Lauren Daigle

Possessing a rich, velvety alto, Grammy recipient Lauren Daigle topped the Billboard Christian Albums chart with her debut full-length, How Can It Be, issued in 2015. Already likened to Adele in some quarters, she delivered a deeper, more soul-infused second effort, Look Up Child, in 2018; that set climbed to number three on the Billboard 200. Its flagship track, “You Say,” established a new benchmark by logging 129 weeks at number one on Hot Christian Songs. She reclaimed the summit of that tally in 2021 via “Hold On to Me” and again in 2023 with “Thank God I Do,” the latter appearing on her self-titled, pop-leaning fourth album.

Raised in Lafayette, Louisiana amid a rich blend of gospel, zydeco, blues, and Cajun sounds, the praise-and-worship artist sang constantly throughout her childhood. A prolonged illness beginning at age fifteen kept her home from school for nearly two years, prompting her to embrace music both as comfort and career path. While being home-schooled, Daigle used song as a buffer against loneliness and soon took on the role of praise-and-worship leader at her local church. Fellow musicians urged her to audition for American Idol, an attempt she made in both 2010 and 2012.

The rigorous audition experience imparted lasting lessons, so she returned home intent on refining her craft. Enrolling at Louisiana State University to study child and family studies, she was invited by a regional act to contribute vocals to an EP. That demo reached Centricity Music, which signed her as a solo artist in 2013. Her five-track debut EP, How Can It Be, produced by Paul Mabury, arrived in late 2014 and registered on the Christian charts. Expanded into a full album the following spring, it achieved both critical and commercial breakthroughs, crossing over to number thirty on the Billboard 200 and ultimately earning platinum status. The project received a 2016 Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album.

In October 2016 Daigle issued Behold, a collection of softly jazz-tinged holiday standards that matched her debut’s chart performance. The next year she supplied the single “Almost Human” to the Blade Runner 2049 soundtrack and earned a second Grammy nomination, this time for Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song for “Trust in You.” Early 2018 brought the release of “You Say,” her first Hot 100 entry, which peaked at number twenty-nine. September’s Look Up Child then surged to a top-three position in the United States while also charting in Australia and Switzerland. Before month’s end she became the first artist to simultaneously top five distinct Christian charts—albums, airplay, songs, streaming songs, and digital song sales. In early 2019 she collected Grammys for both the single “You Say” and the album Look Up Child in their respective Contemporary Christian Music categories.

A pair of 2021 singles followed: the Petey Martin duet “Come Back Home” and the solo cut “Hold On to Me,” the latter crowning the Christian songs chart and reaching the adult-contemporary top fifteen. After another standalone release, “Tremble,” Daigle unveiled the mainstream-pop single “Thank God I Do” in early 2023 as the lead track from her self-titled third album. Lauren Daigle entered the Billboard 200 at number twenty-one and debuted at number one on Top Christian Albums.