Christian Music Is Surging on Billboard's Charts, Thanks to These Two Artists
On the Billboard Hot 100, dated May 10, two Christian songs are making waves: Brandon Lake's 'Hard Fought Hallelujah' ranks at No. 44 in its 11th week on the chart (after reaching No. 40 last week) and Forrest Frank's 'Your Way's Better' jumps from No. 72 to No. 62 in its second week.
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Lake and Frank have both emerged as breakout stars in the Christian music world, thanks in part to their growing popularity across social media platforms like TikTok.
Lake has charted 42 songs on the Hot Christian Songs chart, all since 2019. Nine of those reached the top 10 and six hit No. 1. Three of those hits, including 'Hard Fought Hallelujah,' spent 20-plus weeks on top.
Frank, meanwhile, first broke onto Billboard's charts in 2020 as half of the pop duo Surfaces (alongside Colin Padalecki), thanks to their viral hit 'Sunday Best.' The TikTok-friendly song climbed to No. 19 on the Hot 100 and even found success at radio, reaching the top 10 of Pop Airplay. Since then, Frank has pivoted to Christian music and quickly became a force in the genre. He's logged 34 entries on the Hot Christian Songs chart, including six top 10s: 'Good Day' (No. 2 peak in 2024); 'Up!,' with Connor Price (No. 8, 2024); 'Never Get Used to This,' with JVKE (No. 6, 2024); 'The Present' (No. 9, January); 'Nothing Else,' with Thomas Rhett (No. 4, March); and 'Your Way's Better.' No other artist has charted more songs on the ranking since the beginning of 2022. He also finished 2024 as Billboard's No. 1 top new Christian artist.
Frank's album Child of God has also dominated the Top Christian Albums chart, spending 34 weeks and counting at No. 1, making it the fifth-longest-leading No. 1 album this century. He released the set's follow-up, Child of God II, Friday (May 9).
Christian music has historically had a limited presence on the Hot 100. Dating to when Billboard's Hot Christian Songs chart adopted its current multimetric methodology on Dec. 7, 2013 — blending U.S. streams, radio airplay and sales — 52 Christian songs have charted on both the Hot 100 and Hot Christian Songs. But there are some important caveats.
Of those 52 songs, 34 were by Kanye West from his albums Jesus Is King or Donda and one was by DJ Khaled featuring West and Eminem ('Use This Gospel [Remix]') — both were, of course, already long-established hip-hop acts with a core fanbase outside of Christian music. Another six were religious-themed holiday songs (Carrie Underwood's 'Silent Night,' for example).
That leaves us with just 11 Christian songs that are not tied to the holidays or crossover rap acts:
Artist, Title, Peak Year on the Hot 100:
Carrie Underwood, 'Something in the Water,' 2014Craig Wayne Boyd, 'The Old Rugged Cross,' 2014Hillsong UNITED, 'Oceans (Where Feet May Fail),' 2014Jordan Smith, 'Great Is Thy Faithfulness,' 2015NEEDTOBREATHE feat. Gavin DeGraw, 'Brother,' 2015Jordan Smith, 'Mary Did You Know,' 2016Avril Lavigne, 'Head Above Water,' 2018NF, 'Let You Down,' 2018Lauren Daigle, 'You Say,' 2019Brandon Lake, 'Hard Fought Hallelujah,' 2025Forrest Frank, 'Your Way's Better,' 2025
And there may be more on the way. Two additional Christian tracks are climbing Billboard's Bubbling Under Hot 100 ranking — which lists the 25 songs just below the Hot 100 that haven't yet debuted: Elevation Worship's 'Praise,' featuring Brandon Lake, Chris Brown and Chandler Moore (No. 20; currently No. 3 on Hot Christian Songs) and Forrest Frank's 'Good Day' (No. 23; peaked at No. 2 on Hot Christian Songs last year).
What makes this specific chart week extra notable for Christian music, though, is that it's just the second time (since 2013) that two Christian songs are charting simultaneously. It only happened once before on Dec. 27, 2014, when Underwood's 'Something in the Water' and Boyd's 'The Old Rugged Cross' charted together. The latter song, however, spent a week on the chart before dropping off. Unlike that week, Lake's hit has significant longevity and Frank's is still on the rise.
For Provident Label Group, which finished 2024 as Billboard's No. 1 Top Christian Label and whose roster included Lake and genre powerhouse Elevation Worship, pivoting their marketing efforts to younger demographics has been key to their success.
'Over the past few years, we've focused on investing in the future of the genre instead of just seeking to repeat past successes,' said marketing & brand strategy vp Mat Anderson. 'For Christian music to thrive in the next 5-10 years, we must attract younger audiences seeking sonically diverse music that authentically reflects their faith and life experiences. We've partnered with young artists who offer unique perspectives, enabling them to shape the genre's future rather than molding them to fit its past. This approach by Provident and others has been highly successful, as the genre's rapid growth over the past three years demonstrates that Christian music is resonating with new audiences and reengaging previous ones.'
Christian music has, in fact, been rising — and it's part of a broader trend. According to Luminate's 2024 year-end report, Christian/Gospel is one of the fastest-growing genres among young audiences in the U.S., with the average listener is spending 19% more time with Christian/Gospel music than in 2022.
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When speaking to TIME, he uses the production choice of using the light green dishes common in Korea for the private jet scene as another example. 'Growing up, everybody in Korea has seen these light green dishes,' he explains. 'Even if they didn't use that design for the dishes where the kimbap is placed, it would have been fine … But just seeing that, [you think], 'You put in extra hours of work to design those dishes. The directors and producers must have had some fond memories. They must have poured a lot of their personal experiences into the story.'' KPop Demon Hunters notably doesn't go out of its way to explain the Korean cultural details that provide the film with such depth and texture. 'When you travel, you go to places and you think, like, 'Oh, this is what a mailbox looks like here. You just kind of accept it,'' says Kang. 'And I think that should be how all movies are treated.' 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