Free Republic

JOHNNYSWIM is an American folk-pop duo comprised of married couple Abner Ramirez and Amanda Sudano Ramirez. They met after a church service in Nashville and founded the band in 2005. The duo gained prominence with their 2014 album Diamonds and when Chip and Joanna Gaines selected their song “Home” as the theme for Fixer Upper, sparking a 20-year friendship. They also have a show, At Home on the Road, on the Magnolia Network. Like the Gaines, the Ramirezes are professing Christians. Abner has stated in an interview with Relevant magazine: “I believe in Jesus. I believe in the Holy Spirit....

‘I will rescue you,’ Lauren Daigle sang 1,400 miles away from Camp Mystic. ...Her name was Lauren Daigle. Her performance was scheduled months in advance; the timing, at this terrible moment, was unplanned. As all those children in Texas remained unaccounted for, she sang: “I hear you whisper underneath your breath / I hear your SOS, your SOS . . .” “I will never stop marching to reach you / In the middle of the hardest fight . . .”

New Orleans, LA — In just a few days, there will be countless celebrations to ring in the new year. Many are ready to move on from 2020 after many crazy events and a worldwide pandemic that has resulted in thousands of lives lost. Each year, television networks battle with their New Years’ Eve celebrations. One big event is the “Dick Clark’s Rockin’ Eve,” which has been a staple of News Years Eve for many years. It’s hosted by Ryan Seacrest and is scheduled to take place in New Orleans this year. One Christian singer scheduled to perform this year...

When yet another Christian celebrity fails to give a straight answer on a hot-button moral issue, it reveals a deeper problem. Back in September, an article in Rolling Stone announced, “A Christian Singer is Bigger than Drake and Arianna Grande this Week.” That singer is Lauren Daigle, the Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter whose brilliant voice, soulful style, and hope-filled lyrics has won fans well beyond the Contemporary Christian genre. She’s becoming a regular on talk shows and in national publications, and has officially earned the coveted status of “crossover artist” at just 27 years old. But with broader appeal comes a challenge:...

We’ve seen this show before. A very talented Christian recording artist (or author) becomes very popular, reaching beyond a typical Church audience and becoming popular in the larger world. He (or she) is then asked about homosexuality and fudges the answer. In turn, the Church quickly condemns (him or her). Can we do better this time around?I’m talking specifically about the very popular Christian recording artist Lauren Daigle, whose career skyrocketed when she recently appeared on the shows of Ellen Degeneres and Jimmy Fallon. She received plenty of criticism (from some Christian circles) for those appearances, but many others saw...

Lauren Daigle, a popular Christian pop artist, gave an absurd answer when asked about homosexuality in an interview. Let's talk about the answer she should have given. Also, let's talk about the strange hostility Daigle encountered from many Christians even before this interview. She made a mistake, but many of her critics are making a mistake, too.

Lauren Daigle, July 24, 2018. | (Photo: Lauren Daigle Facebook page)Dear Sister,You’ve undoubtedly received backlash for your recent comments on homosexuality. Is this backlash merited? Let me first say that I am your fan. You've ministered to me on multiple occasions, and I trust you will continue to do so. For a while I played "Trust In You" every morning on my way to work. It was my post-devotional habit.Your recent expedition to public fame had the Body of Christ cheering you on as we watched you perform on Ellen, Jimmy Fallon, and other platforms not routinely frequented by Christian...

Christian singer Lauren Daigle has faced some backlash for appearing on the talk show of Ellen DeGeneres but she says her critics are missing the 'heart of God'. The singer was invited to perform on The Ellen Show following the release of her hugely successful album 'Look Up Child', which debuted at number 3 on the Billboard 200 and number 1 in the Christian charts. Daigle took some heat from fans for singing 'Still Rolling Stones' off her new album, but she told Way FM Radio that Ellen had chosen the song. Opinions were split when Daigle posted a video...

Lauren Daigle makes a splashy debut at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart with her new studio album, Look Up Child, earning the singer-songwriter her highest charting album and first top 10. The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units.... Look Up Child, which also debuts at No. 1 on the Top Christian Albums chart, starts with 115,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending Sept. 13, according to Nielsen Music. That’s the largest overall week for a Christian music album...