Country-Contemporary Christian Music Collaborations: 5 Recent Pairings

Currently, Jelly Roll and Brandon Lake — two of the biggest draws in their respective genres of country and Contemporary Christian music, respectively — are gaining traction with a new collaborative version of Lake’s hit “Hard Fought Hallelujah.” The collab is in the top five on Spotify’s Viral 50 – USA chart, and the two performers joined forces to perform the song together at the Grand Ole Opry recently, as Lake made his Opry debut.

The two discussed their respective faith journeys and working on the song during a joint interview for CCM radio giant K-LOVE, with Jelly Roll saying, “I’m honored that I was the call…I’m a Brandon Lake fan.” Jelly Roll added, “What he’s doing for Christian music, even outside of Christian music — he’s taking it further than I’ve seen anybody take it in a long time.”

Country music, of course, has always had songs of faith as a through line in its canon, ranging from the country music mainstay “Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” to Hank Williams Sr.’s “I Saw The Light” as well as Carrie Underwood’s Grammy-winning “Something in the Water,” and Randy Travis’s “Three Wooden Crosses.”

The past few years have seen a string of country-CCM collaborations. Worship music titan Chris Tomlin teamed with former duo Florida Georgia Line for the 2020 album Chris Tomlin & Friends, which featured a slew of country artists including FGL, Lady A, Chris Lane, Brett Young and Russell Dickerson. Meanwhile, CCM luminary Steven Curtis Chapman released a bluegrass-tinged project Where the Bluegrass Grows in 2021, and was inducted as a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 2024. Underwood also issued her own hymns album My Savior in 2021; the project included a collaboration with CeCe Winans on “Great Is They Faithfulness.”

Here, Billboard looks at five more recent country-CCM collaborations.