Lauren Daigle | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Daigle in concert in 2023 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Lauren Ashley Daigle (1991-09-09)September 9, 1991 (age 34) Lake Charles, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Genres | Contemporary Christian music,pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Years active | 2010–present |
| Labels | Centricity,Atlantic |
| Website | laurendaigle |
Lauren Ashley Daigle (/ˈdeɪɡəl/DAY-gəl; born September 9, 1991)[1][2] is an Americancontemporary Christian music singer and songwriter. After being signed to the labelCentricity Music, she released her debut album,How Can It Be, in 2015. It reached No. 1 on theBillboardTop Christian Albums chart, has been certified Platinum by theRIAA and produced three No. 1 singles on theBillboardChristian Airplay chart ("First", "Trust in You", and "O'Lord").
Daigle's third studio album,Look Up Child, was released in September 2018. Bolstered by thepop crossover success of the single "You Say", it went on to debut at No. 3 on theBillboard 200 chart, becoming the highest-charting Christian album by a woman in over 20 years, and No. 1 on the Top Christian Albums chart, with 115,000 album-equivalent units sold in the first week.[3] The album's lead single, "You Say", peaked at No. 29 on theBillboard Hot 100 chart and had broken the record for the number of weeks at No. 1 on any chart by spending 132 weeks atop theBillboardHot Christian Songs chart, untilIsrael Kamakawiwoʻole's "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" spent 371 weeks on theWorld Digital Songs chart. The album and single earned Daigle twoGrammy Awards.
In addition to two Grammy Awards, Daigle has won twelveGMA Dove Awards, sixBillboard Music Awards, fourAmerican Music Awards, and has had four No. 1 singles on both theBillboard Christian Airplay and Hot Christian Songs charts.
Daigle has experienced significant success in mainstream pop music, leading theNew York Times to remark that as an explicitly Christian artist, she "has crossed over into the pop world with greater success than anyone since Amy Grant in the early ’90s."[4] In the 2024SALT Music and Attraction Survey of 100,000 single Christian music fans, fans of Lauren Daigle were the second most popular singles on the dating app globally, behind fans of Upperroom Music.[5]
Daigle was born inLake Charles, Louisiana, and grew up inLafayette, Louisiana. She was influenced byzydeco,blues, andCajun music in her environment.[6] Her mother called her house "the music box" because she was always singing.[7]
Daigle did not consider music seriously until contractingcytomegalovirus at age 15. This diagnosis kept her out of school for the next two years. During that time, Daigle took voice lessons that provided her with a creative outlet.[8][9] During college prep school, she planned to enter the medical field and do mission work. Daigle attended a charter school and completed a year and a half of class work in six months, graduating early. She took a year off from school and did mission work in Brazil before attendingLouisiana State University (LSU) for Child and Family Studies.[10][9]
Daigle started singing in her choir[6] and continued to lead the choir at LSU.[6] She tried out forAmerican Idol in 2010 and 2012 after she was encouraged by her family to compete in the singing competition.[6] She was cut just before the final 24 contestants in 2010,[11] and she did not make it to Hollywood in 2011. She made it to the Hollywood round in 2012, but was cut in the first Las Vegas round.[12]
She made her debut onNorth Point InsideOut's album,Hear, where she recorded "Close" and "You Alone" live atNorth Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia.[13] She later appeared on North Point Music's albumNorth Point Beginnings where she recorded "It is Well" in 2015.[14]
She was asked to sing background vocals on anEP for a local band called "The Assemblie" (Darkness Falls and Heartbeat)[15] and the EP was briefly the most sold album in the USiTunes Store.[12] After the release of the EP,Centricity Music invited her to attend a workshop. When the singer for the main event at the workshop became ill, she was asked to fill in.[6] This led to her singing on theJason Gray single "Nothing Is Wasted".[6] Centricity Music signed her to the label in 2013.[6]
Daigle's first single, "Light of the World," came from the 2013 albumChristmas: Joy to the World, a collection of holiday songs from various Centricity artists.[16] Serving as Daigle's solo introduction to the Christian music scene, the single garnered an initial fanbase and much attention for Daigle. That year, Daigle was asked to be a part of the Morning Rises Fall Tour withAaron Shust andMikeschair.[17] Daigle released the EPHow Can It Be in September 2014.[18]
Daigle's debut full-length album,How Can It Be, was released on April 14, 2015, at No. 1 on theBillboard Christian Albums Chart. The album also broke the Top 20 on theBillboard Top Albums Chart for all genres (No. 16).[19] Daigle was named one of Christian music's break-out artists, and her album's first single "How Can It Be" was named by iTunes as one of the top Christian songs of 2014.[20] The single "How Can It Be" also reached Top 10 at NCA, AC Monitored, and AC Indicator. As a whole, the album logged six weeks at No. 1 on theBillboard Christian Albums Chart. Eighteen months after its release,How Can It Be achieved Gold Record status.[21] The album is certified platinum.[22] The album's overall success resulted in the release ofHow Can It Be: Deluxe Edition in May 2016. The deluxe version features the original album's tracks, along with two new songs, acoustic versions of singles "First" and "Come Alive", and a live performance version of "How Can It Be".[23]
Daigle accepted her first award, Worship Song of the Year, for her single "How Can It Be" at the 2015K-LOVE Awards.[24] This was also the first K-Love Fan Award for her label, Centricity Music.[25] The albumHow Can It Be won the 2016 Billboard Award for Top Christian Album and was nominated for the 2016Grammy Award forBest Contemporary Christian Music Album.[26] Along with being named Best New Artist at the 2015 Dove Awards, Daigle earned awards for Song of the Year and Contemporary Song of the Year (for "How Can It Be"). At the next year's ceremony, she took home the top honor of Artist of the Year, plus Songwriter of the Year, and Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year (for "Trust in You").[27] That year she also won two K-Love Fan Awards, for Artist of the Year and Female Artist of the Year.[28] She received anotherGrammy nomination in 2017, forBest Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song, for "Trust in You".[29] She won Female Artist of the Year at the K-Love Fan Awards in 2017 for the second year in a row.[30][31][non-primary source needed]
