Kirk Franklin’s ‘Just for Me’ Jumps Onto Hot Gospel Songs Chart
Kirk Franklin's "Just for Me" rockets onto Billboard's streaming-, airplay- and sales-powered Hot Gospel Songs chart (dated May 4) at No. 6.
Kirk Franklin‘s “Just for Me” rockets onto Billboard‘s streaming-, airplay- and sales-powered Hot Gospel Songs chart (dated May 4) at No. 6.
Franklin earns his record-extending 14th top 10, dating to the chart’s 2005 inception. Marvin Sapp ranks second with 11 top 10s, followed by Tasha Cobbs Leonard and James Fortune & FIYA (10 each).
“Just,” which previews Franklin’s 13th studio album, Long Live Love, due May 31, drew 414,000 U.S. streams in the week ending April 25, according to Nielsen Music, good for a No. 8 start on Gospel Streaming Songs, where Franklin tallies his eighth top 10. It also sold 1,000 downloads and enters Gospel Digital Song Sales at No. 3, awarding him his 16th top 10 on the list.
“Love Theory,” the first single from Long Live Love, became Franklin’s seventh Hot Gospel Songs leader when it debuted at the summit on Feb. 9. It reigns for its 13th frame, encompassing its entire run on the chart so far. The song simultaneously rules for a second week on Gospel Airplay, where it’s Franklin’s record-tying (with Tamela Mann) sixth No. 1.
MORE TO “KNOW” Tasha Cobbs Leonard’s “You Know My Name (Live)” returns to the Hot Gospel Songs top 10 (21-4), up 17% to 193,000 streams. Her 10th top 10 on the tally, which reached No. 2 in February, follows the original studio version of the song, featuring Jim Cravity, which hit No. 8 in June 2018.
Cobbs Leonard won for top gospel artist at last night’s (May 1) 2019 Billboard Music Awards.
THEY ARE TOP 10 On Hot Christian Songs, I Am They achieves its first top 10 as “Scars” pushes 11-10, up 14% to 865,000 streams. The song is also the Carson City, Nevada-based act’s first top 10 on Christian Airplay, where it holds at No. 9 with 6.4 million audience impressions.
“Scars” is the third Hot Christian Songs entry for I Am They. “From the Day” peaked at No. 26 in 2014 and “My Feet Are on the Rock” reached No. 23 last September.