In honor of Easter Sunday, “American Idol” will host a full-scale worship night featuring CeCe Winans, Brandon Lake and other Christian artists.
The April 20 episode of “American Idol” will be a three-hour “Songs of Faith” special, where all 20 contestants perform worship and gospel songs in primetime.
The episode will feature guest appearances and performances by Grammy Award winner Winans, Lake, “American Idol” alum Roman Collins, artist in residence Jelly Roll and gospel quartet The Brown Four.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know.
Lake and Jelly Roll will perform their collaboration “Hard Fought Hallelujah,” which they dropped earlier this year. All three judges — Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie and Carrie Underwood — will also perform during the episode.
The night will mark a pivotal moment in the season as the Top 20 finalists perform faith-inspired songs in front of a live audience, vying for America’s votes. Voting will open immediately following the episode, helping determine which contestants advance closer to the coveted “Idol” crown.
Season 23 of “American Idol” has had several faith-forward moments, with contestants including Baylee Littrell, son of Backstreet Boys’ Brian Littrell, and aspiring pastor Canaan Hill openly worshipping Jesus through song.
On Monday night’s episode, contestants Breanna Nix and Rylie O’Neill performed a cover of Lake’s worship song “Gratitude,” which spent 28 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Christian Songs chart.
Underwood held back tears after their performance as she reflected on being openly Christian in the entertainment industry.
“I know how difficult it is to come into the entertainment industry and bring your faith with you. It is a brave thing to do because there are a lot of outside forces that are going to tell you not to do that,” she told the contestants. “I want to tell you that I’m proud of you guys.”
Following the duo’s performance, Jelly Roll brought Lake in via FaceTime, who said, “That was the most gorgeous version of ‘Gratitude’ I’ve ever heard.”
Several notable “American Idol” alumni are also professing Christians, including Underwood, Colton Dixon, Danny Gokey, Lauren Daigle and the late singer Mandisa.
“‘American Idol’ was all the churchgoers’ guilty pleasure to watch as a family,” Dixon told The Christian Post when asked about this trend. “Our family grew up going to church and when ‘Idol’ was on, it was the thing we did. … God’s real, and I think He becomes real to everyone at some point, and in their own life and in their own walk and in their own time. It’s their choice, whether or not they choose to follow after God’s heart, but He’s just been really real to me since I was young.”
