BIGSONG:
Possessing a smoky and striking alto singing voice, Grammy-winning singer and songwriter Lauren Daigle went to number one on the Billboard Christian chart with her first album, 2015’s How Can It Be. Having already drawn some comparisons to Adele, her more soulful follow-up, 2018’s Look Up Child, was an even bigger hit, reaching number three on the Billboard 200. The album’s lead single, “You Say,” broke the record for weeks at number one on the Hot Christian Songs chart (129). She returned to the top of the Christian songs chart in 2021 with “Hold On to Me.”
Growing up in Lafayette, Louisiana surrounded by gospel, zydeco, blues, and Cajun music, Christian praise & worship artist Lauren Daigle was always singing around the house as a child. However, it wasn’t until a serious illness kept her out of school for nearly two years beginning when she was 15 that she turned to music as both solace and a profession. Home-schooled during that time, music became Daigle’s hedge against social isolation, and she began singing at her local church as a praise & worship leader. Colleagues quickly encouraged her to try out for the American Idol television series, which she did in both 2010 and 2012.
The demanding process of trying out for the show taught her a lot of valuable lessons, and she returned home determined to sharpen her writing and singing skills. She began pursuing a degree in child and family studies at Louisiana State University, and while there, was asked by a local band to help with vocals on an EP. A demo of the EP made its way to the Centricity Music label, and they signed Daigle as a solo artist in 2013. Her five-song debut EP, the Paul Mabury-produced How Can It Be, was released in late 2014 and landed on the Christian charts. In the spring of 2015, How Can It Be was expanded into a full-length LP and became both a critical and commercial success, crossing over to reach number 30 on the Billboard 200 chart and eventually going platinum. It was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2016 for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album.
Behold
Daigle followed up in October 2016 with an album of soft jazz-inspired Christmas standards called Behold. It repeated the chart success of her debut. The next year saw her contribute the single “Almost Human” to the soundtrack for Blade Runner 2049, and she received her second Grammy nomination, this time in the category of Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song for “Trust in You.” In early 2018, Daigle issued the single “You Say” ahead of the release of her sophomore full-length. The song marked her debut on the Hot 100, eventually reaching number 29, and the album, September 2018’s Look Up Child, became a Top Three hit in the U.S. It also charted in Australia and Switzerland. Before the end of the month, Daigle became the first artist to reach number one on five Christian charts simultaneously (albums, airplay, songs, streaming songs, and digital song sales). Early the following year, she collected Grammys for both “You Say” and Look Up Child (Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song and Album).
Several singles appeared in 2021, including the Petey Martin collaboration “Come Back Home” and the solo single “Hold On to Me.” The latter track topped the Christian songs chart and landed in the Top 15 of Billboard’s adult contemporary chart.
