Maybe the tides are turning…
Sunday night marked the finale of "American Idol's" 22nd season. Not only did a girl who previously sang a Christian song win the entire competition, but during the three-hour-long show, one of top 12 contestants, Roman Collins, sang "Goodness of God” with gospel music legend CeCe Winans.
Winans, who’s won dozens of awards and sold more than 17 million records as the Christian Broadcasting Network reported, was invited to sing about God’s goodness with Collins, who was eliminated just before the top 10 contestants were announced. Their performance was not only jaw dropping in vocal talent and performance ability, but the power of the Holy Spirit was overwhelming.
A clip of the performance was shared on the American Idol Instagram page and has almost 700,000 likes and 27.4 million views with many users commenting prayer emojis or praising God as well. On YouTube, the full video has close to 300,000 views. What’s shocking is that the other videos from the evening don’t even come close to viewership and engagement. A video posted just before it where singer Nick Frandiani sang with the guys of the top 12 has only 367,000 views on Instagram and a video where the New Kids on the Block sang with a different top contestant only has 794,000 views.
Shockingly, even though this video proclaims the message of Jesus and the Goodness he can provide, it doesn’t seem like Big Tech giants have squashed its reach like they normally do.
That’s the thing, though. This sort of content is growing and deserves to be spread so that others can hear its messaging. If songs about sex, drugs and heartbreak are able to go viral, why can’t a performance about our awesome God go viral too?!
Sunday also marked pop singer and judge Katy Perry’s last season on the show after seven-years of being on the judges panel. When Winans and Collins sang the words “with every breath that I am able, I will sing, of the goodness of God,” the camera panned to Perry, visibly tearing up. While she was likely flooded with the emotion of closing this Idol chapter in her life, I can’t help but hope that the Holy Spirit was stirring something in her.
We are living in a time where the message of Jesus is desperately needed. Our culture is so immersed in the things of this world and needs nothing more than to redirect our focus to our Father in Heaven, the only one who can truly satisfy. Kudos to "American Idol," this time, for allowing a Christian song to be sung and for God’s name to be proclaimed to such a large audience. Hopefully this becomes the standard, not the anomaly.
