Koryn Hawthorne Tops Gospel Airplay With ‘Look at God’: ‘I Knew It Would Resonate’

Singer-songwriter Koryn Hawthorne earns her third chart-topper on Billboard’s Gospel Airplay survey as “Look at God” rises to No. 1 on the list dated Aug. 24.

During the Aug. 9-15 tracking week, the song increased by 19% in plays at the format, according to Luminate.

The 26-year-old Hawthorne, who hails from Abbeville, La., co-authored “Look at God” with Isaiah Campbell, Christopher Gales, Charles Jenkins and Munson Steed. It’s the lead single from her studio set On God…, which entered Top Gospel Albums at its No. 6 peak in February, becoming her third top 10.

“When ‘Look at God’ first came to life, a lot of people around me didn’t see it as a standout hit compared to the other songs I’d made,” Hawthorne tells Billboard. “But deep down, I knew it would resonate with the audience. Seeing how it has blown up on social media has been unreal – so many stories, so many testimonies, so many people finding their own ‘Look at God’ moments.”

For Hawthorne, “Look at God” follows “Speak to Me,” which led Gospel Airplay for a week in February 2021. “Won’t He Do It,” her debut single, dominated Gospel Airplay for 19 weeks starting in April 2018. It also ruled the multimetric Hot Gospel Songs chart for 41 weeks beginning in March 2018 – the longest command by a female artist.

Hawthorne, who was a finalist on the eighth season of NBC’s The Voice in 2015, has charted another Gospel Airplay entry, as “Unstoppable” reached No. 5 in June 2019.

Jim Asker

Billboard