It makes no sense, yet it makes it perfect sense.
Earlier today, Grammy award-winning christian singer/songwriter Brandon Lake announced he’s releasing a new version of his latest powerful single, “Hard Fought Hallelujah,” featuring rapper-turned-country artist, Jelly Roll.
“Hard Fought Hallelujah” was written by Lake, as well as Elevation Church founder/senior pastor, Steven Furtick, Benjamin Hastings, and Elevation worship leader, Chris Brown. It was originally released back in October of last year and went on to debut at #51 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 chart, as well as #1 on the Hot Christian Songs chart, making it one of the highest debuting christian songs of 2024 and the largest debut streaming week for a single released by a Christian artist ever. It also currently boasts almost 12 million streams on Spotify alone in less than three months.
This isn’t the first time Lake has worked with a Country artist, however. Back in 2023, the “That’s Who I Praise” singer teamed up with Thomas Rhett at the Ryman for a performance of Elevation Worship and Maverick City Music’s 2021 release, “Talking To Jesus,” which also featured vocals from Lake on the original. While it’s not uncommon for christian artists to crossover into country and vice versa, some may find the pairing quite the surprise.
Back in October of 2023, Jelly Roll came under fire for comments he made about the state of the modern church when discussing his newest album at the time, “Whitsitt Chapel.” During a sit-down with Andrew Schulz on the FLAGRANT Podcast, the 40 year-old singer/songwriter expressed great criticism of how the church is portraying Jesus Christ in this day and age:
“Jesus and the church is gonna die, again, if they don’t find a way to portray him the way he was historically known to be.…the same people that you’re criticizing and going against are the only people that Jesus had a relationship with in the Bible. He did nothing but protect town-wh*res, prostitues, people in jail.”
After his comments went viral online, the court of public opinion was seemingly split. Some sympathized with Jelly Roll, while others, most notably Pastor Chase C., condemned his rhetoric, adding that he’s leading people astray:
“Well, Jesus hung out with sinners, so…so should we. No, Jesus didn’t just hang out with sinners because they had a common interest. He warned them to repent. Read it for yourself.”
“He’s leading many people astray...when they start singing about God and they start talking about the christian faith and it doesn’t line up with the Bible, we have to expose that to warn you.”
No matter how you feel about Jelly Roll’s comments, or his music for that matter, there’s no denying that he is one of the most inspirational artists in all of music. He never shies from speaking his mind or standing up for what he so passionately believes in, despite his rocky past, and that’s what has so many infatuated with him.
For what it’s worth, Brandon Lake clearly doesn’t seem to have a problem with it. And if the comment section on the post is any indication of how it’ll be received, “Jelly Roll has ALREADY found Jesus. He touches lives in a positive way every day.” is one of the most liked comments thus far.
“Hard Fought Hallelujah” featuring Jelly Roll drops Friday, February 7th. In the meantime, you can watch the music video for the original version here: