Nigerian Gospel singer and songwriter Osinachi Joseph. COURTESY PHOTO.
Popular worship leader Osinachi Joseph – better known as Sinach has become the first African to hit No. 1 on Billboard USA as a Christian songwriter.
She has been trending at this spot for 7 weeks!
The ‘I Know who I Am’ hit singer took to social media this week to celebrate this milestone achievement, noting that she is so grateful to God.
“So apparently we have been No 1 on billboard USA for Christian song writer for 7 weeks! Look at God! First Black person; First from Africa … So grateful to God,” he Tweeted.
“It’s not a competition. However, this shows that we are making impact with what God has assigned us to. When you impact people with the gift of God influencing them for Jesus, that’s something to celebrate,” Sinach remarked.
The Billboard is USA’s music industry standard record chart for songs, published weekly by Billboard magazine which receives 15.2 million unique visitors per month online. Chart rankings are based on sales, radio play, and online streaming in the United States.
In a related development, Michel W. Smith and Leeland’s rendition of ‘Way Maker’ originally written and recorded by Sinach both made a historic double-up on Billboard’s Hot Christian Songs chart last month.
The original version of “Way Maker” got traction in churches in 2016.
Rob Wagman, a veteran radio programmer who now consults Christian stations, told the BillBoard that just because a song has been performed in churches doesn’t necessarily mean that radio listeners are familiar with it. Radio, thus, is a key part of bringing songs that might be popular in services to much wider audiences.
“Not all churchgoers are listening to Christian radio, and vice versa,” Wagman said. “Certainly, [church] is influential and programmers should be taking that into consideration. It’s definitely an important piece.”
Wagman told BillBoard he isn’t surprised that stations in USA are playing multiple “Waymaker” recordings.
“Both the Smith and Leeland versions are researching extremely well, and stations [that I consult] make the call of which to play. And if a programmer gets hung up on the fact that Smith is a heritage act and may not be a fit for their younger audience, I’ll quickly dispel it. Fact is, he’s a legend and the audience loves him. There’s some of that bias, but it’s just a myth,” Wagman said.
