Jesus Is Born Explained

Jesus Is Born
Type:studio
Artist:Sunday Service Choir
Cover:Sunday Service - Jesus Is Born.png
Recorded:2019
Genre:Gospel
Length:83:57
Chronology:Sunday Service Choir
Year:2019
Next Title:Emmanuel
Next Year:2020

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]

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.

Background and recording

On the first Sunday of 2019, West began the first "Sunday Service" rehearsal, where he performed gospel arrangements of songs from his discography and other songs with choir group The Samples and frequent collaborators such as Tony Williams and Ant Clemons. In April 2019, West has claimed that he was "radically saved" around the time of the group's first public performance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.[2] West's ninth studio album Jesus Is King was released in October 2019, with Sunday Service providing featured vocals on the track "Every Hour" and additional vocals on "Selah", "Everything We Need" and "Water".[3]

Release and promotion

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. The album's release differentiated from the release of Jesus Is King due to it undergoing no delays.[7] The music tech company Vydia distributed the album to streaming services.[8] West tweeted a link to where Jesus Is Born became available for streaming on December 25, 2019, accompanied by the album's cover art.[9] 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.[10] [11] [12]

Critical reception

Jesus Is Born was met with generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, the album received an average score of 74, based on five reviews. Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave Jesus Is Born 6.5 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.

NMEs Rhian Daly described the album as "a record that is gospel through-and-through, with no quantifying statements necessary" and opined that it is not essential to "believe in a higher being or have any interest in gospel music" to appreciate the album. In Billboard, Bianca Gracie praised the album for focusing more on the choir than Jesus Is King, while claiming that Jesus Is Born "builds upon West's immersive reawakening." Gracie also noted that the album "wouldn't be a Kanye West-led album without a few nods to his own discography" and wrote that it "balances heritage with millennial innovation."[13] Shane Cashman from Pitchfork looked at the album as where West "assembled a massive choir to channel his Christian message in a joyous, all-consuming wave of sound" and viewed him as "using the choir as a living, breathing sampler," due to West selecting old songs to be recontextualized by the choir, despite the lack of any samples. Neil Z. Yeung of AllMusic viewed the album as being "imbued by the influences of traditional gospel predecessors" and claimed that West's "production touches can be subtly heard throughout," despite the lack of vocals from him.

Dean Van Nguyen was less enthusiastic in The Guardian, claiming that Jesus Is Born is not likable for those uninterested in the "religious rebirth" of West, though stated that "the album certainly fulfils its prayerful remit" and "is more full-bodied than its predecessor." In a mixed review, Daniel Bromfield of Spectrum Culture wrote that despite the absence of vocals from West on the album being refreshing, "the lack of his fingerprints is disappointing." Bromfield elaborated, noting that West "hasn't written any new songs" for the album and branded the content as "slim pickings."

Commercial performance

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.[14] 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.[15] 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.[16] The album entered at number three on the UK Christian & Gospel Albums chart, one place behind Jesus Is King at number two.

Nine of Jesus Is Borns 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.[17]

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from Tidal and Instagram and may be incomplete because official liner notes for the album have not been released yet.

The Samples "Sunday Service Choir"

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart performance for Jesus Is Born
Chart (2020)Peak
position
UK Album Downloads Chart (OCC)[25] 53
UK Christian & Gospel Albums (OCC)[26] 3

