Worship Guitar Academy

View Original

Top 40 Worship Song Music Trends in October 2024

Logan | Founder of WGA

Updated 2024
Estimate time to read: 6 minutes

This is a deep dive analysis of the top 40 worship songs of October 2024 based on a number of different musical and artist metrics, including key signature, time signature, tempo, artist frequency and more.

Sections:

  • Source

  • Key Signatures Ranked

  • Tempos (BPM) Ranked

  • Slowest Song

  • Fastest Song

  • Time Signature Breakdown

  • Vocal Range Overview

  • Smallest Vocal Range

  • Largest Vocal Range

  • Title Tracks or Not

  • Alternate Versions

  • Album Frequency

  • Artist Frequency

  • Release Year

  • Wrapping It Up

  • Top 40 Song List

Source

These are the top 40 worship songs for October 2024, collected from PraiseCharts. Their list is updated daily based on sales and downloads over the last 28 days. Data was collected on October 29th, 2024. Given this list is based on sales and downloads, it may not be an accurate reflection of the songs played by worship teams across the globe. I know I like to listen to songs that my church would never play and I’m sure several of the songs on this list fall into that category.

Key Signatures Ranked

The most popular key signature in October 2024 is the key of D major, with a total of 8 songs. 5 songs are in the time signature of 4/4 and 3 songs are in 6/8. These songs range in tempo from 64 to 120 beats per minute (BPM).

Interested in learning more about this key? Check out these blog posts: How to Play Chords in the Key of D and Key of D and the D Major Scale on Guitar.

#2. Angles We Have Heard On High - Hannah Kerr/Arr. Travis Cottrell/Orch. Mason Brown

#3. Before The Manger (6 Song Choral Collection) - Travis Cottrell/Cheryl Stark/Brroke Voland/Hannah Kerr/Emily Sill/Arr. Mason Brown

#8. In The Fullness Of Time - Travis Cottrell/Arr. Mason Brown

#12. Come Thou Long Expected Jesus/Joy To The World - Travis Cottrell/Cheryl Stark/Arr. Mason Brown

#16. King Of Kings (Repeat august) - Hillsong Worship

#23. Sing We The Song Of Emmanuel (with Angels We Have Heard) - Travis Cottrell/Arr. Travis Cottrell/Orch. Travis Patton

#36. As For Me And My House - Keith & Kristyn Getty/Cochren & Co

#40. Light Of The World (Sing Hallelujah) - Brooke Voland/Arr. Travis Cottrell/Orch. Travis Patton/ We The Kingdom (same song as last month, new artist)

The second most popular key signature in October 2024 is A major, with 6 songs. 4 songs are in the time signature of 4/4, 1 song is in 3/4, and 1 song is in 6/8. They range in tempo from 82 to 152 beats per minute (BPM), 19 BPMs higher than last month. This is interesting that the base tempo increases getting closer to Christmas.

A Major

#4. Angels (Glory To God) - Phil Wickham (same song and artist as last month, different album version)

#15. Praise - Elevation Worship/Chris Brown/Brandon Lake/Chandler Moore

#20. Silent Night - Brooke Voland/Arr. Travis Cottrell/Orch. Mason Brown

#26. Praise - Brooke Voland/Arr. Travis Cottrell/Orch. Mason Brown

#34. You’ve Already Won - Shane & Shane

#37. That’s My King - Cheryl Stark/Arr. Travis Cottrell/Orch. Mason Brown (same song and artist as last month, different album version)

See this chart in the original post

As you can see in the chart above, there are 2 songs written in minor keys, Bm (B minor) and Cm (C minor). While contemporary worship songs are typically written in major keys, it’s not unheard of for the occasional song to be in a minor key.

Both songs continue to remain in the top 40 from September.

Tempos (BPM) Ranked

In October, there were a total of 31 different tempos, 1 less than last month, with the most common being 74 BPMs for 3 songs.

74 BPMs

#17. Joy To The World (Joyful Joyful) - Phil Wickham

#18. Love of God - Brandon Lake/Phil Wickham

#28. I Speak Jesus - Charity Gayle/Steven Musso

These 4 tempos tied for second most common, each with 2 songs: 64, 68, 72, 76, 77, 127, 150.

Slowest Song

The slowest song of the month was 54 BPMs, same as August and September 2024.

#35. I Believe - Charity Gayle

Fastest Song

The fastest song of the month was 162 BPMs. Although it may not feel too fast, given the song is in 6/8. It’s also the song in Bm (B minor).

#7. O Come All You Unfaithful - Brooke Voland/Arr. Travis Cottrell/Orch. Travis Patton

Time Signature Breakdown

Time signature popularity went to 4/4 with 65% of all songs, while the other time signatures included 6/8 and 3/4. Song ranking was mixed as songs in 4/4 included 1st and 38th place and everything in between. Songs in 6/8 occupied highest and lowest rank of 3rd and 40th.

