The Worship Music Rebirth of ‘American Idol’

Last spring, a month and a half into American Idol’s 23rd season, the reality singing competition did something it had never done before. It aired a three-hour special on Easter Sunday, themed around “Songs of Faith” and featuring worship songs performed by not just the 20 remaining contestants, but all three judges as well: Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie. If you had a hankering for seeing Underwood, the fourth-season winner, belt out the Christian hymn “How Great Thou Art” in wailing communion with a gospel choir, this episode was calling for you. 

“It was a discussion that started at a dinner with the judges, some people from ABC, and myself,” says American Idol’s showrunner and executive producer, Megan Michaels Wolflick. “We watch myriad Christmas specials. We don’t ever see a faith-based spring Easter-style show. So we kind of embraced that. It was a special show, and people loved it; the ratings were pretty amazing.”

For viewers weaned on an era when American Idol incubated household names like Kelly Clarkson and Adam Lambert, the special might have seemed jarring. But since the show’s revival landed on ABC in 2018, Idol has leaned into a faith-based sensibility and become a potent launching pad for tomorrow’s praise-music stars.

That roster includes Jamal Roberts, a virtuosic-voiced, Mississippi-bred gospel singer who won American Idol’s 23rd season in May. Roberts grew up singing in his church choir and earned the admiration of Idol judge Richie, who described him as “divinely guided.” In November, his collaboration with Jonathan McReynolds, “Still (Live),” a megachurch-y anthem about God’s love, earned him a Grammy nomination for Best Gospel Performance/Song, making him the first Idol winner to be nominated in that category.

Another rising star is Breanna Nix, a Texas native who came in third behind Roberts. Before American Idol, she traveled the country with her husband, performing in churches. Because she spoke openly on the show about being a stay-at-home mom and sang faith-based songs like Underwood’s “Jesus, Take the Wheel” and Lauren Daigle’s “You Say,” Nix has attracted praise from conservative organizations like Focus on the Family. During the finale, she duetted with Brandon Lake, a Jesus-haired star of the contemporary Christian music circuit, who has topped the Hot Christian Songs chart with singles like “Gratitude” and “That’s Who I Praise,” along with his collab with Jelly Roll, “Hard Fought Hallelujah.”

Signs of a shift were apparent when Iam Tongi, a young reggae talent from Hawaii, and proud Mormon, became Idol’s first non-country winner in three years. Other moments from the show have found a second life on YouTube. When gospel veteran CeCe Winans sang “Goodness of God” with a contestant, Roman Collins — who wailed out “hallelujah” several times at the climax — it became one of the most-viewed Idol clips of all time. As one YouTube commenter wrote, “This wasn’t just a performance, this was worship.”

What accounts for Idol’s come-to-Jesus moment? “When we open our floodgates for auditions every spring, we don’t know what’s coming,” says Wolflick. “We follow the lead of who comes through our doors. What is happening in music today? And that, organically, in the last couple years, has been more and more faith-based music. Not intentional, but it was resonating with the public.”

Indeed, outside of American Idol, contemporary Christian stars like Daigle (an early-2010s Idol reject) and Lake have tapped into a ravenous appetite for modern worship music. In a world of secular pop stars, they broadcast their faith proudly and explicitly (“I praise the heaven seated, undefeated, highest of names,” Lake yowls on “That’s Who I Praise”) and create family-friendly music videos. Their stardom exists in a parallel pop sphere of Christian awards shows and Christian album charts. Though the music isn’t necessarily political, the singers are often right-coded; Lake led worship at Charlie Kirk’s memorial service, and Underwood herself sang “America the Beautiful” at Donald Trump’s second inauguration. 

“It seems like country and praise music is really becoming a big thing, much bigger than I ever remember it being,” says Joey Arbagey, head of music for 19 Entertainment, the production company behind the Idol franchise. 

Recently, the faith-based sensibility has trickled into other segments of the entertainment world. In November, Fox News announced the launch of a religious-themed vertical, Fox Faith, including a 52-episode podcast series about the life of Jesus. In December, ABC aired a Christmas special hosted by Kevin Costner. 

Meanwhile, some Idol alumni, like country singer Gabby Barrett, a 16th-season finalist, have embraced Christian music as their chosen genre. With songs like “Jesus on a Train,” Barrett’s second album, 2024’s Chapter & Verse, seems fit for a youth retreat playlist. She follows in the footsteps of Underwood, whose recent albums — including 2020’s My Gift and 2021’s My Savior — have made her faith a central concern. Earlier this month, Underwood made a surprise appearance at Rolling Hills Community Church outside Nashville to perform at the church’s Christmas service.

American Idol has always been a family-friendly staple in the reality-TV world, equally amenable to grandparents and children, but its days as part of the pop-zeitgeist machine are long gone. “We’re not in the Kelly Clarkson era, where someone’s going to launch into massive superstardom in the same way,” Wolflick, who has worked at the show for two decades, says.

In Wolflick’s view, that’s because pop culture has gotten more fractured and decentralized. “Think about it like a For You page,” the showrunner says. “You don’t have one person crossing all genres. We are all being fed what’s in our algorithm.” As a result, Idol “takes the wins differently than we would have taken them in Carrie Underwood’s year” — for instance, Roberts’ Grammy nomination, or Tongi recording a song for the Lilo & Stitch soundtrack.

Idol’s pivot into faith-based territory, coinciding as it does with the shock and awe of Trump’s return to power, could be interpreted as a political play — an attempt to win over conservative viewers and churchgoing types. Wolflick calls this “silly” and denies any such agenda. “We’re a show about talent,” Wolflick says. “We’re a show about people who organically walk through our doors. We’re not asking people their political affiliation. For me, American Idol has always been an escape from that.”