The Short List of Gospel Singers to Know
Discover the most influential gospel artists of all time.

The gospel music industry is a steadily growing one, despite being somewhat niche. Not everyone enjoys gospel music, not everyone even believes there is a God. That said, gospel music is growing in popularity and the world is starting to take notice again.

Many of the big secular artists we all enjoy grew up singing in church. Stars like John Legend, Jennifer Hudson, and Beyonce all started their music journeys singing in the choir. Not everyone made the switch from gospel to secular, however. Some artists have stood strong and made it big still singing gospel music. Let's talk about my favorite ones...

Top Seven Gospel Singers

CeCe Winans

Fifteen-time Grammy-winning CeCe Winans is the most decorated, best-selling, and unarguably one of the biggest gospel artists of all time. The fifty-eight-year-old started her professional music career in a duo alongside her brother, BeBe Winans. By 1995, she had gone solo and released her first studio album called Alone in His Presence, and it shot her right up to the top. It sold over a million copies and earned her a Grammy and two Dove Awards.

CeCe Winans has gone on to release an astonishing eleven albums including her most recent one called Believe for It, which earned her three Grammys to take her tally to a wondrous fifteen. To put it in perspective, that's more than Rihanna, Taylor Swift, and Lady Gaga. To get a taste of her awesome singing here's her Grammy-winning song, Believe for It, off her album of the same name.

Kirk Franklin

Dubbed the King of Urban Gospel by many, Kirk Franklin is right up there among the biggest gospel artists of our generation. He's a songwriter, choir director, singer, and rapper too! This man does it all. The first eight years of Kirk Franklin's music career saw him start three different singing groups called The Family, Nu Nation, and One Nation Crew.

This period saw him drop six albums and cement his reputation as a huge gospel star. Kirk Franklin went solo in 2001 and went on to release six more albums before collaborating with Maverick City in 2022 on a project called Kingdom Book One.

Kirk Franklin has won numerous awards in his time, including sixteen Grammys, that stand testament to his contribution not only to gospel music but the general music industry. There's been some controversy around his penchant for collaborating with secular artists, but I know one thing for sure: when Kirk Franklin is on stage, he takes everybody to church. Here's a fine example of a Kirk Franklin performance from three years ago at the BET Awards.

Tasha Cobbs Leonard

Known for her powerful voice, Tasha Cobbs Leonard is another big name in the gospel music industry. She started her solo career much later than our first two entries, in 2010, with the release of the indie album, Smile. Tasha caught many eyes and eventually signed with Motown Gospel (EMI Gospel at the time). She released an EP called Grace to public acclaim, then built on that success with a Grammy-winning single called Break Every Chain in 2014 to cement her place as a force to be reckoned with.

Tasha Cobbs has gone on to release five more albums and many more singles. Like Kirk Franklin, she came under some criticism when she featured secular rapper Nicki Minaj on a single titled I'm Getting Ready in 2017. It hasn't stopped her rise, however, and she's continued to bless us with her amazing voice. You can feel some of that power with her song featuring Nicki right here.

Chandler Moore

Also a Grammy winner, Chandler Moore started his music career as a backup singer for Travis Greene and Tye Tribbet. He's relatively new to the gospel music industry compared to our first three juggernauts, but he's making huge strides. He's only released one solo album so far but has collaborated with others on other projects. From 2020, he's received eight Grammy nominations and claimed the award once for gospel song of the year in a collaboration with Jonathan McReynolds and Maverick City called Breathe.

Jonathan McReynolds

You've heard this name before. Jonathan McReynolds has been described by Kirk Franklin as "the future of gospel music". While he's by no means the only one, Jonathan McReynolds is for sure one of the top gospel artists of this generation.

He started his career in 2012 and has been a mainstay in the industry since then. He's had a wonderful career so far, with two number-one Billboard Gospel Albums, four Dove Awards, and five Grammy nominations including one win.

That said, I'm more excited about bout what the future holds for him. As megastars like CeCe Winans and Kirk Franklin enter old age and begin to decline, it will fall to artists like Jonathan McReynolds to keep the fire burning. You can enjoy his soothing voice in my favorite song by him called Cycles

Travis Greene

Another name I've already mentioned in this article is Travis Greene. He burst onto the scene in 2007 with the release of The More and built on his early success with the release of Stretching Out, his first studio album. This album made him even more popular and he soon became a household name in gospel music.

In 2015, he released an EP called Intentional that rose to number three on the Billboard Top Gospel Album Charts. The main song of the EP, also titled Intentional, rose to the very top of the Gospel Songs Chart. His career has stalled a hit with no new releases from him since 2021, but I'm sure he's cooking up something special for his return. Enjoy his special voice in his biggest song and one of my personal favorites, Intentional.

SINACH

With over 200 songs written and twelve albums released, Sinach is a true example of consistency. Since 2008, Sinach has been dominating the Nigerian gospel music scene, but she has gone beyond borders to spread her beautiful message all over the world.

She has performed in over fifty different countries all over the world, including Kenya, Jamaica, the US, and even India. She's also been listed among the top 100 most influential Christians in Nigeria. All these achievements and she doesn't seem to be slowing down. While we wait for new music from her, you can start by enjoying some Nigerian spice.

Final Thoughts

Gospel music may not be as glamorous and globally accepted as secular music, but it continues to produce top-quality artists. As the world continues to suffer from hatred and division, their message continues to touch people and heal them. Between older artists like CeCe Winans and newer ones like Chandler Moore, gospel music will continue to rise, and I for one, am here for it.