Journal of Gospel Music » Contemporary Christian Music
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Journal of Gospel Music is the definitive online resource for gospel music news, reviews, and scholarship and aims to educate and enlighten the public about gospel music as an American art form. Find fresh new talents in the Contemporary Christian Music scene and read enlightening conversations about the gospel.
Journal of Gospel Music » Contemporary Christian Music
1M ago
“That’s My King”
CeCe Winans
From the forthcoming PureSprings Gospel / FairTrade Services CD More Than This
(single release date: February 2, 2024)
By Robert M. Marovich
Veteran singer CeCe Winans has the training, the talent, the experience, and the chops to put any song over. Her new single, “That’s My King,” is no exception.
Her celebration of the King of Kings overflows with energy. It’s buoyed by a thumping rhythm section and rapid-fire lyric reading. Like other CeCe singles, “That’s My King” deftly straddles the CCM and gospel lanes. Kyle Lee produced this fresh and vibrant single. CeC ..read more
Journal of Gospel Music » Contemporary Christian Music
4M ago
“All Mighty God”
Andy E. McGuire
Moravera Music (release date: May 13, 2023)
By Robert M. Marovich
After listening to Andy McGuire’s “All Mighty God,” anyone who has lost loved ones to Alzheimer’s disease—I can empathize, having lost my mother, grandmother, and several aunts to the affliction—will need to have tissue handy.
McGuire, a country and gospel singer-songwriter from Georgia, penned the song to pay tribute to his mother who had a hard life but never lost her faith, even while battling the debilitating disease. The heartbreaking lyrics capture McGuire’s sorrow and his own faith walk ..read more
Journal of Gospel Music » Contemporary Christian Music
4M ago
“Jesus”
Sydnee Danielle
Revival Music Co. (release date: August 18, 2023)
By Robert M. Marovich
Sydnee Danielle’s debut single (and testimony) “Jesus” is as fine a Pick of the Week as any this year.
It’s a breezy, melodic, and heartfelt paean to the Lord from a singer whose vocals couldn’t be more ideally suited to this sweet song. Given that “Jesus” has one foot in CCM and one foot in gospel, it’s likely to be a crossover hit and inspire cover versions aplenty.
The song, which Sydnee told syndicated columnist Dr. Eunice Moseley came to her in a dream, was produced by Terrance Howell and Jes ..read more
Journal of Gospel Music » Contemporary Christian Music
5M ago
“Running to the Light”
Amanda Joy Powell
From the independent album Made Anew (release date: July 14, 2023)
By Robert M. Marovich
“Running to the Light” is another melodic treat from Ontario-born Christian singer-songwriter Amanda Joy Powell, now residing in Cumberland, Virginia. It takes its place alongside “A Million Moments” and the Christmas song “This Child of Bethlehem” as her finest singles.
In spite of the knowledge that the Lord loves us just as we are, Powell sings in “Running to the Light” that she would rather seek the light than be content in the darkness.
Amanda Joy Powell ..read more
The Journal of Gospel Music » Contemporary Christian Music
5M ago
“Thank God I Do”
Lauren Daigle
Centricity Music / Atlantic (release date: March 8, 2023)
By Robert M. Marovich
I recognize that “Thank God I Do” has been around for a bit, but no time like the present. Christian singer Lauren Daigle’s single is her best since the 2018 smash hit, “You Say.”
A haunting piano intro leads into a prayer closet expression of gratitude for God’s protection. Daigle then raises the temperature when she gushes, “I don’t know who I’d be if I didn’t know you / I’d probably fall off the edge.”
As a singer, Daigle has been compared to Adele, and that similarity is especia ..read more
Journal of Gospel Music » Contemporary Christian Music
8M ago
Top Nominees Include Brandon Lake, Jason Ingram, Jeff Pardo, Katy Nichole, Kirk Franklin, Lauren Daigle, Naomi Raine, and Tasha Cobbs Leonard
Nashville, TN (August 9th, 2023) – The Gospel Music Association is pleased to announce nominees for the 54th Annual GMA Dove Awards.
Top male nominees include Brandon Lake with eleven (11) nominations, songwriter Jeff Pardo with eight (8) nominations, and Jason Ingram and Kirk Franklin receiving six (6) nominations each. Top female nominees include Katy Nichole, who picked up four (4) nominations with Lauren Daigle, Naomi Raine, and Tasha Cobbs Leo ..read more
Journal of Gospel Music » Contemporary Christian Music
8M ago
Saved By Grace
The Nashville Recordings
Bless Up Records (release date: July 7, 2023)
By Robert M. Marovich
Accepting an invitation from Dean Miller, who discovered the Christian group on social media, Saved By Grace trekked from their Erie, Pennsylvania, home to Omni Studios in Nashville, Tennessee. There, Miller helped the ensemble produce its five-song EP The Nashville Recordings.
Maybe it’s the Music City atmosphere, but the EP reveals an easy-rocking country-flavored group that works in earthy melodies and hooky refrains.
Rebirth, or literally “saved by grace,” is the primary theme of The ..read more
Journal of Gospel Music » Contemporary Christian Music
9M ago
“He’s Love”
The Caleb Project feat. Cassie Graham-Price
(release date: April 25, 2023)
By Robert M. Marovich
For those who feel lost and “stuck in the moment / and the moment won’t let you go,” the Caleb Project is here to tell you “He’ll do it for you.”
Written by Caleb Project founder Bryan Iler, “He’s Love” has an easy acoustic feel that is part country, part CCM. Graham-Price’s vocals set the appropriate tone, and the scrumptious harmonies evoke Lady A. Iler said writing the song was a cathartic response to the unexpected and avertible death of his mother, whose hand he held as she breathe ..read more
The Journal of Gospel Music » Contemporary Christian Music
9M ago
“A Million Moments”
Amanda Joy Powell
Independent (release date: April 21, 2023)
By Robert M. Marovich
With a music box melody, “A Million Moments,” is Amanda Joy Powell’s latest single and arguably her best.
This touchingly beautiful worship song is inspired by Psalms 96:1 but sounds were born as a musical theater ballad. Powell gives it a dramatic rendering appropriate to its theme: there aren’t enough moments to give worship. It’s from Powell’s forthcoming album, Made Anew. Gorgeous.
Amanda Joy Powell ..read more
Journal of Gospel Music » Contemporary Christian Music
9M ago
“A Better World”
Becky Morrall feat. St. Philip Westbrook School Choir
Independent (release date: April 17, 2023)
By Robert M. Marovich
UK singer Becky Morrall recruited the choir of St. Philip Westbrook School to join her on John Evans’s heartwarming “A Better World.”
The sweet melodic song promotes the love of God, the love of children, the love of those fighting for their lives and for the lives of others, and the hope of a better future for everyone. I can hear children’s choirs worldwide tucking this into their repertories, as it is just about as easy to sing as “Jesus Loves Me” and wil ..read more