The 2 songs in 3/4 ranked #20 and #31.

See this chart in the original post

Vocal Range Overview

Vocal range of songs varied from 9 to 21 half steps and ranks varied. For context, there are 12 half steps in an octave, which is the same note repeated after going through all notes in between.

It’s worth noting that there are a total of 10 songs that are “Choral” arrangements, meaning there are multiple vocal parts written together (SATB or similar), making an easy analysis of the vocal range difficult.

The 11th song without a vocal range is an instrumental track:

#23. Before The Manger (A Worship Moment) - Emily Sill/Arr. Mason Brown

See this chart in the original post

smallest vocal range

The song with the smallest vocal range has 9 half steps (not even one octave).

#102. Trust In God - Elevation Worship/Chris Brown

largest vocal range

The song with the largest vocal range has 24 half steps (2 full octaves).

#34. You’ve Already Won - Shane & Shane

Title Tracks or Not

There were 8 title tracks in October, meaning the name of the song is the same as the name of the album. This equates to 20% of the top 40 worship songs being title tracks. This excludes any additional song title text within parentheses.

#3. Before The Manger (6 Song Choral Collection) - Travis Cottrell/Cheryl Stark/Brooke Voland/Hannah Kerr/Emily Sill/Arr. Mason Brown

#14. Made For More - Josh Baldwin/Jenn Johnson

#18. Love of God - Brandon Lake/Phil Wickham

#22. Firm Foundation (He Won’t) - Cody Carnes

#25. Goodbye Yesterday - ELEVATION RHYTHM

#30. His Glory And My Good - CityAlight

#34. You’ve Already Won - Shane & Shane

#36. As For Me And My House - Keith & Kristyn Getty/Cochren & Co

Alternate Versions

This month there are 3 songs that reappear on the list by the same author, but are from a different album.

#4. Angels (Glory To God) - Phil Wickham

#9. Manger Throne - Phil Wickham

Both songs are from the Hallelujah! It’s Christmas! album.

#37. That’s My King - Cheryl Stark/Arr. Travis Cottrell/Orch. Mason Brown

This song is from the Redemption Story album.

There is 1 song that reappears but is by a different artist.

#40. Light Of The World (Sing Hallelujah) - We The Kingdom

Previous month was the same song but by Brooke Voland/Arr. Travis Cottrell/Orch. Travis Patton.

Album Frequency

There are 6 albums where more than one song is on the list. Here they are broken up by album, arranged alphabetically.

Before The Manger

#1. Manager Throne (with The First Noel) - Travis Cottrell/Arr. Mason Brown

#2. Angles We Have Heard On High - Hannah Kerr/Arr. Travis Cottrell/Orch. Mason Brown

#3. Before The Manger (6 Song Choral Collection) - Travis Cottrell/Cheryl Stark/Brooke Voland/Hannah Kerr/Emily Sill/Arr. Mason Brown

#8. In The Fullness Of Time - Travis Cottrell/Arr. Mason Brown

#12. Come Thou Long Expected Jesus/Joy To The World - Travis Cottrell/Cheryl Stark/Arr. Mason Brown

#20. Silent Night - Brooke Voland/Arr. Travis Cottrell/Orch. Mason Brown

#21. Before The Manger (A Worship Moment) - Emily Sill/Arr. Mason Brown

Can You Imagine

#10. Trust In God - Elevation Worship/Chris Brown

#15. Praise - Elevation Worship/Chris Brown/Brandon Lake/Chandler Moore

These 2 songs switched ranking priority compared to September.

Come Behold Emmanuel: A Christmas Worship Celebration

#5. Behold (with O Holy Night)(A Christmas Moment) - Travis Cottrell/Debbie Low/Orch. Mason Brown

#7. O Come O Come Emmanuel (with Even So Come) - Cheryl Stark/Arr. Travis Cottrell/Orch. Mason Brown

#23. Sing We The Song Of Emmanuel (with Angels We Have Heard) - Travis Cottrell/Arr. Travis Cottrell/Orch. Travis Patton

All 3 songs remained from last month and rose in rank.

Endless Praise

#27. Thank You Jesus For The Blood (august) - Charity Gayle

#28. I Speak Jesus - Charity Gayle/Steven Musso

Hallelujah! It’s Christmas!

#4. Angels (Glory To God) - Phil Wickham

#9. Manger Throne - Phil Wickham

Redemption Story

#26. Praise - Brooke Voland/Arr. Travis Cottrell/Orch. Mason Brown

#37. That’s My King - Cheryl Stark/Arr. Travis Cottrell/Orch. Mason Brown

Artist Frequency

Collaborations push Travis Cottrell to the top, with 7 songs plus 5 more listed as arranging.

