Christian Music Online

American Idol Christian, gospel genres

December 18, 2005 – 10:18 am

American Idol Christian - The power of the “American Idol” franchise is clearly evident at the peak of this year’s Christian and gospel music charts.

“Idol” winner Ruben Studdard took the No. 1 spot on the Top Gospel Albums chart with “I Need an Angel” and also reached the summit of the Top Gospel Artists recap.

Clay Aiken’s “Merry Christmas With Love” claimed the No. 1 title on the Top Christian Albums chart. Aiken also took the No. 2 spot on the Top Christian Artists list.

The No. 1 slot on the artists list went to Switchfoot; the band’s steady-selling 2003 release “The Beautiful Letdown” was No. 2 on the Top Christian Albums chart. The album logged 38 weeks at No. 1 on the Top Christian Albums list and has sold more than 2 million copies.

The San Diego band hit the top of that chart again in October as its new effort, “Nothing Is Sound,” reigned for two weeks. It finished at No. 7 on the year-end list of Top Christian Albums titles.

Multi-artist packages continued to prove popular as “WOW Hits 2005″ claimed the No. 3 slot on the Top Christian Albums list and “WOW Gospel 2005″ hit No. 2 on the Top Gospel Albums chart. “Gotta Have Gospel” came in at No. 10 on the Top Gospel Albums chart, while the various-artist package “WOW #1s” claimed the No. 13 slot on Top Christian Albums.

Though Switchfoot and Relient K benefitted from mainstream radio and TV exposure this year, other acts like Casting Crowns and Third Day demonstrated that big Nielsen SoundScan numbers could be attained without the benefit of mainstream radio play.

Third Day’s new album, “Wherever You Are,” was released November 1 and debuted at No. 1 on the Top Christian Albums chart. It also debuted on the Billboard 200 at No. 8.

Casting Crowns’ “Lifesong” debuted at No. 1 on the Top Christian Albums chart and came in at No. 9 on The Billboard 200, scanning more than 71,400 units the first week. The group finished the year at No. 3 on the Top Christian Artists recap.

It was a big year in the gospel community as Kirk Franklin, Donnie McClurkin, Mary Mary, CeCe Winans, Israel & New Breed, Smokie Norful and Yolanda Adams were among the heavy hitters to release albums this year. Mary Mary finished 2005 at No. 3 on the Top Gospel Albums list and Top Gospel Artists chart.

McClurkin’s “Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs” placed at No. 4 on the Top Gospel Albums year-end chart. Earlier in the year, he announced his decision to retire from recording as a solo artist and concentrate on pastoring his church. He plans to record with his sisters and his church choir, but feels his season as an artist is coming to an end

McClurkin was one of the artists who helped take gospel music to theaters across the country this fall with his role in the movie “The Gospel.” Also featuring Adams, Fred Hammond and Martha Munizzi, the film was a box-office success, coming in at No. 5 its first weekend of release.

Though the gospel industry’s sales were buoyed by the abundance of top acts releasing product, the contemporary Christian side struggled. Veteran rock act Petra opted to retire this year, and the four members of 4Him announced they will call it quits after a farewell tour next year.

SoundScan data combine Christian and gospel sales stats, and the 2005 findings show the religious music biz in a slump. From the beginning of 2004 to November 14 of that year, 33.1 million units were sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan. During the same time period in 2005, sales were down to 28.9 million.

By Deborah Evans Price
NASHVILLE (Billboard)

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