Two-time Grammy winner Lauren Daigle said a mainstream music label executive once questioned why she insisted on identifying as a Christian artist despite her crossover commercial appeal, the singer revealed Wednesday in an interview tied to the 13th Annual K-LOVE Fan Awards.
Ms. Daigle told Fox News Digital that the encounter took place in New York City, where a label head approached her and asked, “You’re a superstar. Why do you have to be Christian?”
“It was this moment of me laughing so hard because I knew what she was trying to say,” Ms. Daigle said. “Like, we could really do something with this if you weren’t Christian. And, but I love the fact that I get to share this message.”
The singer said she has long felt pulled in competing directions by her success, navigating expectations from both Christian fans and the mainstream industry.
“I feel like pressure can exist both ways,” she said. “Like, are you staying Christian enough for the Christians? Are you cool enough for mainstream world, you know? All of the pressures can be spinning. But I think if you stay authentic, those pressures get a lot smaller. They decrease in intensity, and that’s what I actually delight in. And then you get the right people around you. If you get the right people around you, then you’ll steady the course.”
Ms. Daigle co-hosted the 13th Annual K-LOVE Fan Awards alongside “Duck Dynasty” star Sadie Robertson Huff at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville on Sunday. The ceremony is set to air Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET on the Trinity Broadcasting Network.
Ms. Robertson Huff told Fox News Digital that the event carries a different spirit than a typical awards show. “It doesn’t feel like anybody’s striving. It doesn’t even feel like you’re here to perform or just celebrate, be together, worship together. And that’s really rare, you know? That’s really weird in an award show, but I really feel that here,” she said.
Ms. Daigle first broke through with her 2015 debut album “How Can It Be,” which reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Christian Albums chart. Her 2018 follow-up, “Look Up Child,” brought mainstream recognition — its lead single “You Say” crossed onto the Billboard Hot 100 and became one of the most successful Christian songs of all time.
“Look Up Child” earned Ms. Daigle the Grammy for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album, while “You Say” took home Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song.
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