An openly gay artist has topped the Christian and Gospel chart on iTunes chart, ending singer Lauren Daigle's long-standing reign at number one. 'Preacher's Kid' by Semler - the artist named for Grace Baldridge - clinched the top spot on Tuesday, dethroning Daigle's album 'Look Up Child'.
In a video posted online, Baldridge said she wanted to "grab the No. 1 spot on the iTunes Christian music chart and claim it for anyone who has been cast out in the name of God".
“It’s unbelievable. I keep trying to pinch myself,” Baldridge told Religion News Service. “I actually got a tattoo last night to try and pinch myself to see if this was real.”
Baldridge's eight-track EP is an honest and critical reflection on growing up in a strict American evangelical context, with lyrics such as "the mission trips are scams, they do more harm than good", and laments about being rejected by her faith community for being openly gay.
"I'm a child of God just in case you forgot, and you cast me out every single chance you got," she sings on the opening track 'Bethlehem'.
"What I'd give for just an inch of your peace."
Other tracks on the EP are titled 'Jesus from Texas', 'Youth Group', 'A Good Man' and 'Promised Land'.
Baldridge told RNS that the project is "about coming out as a queer person of faith” and that its success as “an underdog story".
The EP comes with an explicit language warning.
