Jesus Is Born
Jesus Is Born is the debut studio album by American gospel group Sunday Service Choir, with American rapper Kanye West acting as executive producer. It was released on December 25, 2019, through INC. The album was released to coincide with Christmas and follows the release of West's Christian-themed ninth studio album Jesus Is King, which was released two months prior in October 2019.[1]
Not to be confused with Jesus Is King.Jesus Is Born
December 25, 2019
2019
83:57
- INC (Self-published)
- Vydia
- Kanye West (also exec.)
- Jason White
- Nikki Grier
- Philip Cornish
- Federico Vindver
- Budgie
West announced the release date of Jesus Is Born the day before Jesus Is King was released, with the group's choir director Jason White later confirming the release. The former received generally positive reviews from music critics, who often commented on West's involvement. The album charted at number 73 and two on the US Billboard 200 and US Top Gospel Albums charts, respectively.
Release and promotion[edit]
In a pre-recorded promotional interview with Zane Lowe released a day before West's album Jesus Is King, the rapper announced that a Sunday Service album entitled Jesus Is Born would be released on December 25, 2019 to coincide with Christmas.[4] It was later confirmed that the album would be released on that date at a special Christmas Eve edition of Sunday Service by the group's leader Jason White, with him doing so while addressing the audience.[5] A video was shared by Complex that shows Sunday Service in the studio with a note marking the Christmas release.[6] On December 25, 2019, Jesus Is Born was released for digital download and streaming by INC.[7] The album's release differentiated from the release of Jesus Is King due to it undergoing no delays.[8] The music tech company Vydia distributed the album to streaming services.[9] West tweeted a link to where Jesus Is Born became available for streaming on December 25, 2019, accompanied by the album's cover art.[10] Though the album is credited to the Sunday Service Choir, Forbes, CNN and Entertainment Weekly consider Jesus Is Born to be part of West's album discography.[11][12][13]
Commercial performance[edit]
After a-day-and-a-half of tracking, Jesus Is Born debuted on the US Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart at number two. The album sold 6,000 album-equivalent units, 3,000 of which came from pure album sales, though it was held off the top spot by Jesus Is King with 10,000 units.[25] The following week, the latter debuted at number 73 on the US Billboard 200, standing as the second highest entry of the week on the chart.[26] That same week, Jesus Is Born sold 10,000 album-equivalent units and remained at number two on the US Top Gospel Albums chart; this was following its first full week of tracking.[27] The album entered at number three on the UK Christian & Gospel Albums chart, one place behind Jesus Is King at number two.[28]
Nine of Jesus Is Born's 19 tracks charted on the US Billboard Gospel Songs chart. This led to West's music taking up 20 of the 25 positions on the chart at once, including tracks released under his real name and by the Sunday Service Choir, respectively; the former of which are not included on the album. "Father Stretch" stood as the highest charting track from Jesus Is Born, reaching number ten on the US Gospel Songs chart, though music released under West's real name prevented the song from charting higher.[29]