and Benjamin Hastings, while Jacob Sooter produced it.
The artist added his third leader (among five top 10s) when “Praise You Anywhere” hit the Hot Christian Songs pinnacle in November.
On Christian Airplay, Lake added his second No. 1 and fourth top 10 this year. “Gratitude” led the list in March and “Praise You Anywhere” hit No. 3 on Oct. 7.
Elevation Worship Gets High Praise: 2023 marks the first time that Elevation Worship, the music collective based in Charlotte, N.C., leads Billboard’s Top Christian Artists – Duo/Group recap. The act places second in the overall Top Christian Artists category.
On the charts dated Jan. 21, the act earned its second leader on Hot Christian Songs and its third on Christian Airplay as “Same God” topped both surveys.
“Same God” is the No. 12 song of the year on Hot Christian Songs and No. 14 on Christian Airplay.
In June, Can You Imagine?, which includes eight songs, was co-produced by the collective’s frontman Chris Brown along with Steven Furtick. The LP was recorded in front of a live audience at Elevation Church in Charlotte Jan. 13.
Can You Imagine? awarded Elevation Worship with its seventh No. 1 among 13 top 10s on Top Christian Albums.
‘This Is’ Phil Wickham: No. 1 on the year-end Top Christian Airplay Songs tally is is Phil Wickham’s “This is Our God,” which led for two frames staring on the June 3-dated chart. It gave Wickham his fourth chart-topper among 10 top 10s.
The 39-year-old singer-songwriter from San Diego co-penned the song with Pat Barrett, Steven Furtick and Brandon Lake. It was produced by Jonathan Smith.
Wickham places as the No. 5 Top Christian Artists overall and No. 2 in the male category.
Billboard’s year-end music recaps represent aggregated metrics for each artist, title, label and music contributor on the weekly charts from Nov. 19, 2022, through Oct. 21, 2023. Rankings for Luminate-based recaps reflect equivalent album units, airplay, sales or streaming during the weeks that the titles appeared on a respective chart during the tracking year. Any activity registered before or after a title’s chart run isn’t considered in these rankings. That methodology detail, and the November-October time period, account for some of the difference between these lists and the calendar-year recaps that are independently compiled by Luminate.
For King & Country, the duo of siblings Joel and Luke Smallbone, notches its 14th leader on Billboard’s Christian Airplay chart (dated Nov. 18) with “What Are We Waiting For?” The song increased by 7% to 6 million audience impressions Nov. 3-9, according to Luminate.
The twosome extends its record streak to 11 consecutive Christian Airplay No. 1 singles (encompassing songs in lead roles promoted as proper, non-holiday radio singles, unless seasonal songs contribute to that run).
The siblings co-authored their latest leader.
“Ever since I was a young boy, I’ve loved music,” Luke Smallbone tells Billboard. “I never thought I’d be a songwriter, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized the true power of music – it can impact someone’s eternal destination. For us to be a part of that journey in someone’s life is an immense privilege and honor.”
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For King & Country’s 14 Christian Airplay No. 1s mark the second-most among all acts since the chart began in 2003, after MercyMe’s 18. Jeremy Camp, Matthew West and TobyMac rank third with 12 each.
“What Are We Waiting For?” follows for King & Country’s “Love Me Like I Am” (with Jordin Sparks), which ruled for two frames starting in February. Before that, the pair led with “Joy to the World” for a week in December 2022 and “For God Is With Us” for three weeks that July.
The other No. 1s in the duo’s active streak: “Relate,” which ruled for three weeks starting in December 2021; “Amen” (one week, July 2021); “O Come O Come Emmanuel” featuring NEEDTOBREATHE (two weeks, starting in December 2020); “Together” with Kirk Franklin and Tori Kelly (five, beginning in August 2020); “Burn the Ships” (five, starting in January 2020); “God Only Knows” (10, beginning in April 2019); and “joy.” (four, starting in August 2018).
Amid that stretch, the tandem’s holiday track “Heavenly Hosts” reached No. 2 in January 2022. Plus, the duo featured on older sister Rebecca St. James’ “Kingdom Come,” which hit No. 26 that May.
For King & Country scored its first Christian Airplay No. 1 with its seventh entry, “Fix My Eyes,” for a week in September 2014.
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Grear & Co. Get First Gospel No. 1
James Grear & Company’s “I Wanna Say Thank You” featuring Maurette Brown Clark hits the Gospel Airplay summit. In the Nov. 3-9 tracking week, the song gained by 14% in plays.
James Grear & Company earns its first No. 1 in its second appearance on the chart, after “It’s My Season” peaked at No. 29 in 2015.
Brown Clark leads Gospel Airplay for a second time, after “It Ain’t Over (Until God Says It’s Over)” dominated for five frames in 2009. Her first of eight entries, “One God,” hit No. 2 in 2007, her first of four top 10s.