The additional singles fromHow Can It Be also gained success for Daigle. "First" reached No. 1 on theBillboard Christian Airplay Chart, where it remained for seven weeks; "Trust in You" also reached the No. 1 spot, remaining for eight weeks.[32] Both songs achieved the No. 1 spot on the NCA radio chart.[33] "Come Alive (Dry Bones)" peaked at No. 5 on theBillboard Christian Airplay chart.[34]
In 2015, Daigle was a member of the Outcry Tour along with Hillsong United.[35] She was also part of the Winter Jam Tour 2016 in the central and eastern parts of the United States.[36]
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In late 2016, she headlined her first tour,A Night With Lauren Daigle, which sold out.[37][38] She joinedfor King and Country on their holiday tour later in the year. She was part of the Outcry Tour again in early 2017.[39]
In October 2016, she released her first Christmas album,Behold: A Christmas Collection,[40] and reached No. 29 on theBillboard 200.[41] In 2017, she was featured in the song "Hard Love" by Needtobreathe forThe Shack.[42] The album, produced byMichael Hodges, Kayla Morrison and Ashley Culp, reached No. 1 on theBillboard Soundtrack Sales Charts. Daigle has also collaborated withJon Foreman,CeCe Winans,Reba McEntire, andBlessing Offor.[43] The album debuted at No. 77 on the USBillboard 200 on November 12, 2016, peaking at No. 29 on December 17, 2016.[44][45] The album debuted at No. 18 on the USBillboard Christian Albums Chart on November 5, 2016, reaching No. 1 on December 31, 2016.[46][47] Three singles were released toChristian radio: "Jingle Bells", "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," and "What Child Is This", with "O Holy Night" released to Christian radio in 2017 and "Winter Wonderland" released the following year.[48][49]
In 2017, she was chosen to sing "Almost Human" for theBlade Runner 2049: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.[50]
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"You Say" was released in July 2018 as the lead single for her third studio album,Look Up Child.[51][52] The full album was released on September 7, 2018, via Centricity Music.[53][54] It was her first studio album in three years and served as a follow-up to her debut studio album,How Can It Be (2015).
"You Say" reached No. 1 on theHot Christian Songs chart, where it has spent 60 weeks at No. 1, beating "Something in the Water" byCarrie Underwood for the longest reign by anysolo artist in the chart's history.[55] After becoming a huge Christian radio success (peaking at No. 1 on multiple different charts, including theChristian Airplay, where it spent 17 weeks at No. 1[56]), the song was released tomainstream radio on January 15, 2019 byWarner Bros. From there, it reached theAdult Top 40,Adult Contemporary, andMainstream Top 40 charts. It was the second biggest Christian song of 2018, according toBillboard. It also peaked at No. 29 on theBillboard Hot 100.[57] "You Say" won the2019 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song.[58]
Look Up Child debuted at No. 3 on the USBillboard 200 with 115,000album-equivalent units, of which 103,000 were pure album sales.[3] It is her highest-charting album and the highest-charting Christian album overall sinceHard Love byNeedtobreathe reached No. 2 on the chart in 2016. The album became the highest-charting Christian album by a woman on theBillboard 200 sinceLeAnn Rimes'You Light Up My Life peaked at No. 1 in 1997.[3] The album wonBest Contemporary Christian Music Album at the 2019 Grammy Awards.[58] As of January 2019, the album had sold 208,000 copies in the U.S.[59]
She performed as part of Austin City Limits in 2019.[60] She sang thenational anthem at the2020 College Football Playoff National Championship in New Orleans on January 13, 2020. Earlier that month she sang at the Festival One Christian Music Festival in New Zealand, and then in Christchurch, New Zealand.[61]
In November 2020, Daigle sang as part ofSean Feucht's "Let Us Worship" tour protestingCOVID-19 restrictions.[62] Her participation elicited criticism from New Orleans mayorLaToya Cantrell, including requesting thatDick Clark Productions not book her to perform for its annual New Year's Eve television specialNew Year's Rockin' Eve (which has included segments broadcast from New Orleans).[63] Daigle responded with a statement that said she was riding her bike when she saw the worship protest and "was asked to sing." She said she was "disappointed that my spontaneous participation has become part of the political discourse and I’m saddened by the divisive agendas of these times." Daigle also stated that while she had been under consideration for the program, she had not been officially part of the lineup.[64][65]
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In March 2023 Daigle released the first single, "Thank God I Do", from herself-titled album. Two promotional singles, "Waiting" and "New", were released following her first single.Atlantic Records (in partnership with Centricity Music) released the first volume on May 12, 2023[66] and the second volume (the complete album) on September 8, 2023.[67]
"Thank God I Do" reached number 11 onBubbling Under Hot 100 Singles.[68] It also peaked at No. 1 on theBillboard Christian Songs chart on the issue week of May 20, 2023. The single was released toHot AC radio on March 13, 2023.[69]Her self-titled album,Lauren Daigle, debuted at No. 21 on the USBillboard 200 with 25,000 album-equivalent units, of which 20,000 were pure album sales. The album also debuted at No. 1 onBillboard'sTop Christian Albums chart, being her fourth consecutive chart-topping album.[70]
Daigle performed at the2025 Super Bowl in New Orleans, singing "America the Beautiful" withTrombone Shorty.[71]
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| National | |
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