NEW YORK — This is one of the most amazing music stories year. While streams of new music — releases in the last 18 months — are down from last year, one genre is on the rise: Christian and gospel music, according to industry data and a analytics firm. Luminate Half Year 2025 Report.
Jaime Marconette, Luminate's vice president of music research and industry relations, said the shift is being led by artists such as Forrest Frank, Brandon Lake and Exaltation Worshipwho connect with a “young, dynamic fan base” made up of 60% women and 30% millennials. In fact, for the first time in 11 years, two contemporary Christian music songs—Frank's “Your Way's Better” and Lake's “Hard Fought Hallelujah” with Jelly Roll—broke into the top 40 of the all-genre Billboard Hot 100, putting them in direct competition with mainstream artists.
This is why traditionally secular artists such as Jelly Roll, Killer Mike and T.I. are nominated in the Christian music categories of the competition. upcoming 2026 Grammy ceremony — the lines are blurred.
“Christian music is like no other genre, which is defined by the sonic component. Christian music is defined by the lyrical component,” says Holly Zabka, president of Provident Entertainment, Sony's Christian music subsidiary. “It's not limited to a narrow definition. It's a lyrical component that can suit someone's musical preferences.”
From the label's perspective, she's interested in bringing in artists who “don't necessarily fit into the niche of Christian bookstores and Christian radio. rap, hip-hop, it can be rock, it can be country, and it appeals to a wider audience because it's what they're already listening to,” she says. “Very few people listen in a vacuum and only listen to one genre.”
But over the years, CCM jas has had a reputation for being unimaginative—as writer John Jeremiah Sullivan infamously wrote about. called “proof of superiority” – for his penchant for imitating and softening popular, contemporary mainstream sounds for religious audiences.
“The quality has definitely improved,” says Zabka. “When all the music has to live side by side on these streaming platforms, we can't just be a cheap alternative. “Oh, you like Taylor Swift? You'll love this smaller Christian version.” We want to be the greatest art.”
“You have to imitate before you innovate,” jokes Chris Brown, singer and worship leader at Elevation Worship. “Stylistically, there aren’t as many hard lines in Christian music as there were maybe 10 years ago or certainly 20, 30 years ago.”
“There was a period of time when people idealized Christian music, saying, 'Okay, we're going to look like this, we're going to sound like this,'” says the two-time Grammy winner Christian and pop music musician Lauren Daigle. “There's a lot more artistry now. People are very expressive. They can share their creativity. And that also has to do with the different types of people represented.”
Zabka says her genre is experiencing “a special moment and… a perfect storm.” Streaming and social media connectivity have democratized music discovery, allowing CCM to compete with secular music, she said. This, coupled with what she calls a “renewal of faith” among young people, is why there is such interest.
The number of Americans who consider themselves Christians has been declining steadily over the years, but the drop shows that signs of slowing down according to a 2025 Pew Research Center survey. The new class of millennials and Gen Z Christian Influencers, They also strive to establish contact with young people.
“Christian music has also changed in its authenticity of lyrics,” Zabka adds, making the music more recognizable than previous iterations of the genre, which often carried a clear message: “Everything will be fine, just follow Jesus” after 3.5 minutes. Now, she says, “their songs are much more authentic, real and honest. “Life is hard. Breakups are hard. “Bad things happen,” and it instills a level of hope in the listener that other music doesn't.”
Daigle points out that artists like Lake are performing in huge stadiums, which is definitive proof that Christian artists are growing in popularity.
“I think a lot of people look at the world and … they find strength of spirit in this music, they find a sense of power in this music, and they find truth in this music,” she says.
Daigle also suggests that because “Christian music points to something else”—to God—rather than focusing on individual issues or the ego of the performer on stage, it levels the playing field between listener and artist, giving both a sense of purpose.
“In a world that has become so self-centered and self-centered, there's a freedom to say, 'Wow, I can actually rely on someone else for a while,' or, 'There's something that's actually bigger than me,'” she says. “And the purpose of Christian music for me is to bring hope to people.”
Brown suggests that people relate to his Charlotte, N.C.-based CCM collective because of “how deeply rooted we are” in their local church.
“It’s easy to communicate because we’re just church people,” he says.
Lake, nominated for three Grammys in 2026, including “Hard Fought Hallelujah”, believes that people Now I communicate with Christian music because that is simply the purpose of religious music.
“The reason people are paying attention to songs like this now is because that’s what they’re made for,” Lake says. “People find themselves in these songs – they find themselves, their spirit, they connect with the spirit of God… These songs are not just entertainment, they create an atmosphere of meeting.”
“I love all kinds of music,” he continues, “but if you have a song that has a message like that, it's just super charged, you know? It does something deeper.”
He also believes this could be the beginning of a tipping point where more Christian artists are invited into other genres and mainstream spaces. “I pray this is just the beginning,” he says. “And I pray that it takes over.”
Jelly Roll agrees. “I think there's really a revival going on in America right now where people are being re-introduced to the gospel in a digestible form. And it doesn't seem like all this finger-wagging and 'You're all going to hell,' you know?” he says.
“I don't really care when organized religions wave their fingers at me,” he continues. “I’m just glad to see the message, the gospel, represented.”
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The 68th Grammy Awards will take place on February 1, 2026 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The show will air on CBS and Paramount+. For more information visit https://apnews.com/hub/grammy-awards.
