Latest news with #ChildofGod
Forbes
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Forrest Frank Replaces Himself At No. 1
Forrest Frank debuts at No. 1 on the Top Christian Albums chart with Child of God II, replacing his ... More own previous release Child of God at the summit. TORONTO, ONTARIO - APRIL 01: Forrest Frank performs at Coca-Cola Coliseum on April 01, 2025 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo) The world first heard Forrest Frank's music in a major way in 2020, when his group Surfaces reached the Hot 100 with 'Sunday Best.' That single cracked the top 20 and remains the duo's only major commercial win. In addition to making art as part of that band, Frank also records under his own name, but his solo work leans much more into his Christian faith than the pop output of the pair. In just over a year, Frank has become one of the top stars in the Christian music space in America, and he proves his growing popularity this week with a major feat. Frank's new album Child of God II debuts on five Billboard charts this week. It opens inside the top 10 on several of them, and even manages to bring him to the No. 1 spot on the Top Christian Albums chart. Frank has previously hit the summit on Billboard's ranking of the most consumed Christian full-lengths and EPs in the country. In fact, he was already running the show just last week. Frank replaces himself atop the Top Christian Albums chart as Child of God II debuts at No. 1. The original Child of God steps down to the runner-up space after spending the previous frame at No. 1. That turn marked its thirty-fifth stay in the spotlight. That's a massive accumulation for any project on any ranking. Considering the fact that Child of God had only lived on the list for 41 frames, 35 stints at No. 1 is huge. Child of God II also manages to begin its time inside the highest tier on both the Top Album Sales and Vinyl Albums charts. It launches at No. 5 on the all-encompassing list of the bestselling titles with a little more than 11,700 pure purchases, according to Luminate. The same effort is new to the vinyl-only roster at No. 8. Child of God II also brings Frank to the Top Streaming Albums ranking, where it debuts at No. 24. The sequel release helps him hit a new career high point on the Billboard 200 and nearly crack the top 10. The sequel album begins its time on that competitive tally at No. 12, moving just over 33,250 equivalent units in its first frame of availability in the U.S.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Forrest Frank on the ‘Invisible Market' That Turned ‘Your Way's Better' Into a Hot 100 Hit
Three years after initially earning a top 20 pop hit on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 as part of the duo Surfaces, singer-songwriter Forrest Frank began to compile contemporary Christian music hits. He's become one of the genre's fastest-rising artists, melding elements of pop, hip-hop and gospel on songs such as 'No Longer Bound,' a collaboration with Hulvey, which cracked the top 20 on Billboard's Hot Christian Songs chart. But it's the ebullient, summer-ready 'Your Way's Better' that becomes Frank's first solo Hot 100 entry — the hit has reached a No. 61 high on the chart and crowns Hot Christian Songs for the first time this week (charts dated May 24). Meanwhile, his recent team-up with country artist Thomas Rhett, 'Nothing Else,' resides at No. 4 on the same chart. Frank originally released the pop-inflected 'Your Way's Better' in October 2024, but the song's success was spurred by TikTok momentum earlier this year, thanks to a viral TikTok dance that both resonated with fans — and took Frank, then on a social media hiatus, by surprise. More from Billboard Christian Music Is Surging on Billboard's Charts, Thanks to These Two Artists Lady Gaga Wins 2025 Sports Emmy for 'Hold My Hand' Pre-Super Bowl Tribute to Disaster Victims A$AP Rocky Teases New Song at Cannes During 'Highest 2 Lowest' Premiere In the past year, Frank has released music at a dizzying speed, stoking fervor in the industry and his growing fan base. His July 2024 album, Child of God, was nominated for a Grammy for best contemporary Christian music album and nominated for top Christian album at the Billboard Music Awards. By that November, he returned with a deluxe version of the album; on May 9, he released its follow-up, Child of God II. The two installments currently hold Nos. 1 and 2 on Top Christian Albums, with his more recent project leading the chart. 'That's kind of a theme for me in my career,' Frank tells Billboard, calling while on the road during the second part of his sold-out Child of God tour. 'I love pushing the boundaries, and I feel like my career is busting myths.' Below, Frank talks about 'Your Way's Better,' Child of God II and Christian music's current Hot 100 surge. How did 'Your Way's Better' come about? I was having a hard day and had gone for a drive. I remember pulling into my neighborhood and that chorus came spilling out. It was just a prayer that ended up having a melody with it. I recorded a voice memo of it on my phone and didn't do anything with it for a few months. Then, backstage at [Frank's 2024 Child of God tour], I pulled out my laptop and produced the beat for it. Then, my producer friend PERA came out to a session and we were jamming on this song and I said, 'What if you play something kind of somber?' He starts playing it, and I freestyled the melody [and] some of the words that ended up on the track. You released 'Your Way's Better' last October, but a dance that went viral on TikTok and social media helped boost it. How did that happen? It was my 12th- or 13th-highest streaming song at a daily rate — it was not making a big splash. There's a couple, David Myers and Bridgette [Nicole], and they post a new dance almost every day to different