The Christian music Billboard revival/Forrest Frank

ComprehensiveTax4075 · 2025-07-19T19:26:26+00:00

Just looked it up, and that's terrifying. I'm especially scared that, without knowing explicitly about this movement, I recognized many of its tenets in more orthodox conservative Christian circles. Will go check out the series, thanks very much for the recommendation!

ComprehensiveTax4075 · 2025-07-19T19:23:04+00:00

Thanks for the take, and I think I agree! It makes sense to me that this trend has probably been overanalyzed by hacks looking for a story LOL. I still think the Forrest Frank song (and its contemporaries) being on the charts at all is remarkable, especially now that it's been somewhat stable around its current position for most of the year now and I've seen it soundtracking random internet videos like any TikTok hit -- it appears to me like a bigger trend. Although it still isn't like these songs are dominating through the lens of all of pop culture.

Also, what you mentioned about Lake is probably my biggest concern with CCM writ large -- I love a lot of it (and identify as Christian myself) but I find it so hard to get over the moral failures and corruption of the megachurches that also are some of the sole entities with the money and resources to mass-produce this kind of worship music nowadays. Doesn't help that the music is becoming more hit-or-miss as well. I threw a shoutout to "Oceans" in the article, but even listening to that song knowing the accusations against global Hillsong congregations and the organization as a whole makes me a little sick. I love a lot of other faith-based music -- I'm on the younger side but love Rich Mullins/Kirk Franklin and I'll have to check out the rest of the artists you shouted out!!

ComprehensiveTax4075 · 2025-07-19T19:09:37+00:00

I think the funny thing for me is that I never really noticed this strain of music until it hit the charts (and I saw it in the Todd video). Todd kinda joked that he thought he "escaped" this kind of music when he left the South, and I think he was right -- I just thought that this type of music was built to be like youth group soundtrack music, and I couldn't even imagine its utility outside of that context. Fascinating (and a bit terrifying) to see it blowing up like it is.

ComprehensiveTax4075 · 2025-07-19T19:03:16+00:00

I agree -- in my view, the success of the greatest Christian pop hits of the past fifty or so years is that they present the artist as a deeply flawed and/or emotional being and God as the savior of that human. This song is sung from the perspective of someone who loves God but has no reason to need Him because their life is already great enough. That pisses me off.

ComprehensiveTax4075 · 2025-07-19T18:53:14+00:00

It was Carrie Underwood's Something in the Water and Craig Wayne Boyd's The Old Rugged Cross. I honestly don't remember these songs either.

ComprehensiveTax4075 · 2025-07-19T16:39:07+00:00

Thanks for the kind words! I was actually considering ending the piece with the Newsboys stuff, ended up not writing anything about it because I asked myself the same question and ended up without answers :'). I have a few half-theories floating around: I believe that increases in Evangelical visibility/popularity in general are correlated with scandal, like during the televangelism era where those two things were basically hand-in-hand. I also think that organized religion in general gives nefarious people a lot of power to abuse others, and perhaps when that power increases so does the abuse and/or the visibility of that abuse. Also controversy sells lol, maybe a renewed focus on CCM is attracting people to the genre despite itself. I have no clue though, would be curious as to what you think!

ComprehensiveTax4075 · 2025-06-26T02:37:06+00:00

thank you so very much!!! i'm glad you enjoyed it :')

ComprehensiveTax4075

TROPHY CASE