Chris Sligh
Charles Christopher Sligh (/ˈslaɪ/; born April 13, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, producer and pastor who was a finalist on the sixth season of American Idol, finishing in tenth place. He has released 14 albums since 2001 as a solo artist, with his band Half Past Forever or with his former church's musical entity, Shoreline Music. He also starred in October Baby.[2]
Chris Sligh
Charles Christopher Sligh
April 13, 1978[1]
Madison, Tennessee
Greenville, South Carolina, United States
2007–present
Early years[edit]
Sligh was born in Madison, Tennessee, to Chuck[3] and Susan Sligh, Baptist missionaries to American military servicemen. The family moved to Durham, North Carolina, when Sligh was three years old but soon moved to Wiesbaden, Germany, where Chuck ministered to American troops. Chuck Sligh is an accomplished guitarist and passed his love of music to his three sons, of whom Sligh is the oldest.[4][5] Although Sligh has been singing since high school he grew up listening only to classical music in a regimented upbringing.[6]
Sligh began his college study in pre-law at Pensacola Christian College in Florida. He transferred to Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina, in his sophomore year intending to major in music. Despite having no previous formal instruction, Sligh progressed rapidly in the school's vocal performance program; he was invited to audition both for the Juilliard School and the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Sligh was expelled from Bob Jones after he broke school rules. He then attended North Greenville University but left shy a few credits of earning a music degree.
Career[edit]
In November 2007, Sligh stated that he had signed a solo deal with Brash Music, an Atlanta-based independent label that is distributed through Warner Bros., Alternative Distribution Alliance, and Word Distribution.
The album titled Running Back to You was produced by Brown Bannister, Stephen Leiweke and Will Owsley. Sligh's album was released on May 6, 2008 by Brash Music. The first official single, "Empty Me," was added to radio playlists February 22, 2008 and reached number six on the Billboard Hot Christian Songs Charts. The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at 190 with 4,000 copies sold the first week, the top Christian debut for the week.[10] It has sold 54,000 copies in the U.S. as of October 2009.[11]
The album has mostly positive reviews. USA Today called Sligh "the most musically ambitious Idol to date" and popular Christian website Jesus Freak Hideout gave the album 4.5 stars (out of 5) and called it "...one of the year's best albums". Other websites including The Bridge Live, CMCentral, Soul-Audio.com, and others gave the album glowing reviews, praising Sligh's songwriting, the album's production, and Sligh's soaring vocals which set him apart from the rest of the pack. The album reached number 190 on Billboard magazine's Top Heatseekers chart.[12]
Through 2008 Sligh toured relentlessly, with over 115 shows and over 150 other appearances (radio, TV, and web interviews). In August and September 2008, he headlined the Back to School Tour. The tour went to 32 cities, most of which were partnered directly with Christian radio stations. In December 2008, Sligh toured with NewSong on the NewSong Christmas celebration tour. The tour hit 18 cities from December 1–22, 2008.
In March and April 2009, Sligh toured with [1] Natalie Grant and Meredith Andrews on the Make It Matter Tour.[13]
In April 2009, Sligh co-wrote a song called "Here Comes Goodbye" with Clint Lagerberg. This song was released by the country band Rascal Flatts. The song went number one after 12 weeks on the Billboard Hot Country Charts.[14]
In May 2009, Sligh announced that he had parted ways with his label Brash Music and was "negotiating with a major label" for his next deal. His second album "Anatomy of the Broken" was released in September, 2010 on Word Records.[15]
From September to November 2009, Sligh completed his second annual Back to School Tour, a co-headlining effort with Aaron Shust.[16]
In November 2009 Sligh's first Christmas album became available on iTunes. In November he also announced details of his upcoming album, The Anatomy of Broken, which was released on September 14, 2010.[17] The album peaked at number 44 on the Billboard Top Christian Albums Chart.
Sligh made his acting debut in the movie October Baby as B-Mac. He performed "Broken (Beautiful)," "One", and "Willow Tree" for the soundtrack.[18]
In 2011, Sligh left Warner Brothers/Word Records. He was hired at Rocky Mountain Christian Church in Niwot, Colorado as a worship minister. Sligh released his third album, For Our God & King, and a 37-song triple album This Is Life.
In 2013, Sligh and his family moved to Austin, Texas, where took a position as a worship minister and later the creative director of Shoreline Church. He built a songwriting and production division of the church called Shoreline Music and featured on the album No Height, No Depth, which came out in 2015.[19]
In 2016, Sligh and family moved to Chicago where he was the executive creative director at Parkview Christian Church.[20] At the end of 2016, Sligh left his job at the church around the time of releasing Mighty Roar / Healing Flood in December 2016.[21] The album received positive reviews by major Christian publications: it received 4 of 5 stars by New Release Today [22] 4 of 5 stars by CCM Magazine [23] and 3.5 of 5 star by JesusFreakHideout [24] plus a 9/10 rating by CrossRhythms Magazine.[25] The album also garnered Sligh a nomination for JesusFreakHideout's Pop Album of the Year.[26]
In 2017, Sligh returned to touring and played over forty shows. In April 2018, he released A Modern Liturgy. The album followed up Mighty Roar / Healing Flood with equally great reviews: JesusFreakHideout gave it 4/5 stars,[27] CCM Magazine again gave a Sligh album 4/4 stars.[28]
In 2018, Sligh produced the majority of an EP for Curt Anderson [29] and wrote and produced for Jenna Long.[30]
In 2019, Sligh partnered with Worship Tutorials to release a series of videos.[31]
In 2021, the Feckers[32] released their third album, Courage of Conviction Part I: Picking Up the Pieces and Sligh sang on the duet, "Picking Up the Pieces."
As of December 2023, Sligh was focused more on songwriting than performing.[33]