“These Are the Days” by Lauren Daigle, Friday, May 19, 2023

Last Friday, Lauren Daigle returned with her first record since 2018’s blockbuster sophomore record, Look Up Child. Daigle’s music has been featured in movies and television shows from Blade Runner 2049 to Grey’s Anatomy, which makes the singer stand out from other artists in her genre, Contemporary Christian Music, a genre she dominated with the number-one Christian song for sixty weeks for the crossover hit, “You Say.”

WE KNOW THE FUTURE’S BURNIN’ BRIGHT. Maybe like me, you spent a part of the ‘10s backsliding from your evangelical upbringing. Don’t worry, I’m not here to tell on you. You probably stopped listening to DC Talk and Michael W. Smith, and maybe became a “Bad Christian” with Emery, followed Michael Gungor’s journey, or went full-out atheist like Underoath. Somewhere along the way, what was playing on Christian Radio sounded like a bad version of what was popular two years ago on the pop station, only mellower. Somewhere along the way, Hillsong and Bethel Music started dominating Christian radio with worship music that sounded like Imagine Dragons' knock-offs. Meanwhile, we were listening to Lana Del Rey and Sufjan Stevens and sometimes mainstream pop radio, only to hear a truly talented singer from Louisiana singing on the radio Christian music. But it didn’t take too long to pick up on Daigle’s affinity for sounding so much like Adele that the songs feel stale after a few listens.

THIS IS WHAT HE CAME FOR. Another comparison between Lauren Daigle and Adele is the gaps between their albums. Fans had to wait six years between 25 and 30. Adele’s third and latest album was released two years prior to Lauren Daigle’s third and eponymous album. So what has she been up to since 2018? While the singer has toed the line in a radically divided America, in 2020 Daigle reportedly was  riding her bicycle in her hometown where polarizing worship leader Sean Feucht was holding his “Let’s Worship Tour”—controversial for protesting COVID lockdown measures. Daigle claims that she was asked to participate in the show, though wasn’t officially billed. This appearance, though, caused Daigle to lose bigger musical appearances such as New Year’s Rockin’ Eve. That appearance was November 2020. A year and a half and an Adele album later, Daigle is back on the top of Spotify singles with “These Are the Days.” It’s a feel-good song, but I can’t help but feel a little ominous about what she’s singing about. It’s very subtle, but it’s really prosperity gospel—Christ died to make your life easier on earth. However, my Seventh-Day Adventist reading of the Bible said that things were supported to turn into a shit-show in the end days. Instead, Christians are forming these coalitions to take away the rights of non-Christians. It will be interesting to see how Lauren Daigle’s latest offering stacks against Look Up Child.

Read the lyrics on Genius.