Christian Music 'Comeback' Underway as Brandon Lake, Forrest Frank Hit Billboard's Hot 100
Faith-filled tunes are making major waves on the music chart.
The Billboard Hot 100 is a much-watched ranking that tracks the most popular songs across all genres and regularly features artists like Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, and Kendrick Lamar.
It recently announced that two Christian songs have broken into the top 100 for the first time in 11 years.
Brandon Lake's "Hard Fought Hallelujah" featuring Jelly Roll currently ranks No. 44 after climbing as high as No. 40, while Forrest Frank's "Your Way's Better" is up to No. 62 after being ranked No. 72 last week.
"Say your prayers: Christian music is making a serious comeback," Xander Zeller wrote for Billboard. "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."
Zeller explains that of the 52 songs, 34 are Kanye West's gospel songs, and another handful are holiday songs.
"That leaves us with just 11 Christian songs that are not tied to the holidays or crossover rap acts," the article explains.
The success that Lake and Frank are experiencing is not singular in nature. Billboard cites that the breakout music stars can attribute much of their popularity to social media, including platforms like TikTok.
Since 2019. Lake has charted 42 songs on the Hot Christian Songs chart. Nine of those songs have reached the No. 10 spots, and six of those tunes hit the No. 1 spot. Three of those songs, including "Hard Fought Hallelujah," have spent more than 20 weeks at the top.
As CBN News reported, "Hard Fought Hallelujah" was first released as a solo track by Lake in November 2024. He later asked Jelly Roll to join in on the track.
"Collaborating with Jelly Roll on Hard Fought Hallelujah was powerful because we both understand what it's like to walk through battles and still choose to lift a song of hope," Lake previously shared with Music Mayhem Magazine.
"My prayer is that this song reminds people not to give up—that even in the hardest seasons, there's growth, purpose, and a victory worth singing about," Jelly Roll added. "Working with Brandon was an incredible experience. This track touched my soul like few others. 'Hard Fought Hallelujah' is a song that will echo through my home for years to come."
***Please sign up for CBN Newsletters to ensure you receive the latest updates from a distinctly Christian perspective.***
Frank, meanwhile, first broke onto Billboard's charts in 2020 as half of the pop duo Surface with the hit song "Sunday Best." Since then, Frank pivoted to Christian music and has had 34 entries on the Hot Christian Songs chart, including six top ten hits. Those hit songs include "Good Day," which peaked at No. 2 spot in 2024; "Up!," a collaboration with Connor Price, hit No. 8 last year; "Never Get Used to This," featuring JVKE, hit No. 6 in 2024, along with three other hits.
Frank's album "Child of God" dominated the Top Christian Albums chart, spending 34 weeks and counting at No. 1. He recently released Child of God II earlier this month.
As CBN News reported, Frank was named GMA Dove Award New Artist of the Year in 2024.
During his acceptance speech, he told the audience that while he is thankful for his growing accolades and success, he is focusing on what matters—glorifying God. "This is just all for Him and everything I do is for the Lord," he said during his acceptance speech.
"For whatever reason, He has chosen to give me some songs that have related to some people. And if He shuts it off and doesn't give me any more songs, then that is cool. And if He continues to bless it, that's great," Frank continued.
He added, "I want to continue to give Jesus glory because my name will fade away just like all of ours one day. But at the end of time, and for all of eternity, one Name will remain. And that is the name of Jesus Christ."
Did you know?
God is everywhere—even in the news. That’s why we view every news story through the lens of faith. We are committed to delivering quality independent Christian journalism you can trust. But it takes a lot of hard work, time, and money to do what we do. Help us continue to be a voice for truth in the media by supporting CBN News for as little as $1.
Support CBN News
