From NPR:
Once largely confined to insular networks like Christian radio, contemporary Christian music (CCM) is now breaking into mainstream popularity. Last year, CCM had its biggest streams on Spotify, where the genre experienced a 60% growth rate globally over a five-year period as artists reached beyond the confines of the Christian market to occupy sparsely-held mainstream space. And now, for the first time in 11 years, two CCM songs — Forrest Frank’s “Your Way’s Better” and Provident’s own Brandon Lake’s “Hard Fought Hallelujah” featuring Jelly Roll — have been charting simultaneously for weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. “This moment feels special because two Christian artists are each having a crossover mainstream moment at the same time,” says Xander Zellner, a senior music data analyst at Billboard.
Aside from some rap-Christian crossover songs (like Kanye West’s more religious discography, for example) and holiday tracks, fewer than a dozen CCM songs have crossed over from the Hot Christian Songs chart to the Billboard Hot 100 since 2013. That’s when Billboard revised its methodology for the Christian Songs chart to incorporate multi-metric data, including streams and digital sales. This also marks only the second time since 2013 that two CCM songs have concurrently reached the Billboard Hot 100. The first instance was in 2014 with Carrie Underwood’s “Something in the Water” and Craig Wayne Boyd’s rendition of “The Old Rugged Cross.” Unlike those tracks, which quickly fell off the charts, Lake’s and Frank’s hits have maintained their presence on the charts for months. While CCM artists have occasionally achieved mainstream crossover in recent years, such successes have been in isolation. Lauren Daigle, a prominent figure in CCM, made waves in 2018 with her ballad “You Say,” which reached No. 29 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped both the Christian and Adult Contemporary charts. But her breakthrough, while significant, was a singular moment rather than part of a broader trend.