A few weeks ago, Lauren Daigle released her first album in three years, and ever since then, it has been sitting at the top of the Billboard 200 chart. “Look Up Child”debuted at No. 3, placing it ahead of albums by famous pop artists like Ariana Grande and rapper Drake, the Christian Post reported.
Paul McCartney’s new album “Egypt Station” is sitting at No. 1, while Eminem’s “Kamikaze” is at No. 2.
Lauren Daigle’s New Album Details How Losing Her Religion Led Her Back to Christ
“Look Up Child” set many new records over the past two weeks, the first being overall album sales. It became the first Christian album, in over 9 years, to sell over 115,000 copies. The last band to sell over 115,000 copies was Casting Crowns “Until the Whole World Hears” in 2009. Their album sold a total of 167,000 copies.
Daigle’s album also debuted at No. 1 on the Top Christian Albums chart and has had the biggest sales week for a female Christian album in over 20 years. The last woman to achieve the same level of sales was LeAnn Rimes in 1997, when she sold 117,000 copies of her “You Light Up My Life – Inspirational Songs.”
Daigle has gained attention from both Christian listeners as well as secular listeners, attracting people from all backgrounds, which is exactly what she hoped her music would do.
“We have this saying in my team that’s called ‘Extend the tent pegs.’ And it’s not to leave behind anybody that has listened to this music so far and that has been along this journey with me because I am 100 percent grateful,” the singer-songwriter told The Associated Press. “So I don’t want to leave anybody behind, but how to do I also make music that people who might not listen to Christian music they can also connect to? They can also relate to? That’s super-important to me to make music that permeates all the walls and just tear all the walls down. People need love, people need hope. People need joy anywhere in life.”
“Chance the Rapper got to do stuff with all these gospel artists. So profound. I love that, right? And that was something I wanted to bring in as well,” she continued. “Like elements where people who weren’t necessarily church people, or Christians, or whatever the title is, who don’t really dive into that kind of music can hear something and it be compelling enough and it be strong enough to where they are drawn in and feel welcomed and invited.”
Similarly, in an interview with People magazine, Daigle explained how her album had helped people with different things they were struggling with, whether it was self-hate or suicide.
“People started blowing up my YouTube and my Instagram and saying, ‘Hey, I have wanted to commit suicide — this song completely just got me out of it,'” she said about her single, “You Say.”
“Because one person opened up their story, people just started commenting and saying, ‘I’m wanting to commit suicide, someone please help me,'” she said.
“I’m watching these people take out all these emotions and literally flip upside down. That is the most humbling and freeing thing is seeing music and something that is a universal language actually come in and bring hope,” she added.
Daigle addresses many different topics in her new album. In the track titled “Losing My Religion,” the singer describes how experiencing doubt and temporarily losing her faith brought her closer to God.
In an interview with Beats 1’s Zane Lowe, Daigle explained the process behind writing the song.
“This is an age where I am learning, what I believe in,” she said. “We have a song on there that record called ‘Losing My Religion’ and I think one of the things that I’ve learned and one of the things that I’m embracing is the freedom of taking off the checked boxes, the rules, and all those things that kind of muddy up what faith actually is … going into the next season of life in the remembrance of being a child,” she said. “A child isn’t thinking realms of capacity. They don’t think, ‘can I do this or can I not.’”
You can now purchase Daigle’s album or stream it through any major music platform.
(H/T: Christian Post)