Brown Clark has an additional song on the Nov. 18 tally: “I See Good” ranks at No. 18, after reaching No. 14.
Micah Tyler attains his second No. 1 on Billboard’s Christian Airplay and Christian AC Airplay charts as “Praise the Lord” reaches the top of each tally dated Oct. 28. The song lifts 2-1 on Christian Airplay as it drew 5.8 million audience impressions during the Oct. 13-19 tracking week, according to Luminate. Concurrently, it ascends […]
Nigerian-based Victor Thompson and his brother and duo partner, Ehis “D” Greatest, top Billboard’s streaming-, airplay- and sales-based Hot Gospel Songs chart (dated Oct. 28) as “This Year (Blessings)” rises to No. 1 in its second week on the list.
The song, originally released in January, received a boost when rapper Gunna joined for a remix released Oct. 13. With a majority of the song’s consumption in the tracking week from the new version, Gunna is now also billed on the chart.
Sporting a 163% surge, “This Year (Blessings),” drew 3.1 million official U.S. streams Oct. 13-19, according to Luminate.
Concurrently, the track hits the top 10 on the Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs survey, jumping 11-3. It’s the first entry on each ranking for both the faith-based twosome and Gunna.
“God is so amazing,” Thompson tells Billboard. “It’s so exciting to know that people get the message of this song. I’ve always wanted to live an impactful life and I’m truly happy about this.”
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Singer-songwriter and worship leader Thompson was born in Lagos, Nigeria, where he is currently based. Israel Ehinomen Okosun is popularly known as Ehis “D” Greatest and is also based in Nigeria.
Thompson says that the pair is currently working on a studio album due this year. The act is planning on touring the U.S. starting in early 2024.
‘Room’ for Maverick City Music
“In the Room,” by Atlanta-based collective Maverick City Music with Chandler Moore and Naomi Raine and featuring Tasha Cobbs Leonard, blasts onto Hot Gospel Songs at No.2. It simultaneously enters Hot Christian Songs at No. 13.
Released Oct. 13, the song drew 1.3 million official first-week streams and sold 3,000 downloads.
Maverick City Music adds its 25th Hot Gospel Songs top 10. For Moore and Raine, who are members of the group, it’s their 11th and 17th top 10 under their own names, respectively. Cobbs Leonard sends her 15th song to the tier.
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.
Five-time Gospel Music Association female vocalist of the year winner Natalie Grant is known for pop-leaning Christian Airplay hits including “King of the World” and “Held,” but this powerhouse vocalist distinctly remembers being four years old, with tears streaming down her face, listening to the Gospel sounds of Mahalia Jackson.
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“Listening to her sing, it just made me feel so deeply,” Grant says. “I’ve always been so influenced by Gospel music. Gospel performers sing with everything they have.”
On her new album, Seasons, out Friday (Oct. 6), nine-time Grammy nominee Grant pays homage to — and collaborates with — several of Gospel music’s top stars, along with pop and country music luminaries, covering songs that have served as musical cornerstones in her own life. CeCe Winans, Tasha Cobbs Leonard, Mary Mary, Jekalyn Carr, Jonathan McReynolds, Cory Asbury, CAIN and Country Music Hall of Famer Dolly Parton all join on the new project.
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Grant is quick to note that unlike some covers records, this isn’t run-of-the-mill — these are the songs she leaned on through heartbreaks, triumphs, battles with thyroid cancer and anxiety, and more.
“Sometimes you hear the word ‘cover record,’ and it has this connotation of ‘Oh, it’s a filler record between the last originals records and whatever’s next,’” Grant says. “But there’s no filler record with this — this is my life record.”
Gospel music icon Winans sing with Grant on a version of the 1972 Andraé Crouch-written and recorded classic “My Tribute (To God Be the Glory).”
“Andraé has forever marked Christian and Gospel music and his legacy is forever,” Grant says. “CeCe Winans has been my hero since I first heard her when I was 11 years old. I went to the BeBe and CeCe Winans ‘Heaven’ tour. CeCe has so influenced me, not just her music, but her — she’s one of the most truly beautiful people you will ever meet, inside and out. So hearing us answering each other’s verses on this song, it was just a surreal moment for me. She didn’t have to be part of this, but she chose to do that, and that speaks again to how wonderful she is.”
Grant teams with Gospel sibling duo Mary Mary on a refreshed version of their 2000 hit “Shackles (Praise You),” which reached No. 28 on the Billboard Hot 100.
“That was one of those songs that I remember just crossed all barriers — it didn’t matter whether you listen to gospel, pop, CCM — everybody loved that song. They’ve never remade the song in 20 years — why would they choose to remake it with an additional person? That just speaks to how amazing they are. We had so much fun singing this and just living our best lives.”