songs, and it was one they did [in February]. What's interesting is that I was taking a social media break — I had posted maybe three times in a four-month period. At first, I didn't really engage with it, but then I saw a significant jump in my streams. I'm seeing these kids doing the dance, and it's kind of like this vacation Bible school type thing, [learning] the dance to go with the song and do the hand motions and stuff. It is like that energy, but not in an enclosed church space. It just kind of feels like it's across the whole world. You just released your new album, , on May 9, just 10 months after and six months after its deluxe edition. Why did you want to drop another full album so soon? They say you have to upload a song about a month before it comes out to make sure that all the distributing partners have enough time to add it to playlists and can properly program. I remember a year or two ago thinking, 'Is that really the case?' So, I uploaded music closer to the deadline, like 48 hours before a release and it made it on [Spotify playlist] New Music Friday. With Child of God, I had a song with Connor Price called 'Up!' and that splashed and two weeks later, we released 'Good Day,' which became the next biggest one. We kept dropping songs every two weeks because that's the pace I was writing music. Rather than hold back music for months, why not just put everything out there and see what happens? I feel like life is short: My time and moment is finite to a degree, so if I'm excited about these songs and the fans are excited, why would I hold stuff back? There are a lot of crossover efforts between contemporary Christian music and country happening now, such as your collaboration with Thomas Rhett on 'Nothing Else.' Why do you think that's the case? I think including God is pretty common in country music, [but] I've noticed that transition in my heart and the fullness I get to experience in praising God specifically. I think the country space is starting to feel that as well. I could see in the next year or two, a lot of the A-list country artists just making straight-up Christian worship songs. With Brandon Lake and Jelly Roll's 'Hard Fought Hallelujah' also on the Hot 100, what's your take on the surge in Christian music's popularity? I think it's just the people. Yes, it's the artists who are expressing their genuine love for God, but also, it's the consumers that are supporting it and championing it. With my tour, there's this family thing going on: We didn't expect for families to come to the show, but 'Your Way's Better' has become the music for the car ride, the music on the way to school. It was like an invisible market. I knew that there was kind of a starving family market, but here it is. A version of this story appears in the May 17, 2025, issue of Billboard. Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
Miami Herald
15-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
Thomas Rhett leaves Nashville concert in a wheelchair after surprise performance
Thomas Rhett gave his Nashville fans everything he had — but it came at a cost. The 35-year-old country music artist appeared as a guest singer at Forrest Frank's 'Child of God' tour stop in Nashville on April 13 when things went from exciting to painful within minutes. In a clip shared by Rhett on Instagram, Frank starts to sing the duo's hit song 'Nothing Else' when he invites Rhett — who was sitting in a secluded area in the stands — to perform with him. 'I can't sing Thomas Rhett's verse, right?' Frank asks his audience in the video. After the cameras and spotlights turned to Rhett, he began making his way down the arena steps when he accidentally tripped and fell before making it to the arena floor. Rhett immediately stood up and performed the song, but not before the pain settled in. In the video, Rhett's wife, Lauren Akins, is seen laughing hysterically as she rolls him out of the arena in a wheelchair 30 minutes after the incident. 'You have no mercy at all. Unbelievable!' Rhett says to his wife as she continues to laugh. Rhett later confirmed that he suffered a broken ankle from the fall. 'You know, every now and then, you just have to sing in a Forrest Frank concert and break your ankle in the process. I gave my all for Tennessee tonight,' Rhett said in the clip. '@hiforrest told me to pull up and I left in a wheelchair,' he wrote in the caption. Frank commended his fellow singer in the comment section, calling Rhett an 'ABSOLUTE CHAMPION' for taking one for the team. Many of Rhett's friends and fans agreed with that sentiment, including singer Garrett Hornbuckle, who commented, 'You handled this like a champ!!!! Seriously man you're the real deal.' 'Bro broke his ankle and performed like nothing happened. That's a pros pro,' wrote photographer Jake Blucker. Other users couldn't help but relate to his wife's uncontrollable laughing as she pushed him in the wheelchair. 'It's lauren laughing for me,' one user commented, while another wrote, 'OMG! Y'all crack me up! Of course Lauren is laughing.' Rhett and Akins met in kindergarten and started dating in 2011 before tying the knot the following year, according to Us Weekly. The couple adopted a daughter, Willa Gray, 9, from Uganda in 2017, per People. They also share three other daughters — Ada James, 7, Lennon Love, 5, and Lillie Carolina, 3. Rhett's surprise performance — and broken ankle — on April 13 comes less than two months before Rhett kicks off his 'Better In Boots' tour. Rhett will visit 30 cities across North America 'with direct support from Tucker Wetmore as well as special guests The Castellows or Dasha,' according to a press release. The tour commences on June 5 at the Walmart AMP in Rogers, Arkansas, and concludes September 26 at the RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheater in Ridgefield, Washington.