Phil Wickham has a total of 4 songs, plus 1 as a co-writer with Brandon Lake.

Charity Gayle has 3 songs.

Elevation Worship/Chris Brown has 2 songs, and one for Elevation Rhythm.

Brooke Voland, Cheryl Stark, CityAlight, and Keith & Kristyn Getty, each has 2 songs.

To view some really interesting connections between popular worship artists and writers, check out this post by Worship Leader Research: The Integrated Worship Songwriting Network.

Release Year

Looking at the album release years, this is best depicted as a chart.

What’s interesting is that although the year with the most songs is the current year (2024 with 21 songs), just under half of the top songs were released in a prior year, with #13 being released in 2018.

See this chart in the original post

Wrapping It Up

I’ve enjoyed compiling this analysis of the top 40 worship songs in October 2024 based on key signatures, tempo, and more. If you’re interested in a more theological discussion about the lyrics for popular worship songs, check out The Berean Test.

What other metrics would you be interested in seeing for next month’s analysis? Leave a comment below or submit your idea here.

Top 40 Song List

  1. Manager Throne (with The First Noel) - Travis Cottrell/ Arr. Mason Brown

  2. Angles We Have Heard On High - Hannah Kerr/ Arr. Travis Cottrell/ Orch. Mason Brown

  3. Before The Manger (6 Song Choral Collection) - Travis Cottrell/ Cheryl Stark/ Brooke Voland/ Hannah Kerr/ Emily Sill/ Arr. Mason Brown

  4. Angels (Glory To God) - Phil Wickham

  5. Behold (with O Holy Night)(A Christmas Moment) - Travis Cottrell/ Debbie Low/ Orch. Mason Brown

  6. Holy Forever - Chris Tomlin

  7. O Come O Come Emmanuel (with Even So Come) - Cheryl Stark/ Arr. Travis Cottrell/ Orch. Mason Brown

  8. In The Fullness Of Time - Travis Cottrell/ Arr. Mason Brown

  9. Manger Throne - Phil Wickham

  10. Trust In God - Elevation Worship/ Chris Brown

  11. Christus Victor (Amen) - Keith & Kristyn Getty

  12. Come Thou Long Expected Jesus/Joy To The World - Travis Cottrell/ Cheryl Stark/ Arr. Mason Brown

  13. Goodness of God - Bethel Music/ Jenn Johnson

  14. Made For More - Josh Baldwin/ Jenn Johnson

  15. Praise - Elevation Worship/ Chris Brown/ Brandon Lake/ Chandler Moore

  16. King Of Kings (Repeat august) - Hillsong Worship

  17. Joy To The World (Joyful Joyful) - Phil Wickham

  18. Love of God - Brandon Lake/ Phil Wickham

  19. Gratitude (Repeat august) - Brandon Lake

  20. Silent Night - Brooke Voland/ Arr. Travis Cottrell/ Orch. Mason Brown

  21. Before The Manger (A Worship Moment) - Emily Sill/ Arr. Mason Brown

  22. Firm Foundation (He Won’t) - Cody Carnes

  23. Sing We The Song Of Emmanuel (with Angels We Have Heard) - Travis Cottrell/ Arr. Travis Cottrell/ Orch. Travis Patton

  24. That’s My King - CeCe Winans

  25. Goodbye Yesterday - ELEVATION RHYTHM

  26. Praise - Brooke Voland/ Arr. Travis Cottrell/ Orch. Mason Brown

  27. Thank You Jesus For The Blood (august) - Charity Gayle

  28. I Speak Jesus - Charity Gayle/ Steven Musso

  29. House Of The Lord - Phil Wickham

  30. His Glory And My Good - CityAlight

  31. Jesus Paid It All - Travis Cottrell/ Arr. Mason Brown

  32. Yet Not I But Through Christ In Me - CityAlight

  33. I Thank God - Maverick City Music/ Dante Bowe/ Aaron Moses/ Maryanne J. George/ Chuck Butler

  34. You’ve Already Won - Shane & Shane

  35. I Believe - Charity Gayle

  36. As For Me And My House - Keith & Kristyn Getty/ Cochren & Co

  37. That’s My King - Cheryl Stark/ Arr. Travis Cottrell/ Orch. Mason Brown

  38. All The Praise - Prestonwood Worship/ Prestonwood Choir/ Arr. Michael Neale/ Orch. Carson Wagner

  39. Abide - The Worship Initiative/Shane & Shane

  40. Light Of The World (Sing Hallelujah) - We The Kingdom