BIGSONG:
A contemporary gospel vocalist, Jonathan McReynolds is known for his emotive and uplifting pop- and R&B-infused sound. He broke through with his 2012 debut album, Life Music, which peaked at number three on the Billboard Gospel chart. McReynolds has remained a chart favorite, hitting number one with 2015’s Life Music: Stage Two and 2018’s Grammy-nominated Make Room. In 2020, he issued the EP People, which included the Grammy-winning single “Moving On,” and in 2021 he appeared on the soundtrack for the film Adventures in Christmasing.
A native of Chicago’s South Side, McReynolds learned to play drums and keyboards prior to taking up singing in high school. He was briefly a member of the group Mind Over Matter, which released an EP before his solo move. McReynolds recorded a short set of songs and distributed it to family members with no intention of an official release, but it reached John Hannah, a local pastor and DJ who aired some of the material on Chicago’s WGRB. The Very Unofficial EP was eventually released to the public and showcased McReynolds’ intimate fusion of modern R&B, jazz, and contemporary singer/songwriter rock.
In May 2012, his single “I Love You” reached Billboard’s Hot Gospel Songs chart. His proper debut album, Life Music, followed that September on Light Records and hit the top half of the Billboard 200. So did the follow-up, Life Music: Stage Two, which topped the gospel chart after its release in 2015. It produced two Top Ten gospel songs in “Pressure” and “Gotta Have You.” McReynolds landed in the Top Three of the Gospel Albums chart for the third time in a row with Sessions EP in the summer of 2016. Released in early 2018, his third full-length, Make Room, was recorded live and featured guest performances from Tonya Baker, Dee-1, and others. Along with debuting at number one on the Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart, it picked up a Grammy nomination for Best Gospel Album. An EP, People, arrived in April 2020 and earned McReynolds a Best Gospel Performance/Song Grammy for the track “Moving On.” The following year saw the release of the single “The Greatest Adventure,” which appeared on the soundtrack for the family holiday film Adventures in Christmasing.
