EPISODE · Jul 2, 2025 · 48 MIN
Christian Music on the Hot 100
from Rock That Doesn't Roll: The Story of Christian Music · host Andrew Gill and Leah Payne
In mid-June NPR published a story with the headline "Christian music is experiencing a pop breakthrough." As podcasters covering the Christian music industry, we usually think it reached it's zenith of popularity in the early 2000s, so this article caught our attention. To dig deeper into the topic, we invited the article's author, Emma Madden, on the podcast. Our chat was wide ranging and gets into the influence of worship music on new Christian pop music, differences in religious culture in the UK versus the US, the role of social media in spreading singles by Brandon Lake and Forrest Frank, the conservative political environment in the US and the changing standards of personal behavior expected of Christian pop stars. --Do you have a Christian rock story to tell? Leave us a message at (629) 204-4264.If Rock That Doesn’t Roll is important to you, support us on Patreon. https://www.patreon.com/rtdr (join via the website, not the iOS app)If you can't afford a donation, please tell five friends about the show.You can connect with us on Instagram or by emailing [email protected] up for our Substack to keep up with show developments.Buy RTDR merch here.
What this episode covers
In mid-June NPR published a story with the headline "Christian music is experiencing a pop breakthrough." As podcasters covering the Christian music industry, we usually think it reached it's zenith of popularity in the early 2000s, so this article caught our attention. To dig deeper into the topic, we invited the article's author, Emma Madden, on the podcast. Our chat was wide ranging and gets into the influence of worship music on new Christian pop music, differences in religious culture in the UK versus the US, the role of social media in spreading singles by Brandon Lake and Forrest Frank, the conservative political environment in the US and the changing standards of personal behavior expected of Christian pop stars. -- Do you have a Christian rock story to tell? Leave us a message at (629) 204-4264. If Rock That Doesn’t Roll is important to you, support us on Patreon. https://www.patreon.com/rtdr (join via the website, not the iOS app) If you can't afford a donation, please tell five friends about the show. You can connect with us on Instagram or by emailing [email protected] Sign up for our Substack to keep up with show developments. Buy RTDR merch here.
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Christian Music on the Hot 100
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