American Idol has increasingly embraced faith and worship music in recent seasons, highlighted by a special Easter episode and winners like Jamal Roberts. This shift has launched new stars in the contemporary Christian genre and drawn strong audience resonance. Producers attribute the change to organic audition trends rather than deliberate strategy.
In the 23rd season of American Idol, which aired last spring, the show broke new ground with a three-hour Easter Sunday special themed "Songs of Faith." The episode featured worship songs performed by the 20 remaining contestants and judges Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie. Underwood, a season four winner, delivered a powerful rendition of the Christian hymn "How Great Thou Art" alongside a gospel choir.
Showrunner Megan Michaels Wolflick explained the inspiration: "It was a discussion that started at a dinner with the judges, some people from ABC, and myself. We watch myriad Christmas specials. We don’t ever see a faith-based spring Easter-style show. So we kind of embraced that. It was a special show, and people loved it; the ratings were pretty amazing."
Since its revival on ABC in 2018, American Idol has cultivated a faith-based approach, becoming a platform for emerging praise-music talents. Season 23 winner Jamal Roberts, a gospel singer from Mississippi, secured a Grammy nomination in November for Best Gospel Performance/Song with his collaboration "Still (Live)" alongside Jonathan McReynolds—the first such nod for an Idol winner. Judge Lionel Richie called Roberts "divinely guided."
Third-place finisher Breanna Nix, a Texas stay-at-home mom, gained acclaim for faith songs like Underwood's "Jesus, Take the Wheel" and Lauren Daigle's "You Say." She duetted with contemporary Christian artist Brandon Lake during the finale. Lake, known for hits like "Gratitude" and "That’s Who I Praise," as well as a collaboration with Jelly Roll on "Hard Fought Hallelujah," represents the rising tide of explicit faith in music.
Earlier winner Iam Tongi, a Mormon from Hawaii, marked the show's first non-country victor in three years. Viral moments include CeCe Winans and contestant Roman Collins performing "Goodness of God," which a YouTube commenter described as "This wasn’t just a performance, this was worship."
Wolflick attributes the trend to audition dynamics: "What is happening in music today? And that, organically, in the last couple years, has been more and more faith-based music. Not intentional, but it was resonating with the public." Joey Arbagiy, head of music for 19 Entertainment, noted, "It seems like country and praise music is really becoming a big thing, much bigger than I ever remember it being."
This evolution mirrors broader entertainment shifts, such as Fox News's November launch of Fox Faith and ABC's December Christmas special hosted by Kevin Costner. Alumni like Gabby Barrett, with her 2024 album Chapter & Verse featuring "Jesus on a Train," and Underwood, whose recent works My Gift (2020) and My Savior (2021) center faith, exemplify the trend. Underwood recently performed at Rolling Hills Community Church near Nashville.
Wolflick dismisses political motivations amid Donald Trump's return: "We’re a show about talent. We’re a show about people who organically walk through our doors. We’re not asking people their political affiliation. For me, American Idol has always been an escape from that." In a fragmented media landscape, successes like Roberts' nomination and Tongi's Lilo & Stitch contribution define the show's current impact.