The album includes the Simon & Garfunkel standard “Bridge Over Troubled Water” with Cobbs Leonard, the Sandi Patty classic “Another Time, Another Place” (which Grant performs with McReynolds), and a version of the 2000 LeAnn Rimes hit “I Need You,” which marks another full-circle moment as Grant sang the original demo for the song before it made its way to Rimes.
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Grant makes another country connection on the project, welcoming Parton to join her in covering a Whitney Houston classic — no, not the Parton-penned “I Will Always Love You,” but rather Houston’s version of Annie Lennox’s “Step by Step,” which was included on the soundtrack for Houston’s film The Preacher’s Wife.
“This song is so special to me,” Grant says, recalling the mid-1990s when she was working a desk job handling Medicare in Nashville while pursuing music. “I would blast this song while driving my Volkswagen Golf to work. I wanted to do music but I had to do what I had to do to pay the bills.”The recording follows Parton and Grant sharing the stage earlier this year at Parton’s Dollywood themepark, where they sang the hymn “Just a Little Walk With Jesus.”
Though Parton initially turned down the opportunity to record “Step By Step” due to scheduling conflicts as she was working on her album Rock Star, Grant says that weeks later, she received a personal letter from Parton — on hot pink Dolly Parton letterhead — asking if she might still be able to sing on the song.
“It was just such a bucket list moment,” Grant says. “Who does that? Dolly Parton does that. I was blown away that she gave her time and talent to do that.”
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The album closes with a full family moment on a version of Bob Dylan’s “Make You Feel My Love,” on which Grant’s husband, producer-writer Bernie Herms, recorded Grant’s 83-year-old mother Gloria singing in Grant’s childhood home. The track also features the couple’s daughters singing background vocals.
“I remember hearing that song and thinking, ‘If I could write words to my girls, it would be these.’ And to have the whole family singing on it and their grandmother, it’s a gift.”
The new album is steeped in influence from Gospel music, as was Grant’s 1999 debut self-titled album, though after moving from her native Seattle to Nashville, Grant recalls being bewildered at how separated the white-dominated CCM and the Black-dominated Gospel music industries were at the time, calling it “an eye-opening experience that some of those racial lines were very hard and fast lines.”
“I would hear back from CCM radio programmers who would say, ‘We don’t want to play this; it sounds too Gospel,’ or ‘Why is she singing like that? And why is there a Gospel choir on there?’ I was just like, ‘I’m just singing,’” she says.
In the past few years, the Christian Airplay radio charts have increasingly featured more artists of color and more Gospel influences, including Winans, Wells, Jon Reddick, Blessing Offor and Maverick City Music. “Now, 20-something years later, people are more welcoming of diversity,” Grant Says. “They go, ‘I would love to see a collaboration with a Gospel artist or a Hispanic artist.’ All of a sudden, radio and the industry is looking for those moments. But honestly, we still have a long way to go.”
Conversely, Grant says she has seen her collaborations with Winans and Cobbs Leonard included on Gospel-only playlists on Apple Music and Spotify, and in August, she honored Winans with a performance at The Stellar Awards on BET.
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“That was a dream come true for me. But even the fact that they invited me when they didn’t have to. We didn’t have any songs on the Gospel charts that the time — or any that had come out yet. But they welcomed me with open arms and I was so moved by that.”
In addition to dominating GMA Dove Awards Gospel and urban music categories, Black artists have garnered wins in top overall GMA Dove Awards categories over the decades, even if radio has historically seemed divided. Among the winners have been Larnelle Harris (male vocalist), Nicole C. Mullen (songwriter of the year and song of the year for “Redeemer”), BeBe and CeCe Winans (new artist and group of the year), Wells (new artist of the year/contemporary Christian artist of the year) and Take 6 (group of the year, new artist of the year). In recent years Lecrae and CeCe Winans have made history on the GMA Dove Awards stage; in 2015, Lecrae became the first pure hip-hop artist to win the coveted artist of the year honor, while in 2022, Winans made history as the first Black solo female artist to win artist of the year.
Grant lauds the work Jackie Patillo has done since taking on the executive director role at the Gospel Music Association in 2010, to have the GMA Dove Awards performances further reflect the breadth of sounds and styles within Christian music.
“Jackie has worked so hard to blur those lines and have inclusion and you see that when you look at the Dove Awards now — you can see those years of investments paying off,” Grant says. “We still have a ways to go, but we are leap years ahead of where we were and I’m grateful to be walking with people in making those strides.”
Earlier this year, Grant was among a group of talented women who led the all-female It’s Time worship tour alongside Cobbs Leonard, Naomi Raine and Taya, offering a soul-stirring mix of CCM and Gospel hits, along with classic hymns. Grant is hopeful these moments are just the beginning of long-lasting change.
