Lauren Daigle Makes 2020 ...

by Emily Jashinsky for The Federalist

Lauren Daigle Makes 2020 Coachella Lineup

Christian pop artist Lauren Daigle was among the select group of performers to land a coveted spot in Coachella’s 2020 lineup, announced on Friday. Daigle will take the stage in Indio, California both Sundays of the festival, April 12 and 19.

Headliners this year include Rage Against the Machine, Travis Scott, and Frank Ocean. Ocean, Lana Del Ray, Lil Uzi Vert, and Lil Nas X are among the artists set to perform the same days as Daigle.

The 28-year-old’s Coachella presence underscores her immense success as a crossover artist. Daigle rounded out 2019 as Billboard’s Top Christian Artist of the year, and rounded out the decade with the No. 1 record (2015’s “How Can It Be”) on Billboard’s Top Christian Albums chart.

While Daigle has dominated Christian charts, her hit “You Say” crossed over to peak at No. 29 on the Hot 100 chart as well. In 2019, she landed at No. 47 on Billboard’s Top Artists chart, and her album “Look Up Child” came in at No. 30 on the Billboard 200, between the “Hamilton” soundtrack and Ed Sheeran. That’s no easy task for a Christian singer.

Daigle’s music has been featured on “Grey’s Anatomy,” and she’s performed everywhere from “The Ellen Show” to “The Tonight Show” to “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” Selena Gomez is also a fan.

In that respect, Coachella is something of a logical destination for Daigle, who performed at Lollapolooza last August as well. But her rise in secular venues has not come without controversy.

Daigle actually pushed back on the label “Christian artist” in an interviewlast January. “I feel like those labels get put on you by other people,” she told a radio host. “I was reading articles, I read them here in there, and one of them said Christian artist and the other ones said just artist. But I think part of me is just an artist because it encompasses everything. That’s kind of how I see myself.”

Daigle also drew backlash for saying she couldn’t “honestly answer” whether homosexuality was a sin, a question posed to her after a 2018 appearance on “Ellen.” For an in-depth look at Daigle’s statements of faith and her lyrics, read Nicole Russell’s 2018 analysis in our pages.

Coachella is one of the music industry’s most iconic festivals, functioning each spring as a fashionable place for young celebrities and influencers to be pictured. Surprisingly, it hasn’t been without Christian messaging from top artists in recent years. Kanye West hosted one of his Sunday Services at the festival last year, and Justin Bieber led worship at a side event hosted by Churchome in 2018.

While some on the left are convinced conservative billionaire Philip Anschutz’s financial involvement makes Coachella part of a vast right-wing conspiracy, a cursory glance at the yearly lineups affirms the festival regularly promotes the most secular performers in the industry.

“See you at Coachella,” Daigle tweeted on Friday.