Everyone is listening to secular praise music. Yes, even you.

Yahoo

4 days ago

Artists like Benson Boone, Teddy Swims and Alex Warren have tapped into a genre of music that sounds religious, but isn't. It's working.
'They say, 'The holy water's watered down, and this town's lost its faith,'' a man sings soulfully.
This is not a religious condemnation of the terrible things that have happened on Earth. It's a tune that follows you as it plays on car radios, blasts from the grimy speakers in dive bars and rears its head in countless Spotify playlists. You can't escape it — the deep-voiced crooning of a former TikToker who finally cracked mass virality with a hit that sounds religious but isn't.
Those words are the opening lyrics to 'Ordinary,' Alex Warren's 2025 breakout hit, which has now spent seven weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It's just a love song. And it's everywhere.
If its sheer ubiquity hasn't given it away, there's a strong chance 'Ordinary' could become 2025's song of summer, according to Billboard's annual chart.
Even when the speed and mood of the song pick up, it stays borderline religious. Warren sings about 'the angels up in the clouds,' the 'hopeless hallelujah on this side of Heaven's gate' and 'at your altar, I will pray, you're the sculptor, I'm the clay.' He references the Bible frequently, but he's talking about his real-life, present-day wife. It sounds religious, but 'Ordinary' is part of a growing genre of secular praise music.
'Close their eyes, lift their hands and transcend the moment'
As someone who grew up playing music in church, Americana artist Nate Currin has seen the way religious music gets a physical reaction in its audiences. There's something 'inherently emotional about praise and worship music,' he tells Yahoo, that 'invites people to close their eyes, lift their hands and transcend the moment.'
Secular praise music takes that feeling and emotion, harnesses those elements and markets it to both religious and nonreligious audiences. It's a trend now, but it's been around forever.
'Artists have long wrestled with themes of God, heaven, mystery and meaning. Some call it 'Christian' or 'worship,' but to me, it's simply a poetic exploration of the universe and what might lie beyond,' Currin says, citing U2 as an example. 'The continued connection people feel to this kind of music reveals something deeply human — a curiosity, a longing, a hope — that maybe there's more to all of this than what we can see.'
So, how do you know if a song is secular praise music?
For starters, it sounds like something that might be performed by a band in a church, when the congregation is asked to stand and sing along as they worship God. It's a common occurrence for many Americans — 62% of U.S. adults describe themselves as Christians, according to the 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study from Pew Research Center. Those who go to church are listening to many of the same songs — ones that are trending among other members of their denominations and timeless classics — but the sound of worship music has pervaded even nonreligious airwaves.
There are at least four other songs like 'Ordinary' on the Billboard Hot 100 right now, including 'Lose Control' by Teddy Swims (No. 9), 'Beautiful Things' by Benson Boone (No. 16), 'Good News' by Shaboozey (No. 24) and 'Backup Plan' by Bailey Zimmerman featuring Luke Combs (No. 44).
Take me to church
Secular praise songs like these include poetic verses that build to a striking, emotional chorus that singers belt at the top of their lungs. The lyrics appeal to members of a community or to someone powerful — a woman, a family member or the concept of a better time — and when they mention God, it's usually as part of a familiar phrase rather than an actual appeal to a spiritual being. Elements of stomping and clapping in the background — or even the addition of a backing choir — only add to the praise song vibe.
Tero Potila, a music producer and composer, tells Yahoo that streaming has shaped this format, because now, 'songs must grab the listener's attention quickly and deliver a strong emotional payoff to keep them engaged.'
'From a producer's perspective, the use of reverb, gospel-like chord progressions and dynamic builds all help create a church-like experience — something that uplifts and draws listeners in,' he says. 'Artists like U2 and Coldplay have done this for years, but what's different now is how emotionally raw and direct this style has become.'
Take 'Ordinary,' for instance. Mentions of angels and altars distract from the fact Warren is clearly singing about his wife, who's featured in the song's music video. 'You got me kissin' thе ground of your sanctuary. Shatter me with your touch, oh, Lord, return mе to dust,' he sings. His passion borders on sexually suggestive without going explicit. That means it's fine for the radio.
One of the biggest radio hits of all time, Teddy Swims's 'Lose Control' has been on the Billboard charts for a whopping 100 weeks — the first song to crack that milestone. It came out in 2023, when Taylor Swift's 'Cruel Summer' and Morgan Wallen's 'Last Night' were ruling the airwaves, and it's still unavoidable. He sings about his desire for the presence of a woman he loves, saying 'I lose control when you're not next to me,' after crooning that 'the devil's knockin' at my door' when he's left alone. He admonishes himself for acting like an 'addict' and giving into 'bad habits' — admitting his flaws and begging for forgiveness — two common elements in worship songs, sung in that context to God rather than a nameless woman.
The religious elements of these two songs make them sound vaguely like they could be played in church. They aren't overtly explicit, so you could play them on a loudspeaker in mixed company. They're slow with repetitive choruses that are easy to memorize, led by smooth, easily digestible voices. All those elements make it easy for them to become radio hits.
And once a song is in a radio station's rotation, it's hard for it to get out — just look at 'Lose Control' and Benson Boone's 'Beautiful Things,' which has been on the Billboard Hot 100 for 77 weeks and is still No. 16. That makes it a mainstay on the chart and feeds into its streaming success. These are artists that the music industry sees as culture-making budding superstars — it's no coincidence that Teddy Swims, Benson Boone and Shaboozey were all Best New Artist nominees at the 2025 Grammys.