“I think you will see a lot more tours come together — you will see worship with hip-hop, CCM with Gospel. I think you will see a lot of that in the near future.”
Chris Tomlin’s “Holy Forever” hits No. 1 on Billboard’s streaming-, airplay- and sales-based Hot Christian Songs chart dated Oct. 7. With its 59-week trip to the penthouse, it completes the longest trek to the top in the chart’s 20-year history, surpassing Elevation Worship’s “Graves Into Gardens” featuring Brandon Lake (46 weeks, 2020-21).
Tomlin scores his seventh No. 1 on the chart and his first since “Good Good Father,” which dominated for seven weeks beginning in February 2016.
The singer-songwriter tells Billboard of his latest coronation, “Ultimately, what this chart represents is impact, and to be a part of a song like ‘Holy Forever’ and experiencing its impact is an honor. My hope is that this song continues to help people around the globe beyond anything I could imagine, see or ever know.”
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“Holy Forever,” which Tomlin co-authored with Jason Ingram, Brian Johnson, Jenn Johnson and Phil Wickham, ruled Christian Airplay for six weeks beginning in August, awarding Tomlin his 11th No. 1. It ranks at No. 6 on the latest list with 5 million audience impressions Sept. 22-28, according to Luminate. It also drew 2 million official U.S. streams and sold 1,000 downloads.
David & Blessett Bring Back a Classic
Atlanta-based Anthony David and Algebra Blessett’s “Heaven” soars from No. 5 to No. 1 on Gospel Airplay, up 15% in plays. The singers’ first collaboration in over a decade marks their first entry on the chart. Billed as Anthony David featuring Algebra, they reached No. 2 on Adult R&B Airplay in 2011 with “4Evermore.”
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“Heaven” was originally recorded by gospel greats BeBe & CeCe Winans and released as the title track on their 1989 set that led Top Gospel Albums, becoming the duo’s first of three chart-toppers.
BeBe Winans co-wrote the song with Keith Thomas.
“We’re definitely happy to be embraced by the gospel community,” David and Blessett shared in a statement to Billboard. “Our whole mission in music is to be inspirational and add to the culture.”
David and Blessett are currently working on an album of duets.
NEEDTOBREATHE adds its sixth No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Christian Albums chart, as Caves blasts in atop the survey (dated Sept. 30). In its opening week, encompassing Sept. 15-21, the set earned 10,000 equivalent album units, including 7,000 in album sales. The rock group, which formed in 1998 in Seneca, S.C., last led the list […]
MercyMe extends its records for the most No. 1s on Billboard’s Christian Airplay and Christian AC Airplay charts, as “To Not Worship You” ascends to the top of both tallies dated Sept. 16.
The group adds its 19th No. 1 on Christian Airplay and its 20th on Christian AC Airplay.
The song gained by 8% to 6.6 million audience impressions on Christian Airplay reporters in the week ending Sept. 7, according to Luminate. On Christian AC Airplay panelists, it advanced by 5% in plays.
All five MercyMe members co-wrote the song – Nathan Cochran, Barry Graul, Bart Millard, Mike Scheuchzer and Robby Shaffer – with Brown Bannister, Jordan Mohilowski and Tedd Tjornhom.
“To Not Worship You” is from the group’s album Always Only Jesus, which arrived as its 12th No. 1 on Top Christian Albums last November.
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The song follows MercyMe’s “Then Christ Came,” which in February also led both lists. The act, which formed in 1994, earned its first Christian Airplay and Christian AC Airplay No. 1 in 2003 when “Word of God Speak” dominated for 23 and 21 weeks, respectively.
MercyMe has the most No. 1s on both charts dating to their June 2003 inceptions, with for King & Country’s 13 Christian Airplay leaders ranking second, followed by Jeremy Camp, tobyMac and Matthew West with 12 apiece. On Christian AC Airplay, Camp and Casting Crowns are tied for second with 13 No. 1s each, with for King & Country next with 11.
Wilson Finds ‘Peace’ at No. 1
Meanwhile, Brian Courtney Wilson nets his fourth Gospel Airplay No. 1 with “Always Peace” (up 10% in plays).
Wilson, a Chicago native now based in Missouri City, Texas, co-wrote the song with Dana Sorey.
The 51-year-old Wilson earns his third straight chart-topper, following “Sure As,” which led for a week in September 2022, and “Still,” which reigned for one frame in June 2021.
Wilson made his first trip to the Gospel Airplay penthouse when “A Great Work” began a three-week rule in October 2018. He boasts seven top 10s, starting with his initial entry, “All I Need,” which hit No. 6 in February 2010.
