Lauren Daigle

Lauren Ashley Daigle is an American contemporary Christian singer and songwriter known for her soulful voice, worship-focused songwriting and ability to cross naturally between Christian music and mainstream pop. Born on September 9, 1991, in Lafayette, Louisiana, she grew up surrounded by the musical traditions of South Louisiana, including gospel, blues, zydeco and Cajun music. Those influences later became part of the distinctive warmth and soulfulness of her sound.

Daigle rose to prominence in the mid-2010s with her debut album, How Can It Be, before reaching a much wider audience with Look Up Child and its global hit single “You Say.” Her music has earned two Grammy Awards and numerous other honours, while her success on mainstream charts has made her one of the most commercially successful contemporary Christian artists of her generation. She has also become known for songs such as “Trust in You,” “Rescue,” “Hold On to Me,” “Thank God I Do” and “Thank God I Do.”

Early Life and Musical Background

Daigle was born in Lafayette, Louisiana, and grew up in a musical environment that reflected the distinctive culture of South Louisiana. Gospel music was an important part of her upbringing, while the wider musical culture around her exposed her to blues, zydeco and Cajun music. Her mother famously referred to the family home as a “music box” because Lauren was constantly singing.

Music became especially important to Daigle during her teenage years. At 15, she developed a serious illness that kept her away from school for almost two years. During that period, she was homeschooled and spent considerable time with music. Singing became both a creative outlet and a source of comfort, and she began serving as a worship leader at her local church.

Her early experiences gave her a foundation in both performance and ministry. Although she would eventually become a major recording artist, her initial musical development came through church rather than through the conventional entertainment industry.

Education and Early Career

Daigle attended Louisiana State University, where she pursued studies in child and family studies. While at university, she continued developing as a singer and became involved in local music. She was invited to contribute vocals to an EP by a local band, and a recording from that project eventually reached Centricity Music. The label signed her as a solo artist in 2013.

Before securing her recording contract, Daigle also auditioned for American Idol in 2010 and again in 2012. Although she did not become a finalist on the programme, the experience gave her valuable exposure to the demands of the music business and encouraged her to focus more seriously on developing her songwriting and vocal abilities.

Her first release for Centricity was a five-song EP titled How Can It Be, produced by Paul Mabury. It was released in late 2014 and laid the groundwork for the full-length album that followed.

Breakthrough with How Can It Be

Daigle’s debut studio album, How Can It Be, arrived in 2015 and quickly established her as a major new artist in contemporary Christian music. The album reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Christian Albums chart and eventually achieved platinum certification. It produced three No. 1 Christian Airplay singles: “First,” “Trust in You” and the title track, “How Can It Be.”

The album also demonstrated the quality that would become central to Daigle’s career: a powerful but restrained vocal delivery that combined the emotional character of soul and blues with contemporary worship songwriting.

“Trust in You” became one of the album’s defining songs and earned Daigle her first Grammy nomination, for Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song. How Can It Be itself was also nominated for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album at the 58th Grammy Awards.

She followed the album with Behold: A Christmas Collection in 2016, a project that allowed her to explore softer, jazz-influenced arrangements of Christmas standards while continuing to build her reputation as a vocalist.

Look Up Child and “You Say”

Daigle reached a new level of success with her 2018 album Look Up Child. The project debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, making it the highest-charting Christian album by a woman in more than two decades at the time. It also made Daigle the first female artist to simultaneously place an album in the Top 10 of both Billboard’s Pop and Christian Albums charts.

The album’s enormous success was driven in large part by “You Say.” The song became Daigle’s signature recording and eventually achieved six-times-platinum certification. It spent an unprecedented length of time at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Christian Songs chart and crossed successfully into mainstream radio and pop culture.

“You Say” also earned Daigle her first two Grammy wins in 2019. She won Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song for the single, while Look Up Child won Best Contemporary Christian Music Album.

The success of Look Up Child changed her position within the music industry. Daigle was no longer simply a successful Christian recording artist. She had become an artist capable of reaching a broad mainstream audience without abandoning the faith-based foundation of her music.

Musical Style and Influences

Daigle’s sound draws from contemporary Christian music while incorporating elements of soul, pop, gospel, blues and the musical traditions of Louisiana. Her smoky alto voice is one of her most recognisable characteristics, and critics have frequently highlighted its soulful quality.

Her songwriting generally focuses on faith, identity, hope, uncertainty, grace and dependence on God. Rather than relying exclusively on traditional worship language, she often approaches these themes through personal experiences and emotionally direct lyrics.

This balance has allowed her music to function in several settings. Songs such as “Trust in You” and “Rescue” fit naturally within Christian worship and radio, while “You Say” reached listeners well beyond the Christian market. Her ability to move between these audiences has been one of the defining features of her career.

Later Music and Major Recognition

Following the success of Look Up Child, Daigle released several singles before returning with her self-titled album, Lauren Daigle, in 2023. The project represented a new creative chapter and featured a broader pop and soul-oriented sound while retaining the themes of faith that have consistently defined her work.

Its lead single, “Thank God I Do,” became another major success, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Christian charts. The song was also nominated for a Grammy, as was the album Lauren Daigle, at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards.

Daigle has accumulated an extensive collection of major awards. She is a two-time Grammy Award winner, seven-time Billboard Music Award winner, four-time American Music Award winner and ten-time GMA Dove Award winner according to her official biography.

Her career has also included performances at major venues and events around the world, from Carnegie Hall and Radio City Music Hall to international festivals and large-scale tours. She performed “America the Beautiful” with Trombone Shorty during the pregame ceremony for Super Bowl LIX, another indication of how far her career had expanded beyond the Christian music industry.

Current Career and Legacy

Daigle has remained active with new music and touring. In 2025, she released “Let It Be a Hallelujah,” a song she had originally written during the period between How Can It Be and Look Up Child. She has described the song as a reflection on living a life that matters and remaining committed to worship.

She also released “You Lead Me” in March 2026 in connection with the television series House of David. Her current touring schedule includes performances across the United States, demonstrating that she remains an active touring artist.

Away from music, Daigle has placed considerable emphasis on philanthropy. In 2019, she established The Price Fund, a charitable initiative supporting organisations involved in areas including music education, food insecurity and assistance for older people. Her official organisation reports that the fund has contributed more than $4.2 million to over 100 organisations worldwide.

Lauren Daigle’s lasting importance comes from the way she has expanded the possibilities for contemporary Christian music. She emerged from the church worship tradition but developed a sound that could comfortably exist alongside mainstream pop, soul and gospel. Look Up Child and “You Say” demonstrated that a clearly faith-based artist could achieve extraordinary mainstream success without removing the spiritual centre of her music. More than a decade into her recording career, Daigle remains one of the most recognisable contemporary Christian artists of her generation, with an influence that extends from worship music to the wider world of popular music.