'Big, cathartic hooks'
Though secular praise music is clearly a huge trend at the moment, it's not a new phenomenon.
In addition to Coldplay and U2's use of praise music sound in rock, alternative artists like Florence + The Machine, Hozier and Mumford & Sons ushered us into a secular praise music era 10 years ago, music consultant and founder of the artistic development program Music Industry Mentor Atlanta Cobb tells Yahoo.
'This trend in big anthemic production and layered choir-like vocals that sounds like it was made from the church is simply coming back around again 10 years later,' she says. 'What's different now is how listeners use music.'
Cobb believes that secular praise songs are still the soundtracks of people's big life moments, and we see that a lot with influencers and content creators. They'll record and upload videos of breakups, breakthroughs and gym sessions and edit them down to mini-cinematic masterpieces, backed by songs like 'Ordinary' and 'Beautiful Things.' The millions of viewers who watch those videos feel particularly emotional with those powerful songs in the background.
'And worship-style production works perfectly for these apps that need music with strong builds, releases and certain lyrical hooks, which work for social media usage,' she says. 'It also performs well on streaming. Slower intros give you space to lean in. Big, cathartic hooks get replayed. It's a clever style of writing.'
There are a number of bona fide religious songs on the Hot 100 right now, including 'Your Way's Better' by Christian artist Forrest Frank and 'Hard Fought Hallelujah' by Jelly Roll and pastor/singer Brandon Lake, though they haven't found the same success as secular artists emulating religious songs.
However, they are appealing to an untapped market for religious bro music and crafting a new genre which musicologist Kelsey McGinnis calls 'barstool conversion rock.' Those songs include heavy doses of masculinity, faith and party culture, though they're undeniably religious. They're borrowing elements from mainstream songs to elevate Christian messages, whereas secular praise music is borrowing elements from Christian music. Crossing over benefits both sides of the aisle.
'Labels are so desperate for community'
There's a reason mainstream artists might want to emulate what church bands and Christian artists are doing. Chad Gerber, a Christian musician who first started playing in church bands when he was 6, has a hunch that members of the mainstream music industry may have noticed how religious artists have maintained audiences.
'Churches do not have to chase listeners because their audiences are already part of the community,' he says. 'Labels no longer get that kind of reliable connection from clubs or festivals because everything else is oversaturated and constantly competing with new forms of media.'
He explains that praise music has always been functional — it's written to aid worship rather than to simply be listened to.
'Labels are desperate for community because selling community is the only way they make money now,' Gerber says. 'They see the community, the emotional connection and the numbers, so they copy the sound, the feeling and sometimes even the overall aesthetic.'
Praise music is meant to be simple so that 'weekend musicians,' or people who play music as a hobby, can easily pick up the songs and perform them for large congregations without extensive rehearsal.
'The formula now is to simplify the song, repeat the chorus to help people engage in worship and repeat that pattern,' he says. 'The congregations respond most to this, so worship pastors give them more of it.'
'Deeply personal, massively shared'
With secular praise music, we're going through that same phase. 'Lose Control' and 'Beautiful Things' haven't fallen off the charts as most songs naturally do, which helps to elevate newer, similar-sounding songs like 'Ordinary.' Though these songs walk the line between pop and rock, it's happening in country music as well, as Shaboozey's 'Good News' and Bailey Zimmerman's 'Backup Plan' also hold firm. Unlike their pop-rock counterparts, they're less about women and more about overcoming bad behavior and bad circumstances to achieve something more in life.
Keith Urban tells my colleague Taryn Ryder that it's understandable that country songs have become part of the secular praise trend.
'So much of country music is the existence between a hellacious Saturday night and a redemptive Sunday morning pew,' says the country star, who's currently on his High and Alive tour, says. 'That's so much of where country resides is in those dualities of the human experience.'
Secular praise music genres transcend country too, according to Amani Roberts, a music professor at Cal State Fullerton who also works as a DJ. She tells Yahoo that in the 1970s, the Isley Brothers and Earth, Wind & Fire weren't technically gospel artists, but they were spiritual. R&B groups in the 1990s like Boyz II Men ('A Song for Mama'), Jodeci ('Forever My Lady') and En Vogue ('Don't Let Go (Love)') used 'gospel-rooted vocals and lyrical arcs of devotion and redemption.'
'These were secular love songs that hit like sermons,' she says. 'What's different now is how genre-blending and streaming culture have made these songs feel both deeply personal and massively shared. We're in a moment where vulnerability isn't just accepted, it's expected.'
So, releasing songs with vague religious elements, as well as memorable, anthemic choruses and family-friendly lyrics can unite listeners across the country despite how we're fractured in other ways by algorithms and political tension.
'Musical tastes are cyclical, and this format is resonating right now because people are craving emotional release,' Roberts says. 'We're living in a time where everything feels loud — digitally, socially, politically. These songs slow things down, pull you in gently and then give you that euphoric burst in the chorus. It's a structure that mimics the arc of a personal breakthrough.'
Amen.