Year-end charts

External links

Notes and References

  1. Leight . Elias . Kanye West Releases 'Jesus Is King,' Capping Hectic Rollout Saga . . October 25, 2019 . December 21, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191025162934/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/kanye-west-jesus-is-king-album-892092/ . October 25, 2019 . live .
  2. Web site: Kanye West's pastor worked on Jesus Is King, says Kanye was "radically saved". Shaad. D'Souza. October 9, 2019. December 21, 2019. The Fader. https://web.archive.org/web/20191012044122/https://www.thefader.com/2019/10/09/kanye-west-pastor-wrote-jesus-is-king-says-kanye-was-radically-saved-2019. October 12, 2019. live.
  3. Web site: Jesus Is King / Kanye West. Tidal. December 21, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191025183453/https://listen.tidal.com/album/121012112. October 25, 2019. live.
  4. Kanye West Announces New 'Jesus Is Born' Album Before 'Jesus Is King' Even Drops. Billboard. October 24, 2019. December 5, 2019. Lamarre, Carl. https://web.archive.org/web/20191024201614/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/hip-hop/8540399/kanye-west-jesus-is-born-release-date. October 24, 2019. live.
  5. Web site: Kanye West & Sunday Service Confirm "Jesus Is Born" Drops Today. HotNewHipHop. December 25, 2019. December 25, 2019. Zidel, Alex.
  6. News: Jesus is Born: Is Kanye West going to release a new album today?. https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220608/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/kanye-west-jesus-is-born-new-album-christmas-release-date-a9259936.html . 2022-06-08 . subscription . live. The Independent. December 25, 2019. December 25, 2019. O'Connor, Roisin.
  7. Klinkenberg . Brendan . Kanye West Releases New Album 'Jesus Is Born' . Rolling Stone . December 25, 2019 . December 26, 2019 .
  8. Elias. Leight. December 31, 2019. When Kanye West Has 24 Hours to Release an Album, He Calls This Company. Rolling Stone.
  9. Web site: Listen: Kanye West's Sunday Service Album 'Jesus Is Born'. Vulture. December 25, 2019. December 25, 2019. Alter, Rebecca.
  10. Web site: Review: Kanye West's 'Jesus Is Born' Is The Christmas Present His Fans Deserve. . June 27, 2020.
  11. Web site: Kanye West dropped a new album on Christmas and called it -- what else? -- 'Jesus Is Born'. . 25 December 2019 . June 27, 2020.
  12. Web site: Kanye West releases new album Jesus Is Born on Christmas. 25 December 2019 . June 27, 2020.
  13. Kanye West's 'Jesus Is Born' Album Review: New Project Continues His Captivating Transformation. Billboard. December 26, 2019. December 26, 2019. Gracie, Bianca.
  14. Kanye West's Sunday Service Choir Debuts on Top Gospel Albums With 'Jesus Is Born'. Billboard. December 31, 2019. December 31, 2019. Asker, Jim.
  15. Web site: Travis Scott's 'JACKBOYS' Debuts at No. 1. Rap-Up. January 6, 2020. January 9, 2020. Walker, Joe.
  16. Kanye West's Sunday Service Choir Soars on the Top Gospel Albums Chart With 'Jesus Is Born'. Billboard. January 9, 2020. January 9, 2020. Asker, Jim.
  17. Web site: Kanye West Controls Almost The Entire Gospel Songs Chart This Week. Forbes. January 8, 2020. January 15, 2020. McIntyre, Hugh.
  18. News: Kanye's Sunday Service Choir Release New Album Jesus Is Born: Listen. Pitchfork. December 25, 2019. December 25, 2019. Bloom, Madison.
  19. Web site: Nikki Grier on Instagram: "Update.... We're #1 on iTunes!!!!! #JesusisBorn #sundayservice OUT NOW!!!! I had the pleasure of writing 7 songs and Producing this album with my brothers @jasonwhiteco @philthekeys & Kanye West! Let me know what your favorite song is in the comments". https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/s/instagram/B6gmX_AFdIs . 2021-12-24 . limited. Instagram. December 27, 2019. December 25, 2019.
  20. Web site: Credits / Jesus Is Born / Sunday Service Choir – TIDAL. Tidal. January 12, 2019.
  21. Web site: lemarguillary on Instagram: "What an honor to take part in this album with this group of unbelievably talented musicians! Respect to you all!! #SundayService #JesusIsBorn #KanyeWest #trombone #trombonist #schilke #hornsection #trumpet #kanyewestsundayservice #flugelhorn #gospel". https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/s/instagram/B6g2zNcg7xK . 2021-12-24 . limited. December 25, 2019. December 27, 2019.
  22. Web site: Federico Vindver on Instagram: "Merry Xmas!!!! @officiallythesamples 'Jesus is born' out now!!!! #kanyewest Praise God!!!! Produced #balmingilead #sweetgrace @budgeboogie @beatclub". https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/s/instagram/B6goJ4kHdMz . 2021-12-24 . limited. May 4, 2020. December 25, 2019. Instagram. Federico Vindver.
  23. Web site: TheRealMikeDean on Instagram: "And another one! Worked Christmas Eve to get this out for y'all. Glad to help spread to word of god on holidays. Fitting.". https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/s/instagram/B6g7FSQpdzN . 2021-12-24 . limited. Instagram. en. 2019-12-26.
  24. Web site: Ant Clemons on Instagram: "JESUS IS BORN! To end this phenomenal year! I'm so proud to be apart of this amazing album put together for your family from ours @jasonwhiteco @officiallythesamples @nikkigrier @philthekeys #happy2behere". https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/s/instagram/B6gmHUmBd0U . 2021-12-24 . limited. Instagram. December 28, 2019. December 25, 2019.
  25. Web site: Top 40 Album Downloads Chart Archive. Official Charts Company. January 3, 2020. January 3, 2020.
  26. Web site: Official Christian & Gospel Albums Chart Top 20 . . January 6, 2020.
  27. Billboard Gospel Albums – Year-End 2020. Billboard. December 18, 2020.
  28. Web site: Castro . Danilo . How to Stream & Download Kanye West's 'Jesus Is Born' . . December 25, 2019 . December 26, 2019 .

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Jesus Is Born".

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