Billboard’s Top Gospel Artist of 2022 is Kanye West, who concurrently reigns as the top male artist of the year. West repeats, marking two years straight that he leads both categories.
The multi-genre superstar is simultaneously the Top Christian Artist of 2022. West reigns again mostly due to the staying power of his second faith-based album, Donda, which is No. 1 on the year-end Top Gospel Albums list.
Billboard’s year-end music recaps represent aggregated metrics for each artist, title, label and music contributor on the weekly charts dated Nov. 20, 2021 through Nov. 12, 2022. The rankings for Luminate-based recaps reflect equivalent album units, airplay, sales or streaming during the weeks that the titles appeared on a respective chart during the tracking year. Any activity registered before or after a title’s chart run isn’t considered in these rankings. That methodology details, and the November-November time period, account for some of the difference between these lists and the calendar-year recaps that are independently compiled by Luminate.
Explore All of Billboard’s 2022 Year-End Charts
On the Billboard charts dated Sept. 11, 2021, Donda started with a splash. It debuted in the penthouse on the all-genre weekly Billboard 200 plus Top Gospel Albums and Top Christian Albums with 309,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S., according to Luminate.
It marked West’s 10th Billboard 200 leader and his second No. 1 on Top Gospel Albums (as well as Top Christian Album).
Donda followed his first spiritual LP, Jesus is King, which crowned both lists as well as the Billboard 200. King started with 264,000 weekly units in November 2019, which was a record at the time on the two faith-based tallies.
On the weekly Top Gospel Albums chart, Donda has held the summit every week during 2022. Donda is second to only Jesus is King on the list for the longest reigning titles in the history of Top Gospel Albums which started in 1983. Both sets are north of 65 frames each.
As for the top albums of 2022 Donda is No. 1 while Jesus is King ranks at No. 5.
Plus, West holds the Nos. 1 and 2 positions of the year on the year-end streaming-, airplay and sales based Hot Gospel Songs tally with “Praise God” at No. 1 and “Hurricane” at No. 2.
The top female gospel artist of the year is CeCe Winans, who is No. 4 among all acts. Winans was also the leading woman of 2021.
Winans’ LP Believe For It: A Live Worship is No. 3 on the Top Gospel Albums’ year-end tally. The set entered at No. 1 in March 2021 becoming her ninth No. 1. It ruled for seven weeks and has spent all of 2022 in the top 10.
The LP’s title track is the No. 8 song of 2022 on Hot Gospel Songs.
“Believe” dominated the weekly version of the multi-metric ranking for 12 weeks beginning in June and led Gospel Airplay for two frames starting on Jan. 29.
Winans’ “Goodness of God,” is the No. 2 track of 2022 on Gospel Digital Song Sales. The song rang up 13 weeks atop the list after it reached the penthouse in February, giving Winans her third leader.
“Goodness” reached No. 6 on Hot Gospel Songs in October, her fifth top 10.
Billboard’s top duo/group of 2022 and No. 2 among all acts is the Atlanta-based worship collective Maverick City Music.
Old Church Basement, the collaborative project with popular Christian act Elevation Worship, ranks as the Top Gospel Albums No. 2 LP of 2022. Basement, which opened at No. 1 on Top Gospel Albums in May 2021 with 19,000 units, has been in the top 3 for the entirety of 2022.
Maverick City Music posts two of its songs inside the top 5 on Hot Gospel Songs’ top tracks of 2022: “Promises,” featuring Joe L. Barnes and Naomi Raine is at No. 3, and “Jireh,” a collaboration between Maverick City Music and Elevation Worship is the No. 4 title for 2022.
“Jireh” also crowns the year-end ranking on Gospel Digital Song Sales.
Gospel music’s top new act of 2022 is E. Dewey Smith, whose rookie single, “Your Presence Is a Gift,” topped Gospel Airplay on the survey dated April 30. It peaked at No. 18 on Hot Gospel Songs.
Smith is based in Macon, Ga., and serves as the senior pastor and teacher at The House of Hope church in Atlanta.
Smith also released the holiday-themed album Let Praises Ring which arrived and peaked at No. 7 on Top Gospel Albums last December.
