Kirk Franklin Reigns on Billboard's Year End Gospel Charts

Gospel music veteran Kirk Franklin is the biggest winner as far as Billboard Year End Gospel Charts are concerned. Franklin is Billboard's No. 1 Gospel overall and male artist of the year.  

Franklin's "Wanna Be Happy?" is No. 1 for the year on Hot Gospel Songs. It bowed at No. 1 on the chart dated Sept. 19, 2015, and held at the summit for 45 weeks, the second-longest reign in the chart's 11-year history, after Marvin Sapp's "Never Would Have Made It" (46 weeks, 2007-08).

Franklin's "Happy" is also the year's No. 2 song on Gospel Digital Song Sales, after logging 19 weeks at No. 1. The chart's top title of 2016 is Anthony Brown & group therAPY's "Worth," which tallied 33 weeks at No. 1 (beginning June 20, 2015).

Meanwhile, Franklin's Losing My Religion is the year-end No. 1 on Top Gospel Albums, having rolled up 14 weeks at No. 1 (starting Dec. 12, 2015).

Continuing with a week of No. 1 wins, lead single "Wanna Be Happy?" tops the Mediabase Gospel radio chart, Billboard.com's Hot Gospel Songs and Digital Gospel Songs Charts. "Wanna Be Happy?" debuted in late August and broke the record previously set by Franklin with "I Smile (2011)" to become the best first-week digital single in gospel sales history. With other songs such as "Pray For Me," "When" (feat. Kim Burrell and Lalah Hathaway), "My World Needs You" (feat. Sarah Reeves, Tasha Cobbs and Tamela Mann), "Miracles," and the title track "Losing My Religion," Losing My Religion is Franklin's most comprehensive album yet, garnering accolades from fans, peers and critics, with the Associated Press declaring it "a very well-crafted album from the first song to the 13th." 

 

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