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Jelly Roll and Brandon Lake.JPG
Reuters/ Sipa USA
Jelly Roll and Brandon Lake.JPG
Reuters/ Sipa USA
Entertainment

Faith in the charts: Christian music surges on Billboard Hot 100

by Mitti Hicks

People are connecting with music about Jesus more than ever before, with multiple Christian musicians appearing on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at the same time—for the first time in history.

"Hard Fought Hallelujah" by Brandon Lake and Jelly Roll has spent 22 weeks on the chart, and "Your Way’s Better" by Forrest Frank has spent 13 weeks on the chart at the time of this report, according to NPR.

It begs the question: are more people sensing the Holy Spirit?

According to Billboard, the answer is yes, thanks to social media. Lake and Frank emerged as breakout stars from the Christian music world with platforms like TikTok.

Christian music has historically been underrepresented on the Hot 100 list. 52 Christian songs have charted on both the Hot 100 and Hot Christian Songs list since Billboard adopted its current multi-metric methodology on Dec. 7, 2013. The updated method blends U.S. streams, radio airplay, and sales.

34 of the 52 songs were by Ye (formerly Kanye West) from his albums Jesus Is King and Donda. DJ Khaled featuring Ye and Eminem, "Use This Gospel (Remix)"  made the list, and six were religious-themed holiday songs.

According to Billboard, only 11 Christian songs made the list that were not tied to the holidays or crossover rap.

A majority of the songs on Billboard’s Hot 100 list fit under the Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) genre, which is defined as modern popular music with lyrics focused on Christian themes and styles that range from pop, rock, and other contemporary styles.

CCM has faced some criticism. On one hand, critics argue that it is secular and too worldly. Proponents, however, say that it is a great alternative to mainstream rock.

Still, there are signs that Christian music could be here to stay on Billboard’s Hot 100 list. Billboard’s Bubbling Under Hot 100 rankings that haven’t debuted yet are Elevation Worship’s "Praise," featuring Brandon Lake, Chris Brown, and Chandler Moore, and Forrest Frank’s "Good Day."

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