RCA Inspiration’s release of gospel trailblazer Deitrick Haddon’s twelfth studio album, “R.E.D. (Restoring Everything Damaged)” debuts at #1 on Billboard’s Top Gospel Albums Chart, #96 on the Top Digital Chart and landed at #71 on Billboard’s Top 200 after its first week.
The lead single from R.E.D., “Have Your Way,” is currently at #11 on Billboard’s Hot Gospel Song Chart and finished the week at #2 on iTunes. R.E.D. opening at the top of the charts continues a trend for Haddon whose previous RCA Inspiration release, “Church On The Moon,” also debuted at #1 (2011).
What makes Haddon’s music so appealing to today’s progressive Christian audience is his masterful ability to seamlessly channel secular music styles into a faith-based format. Pop, rock, soul and funk music enhance the impact of his songs like R.E.D.’s infectious “God @ Work,” the soulful praises of “Victory”, “Feel a Breakathrough,” and the straight up Al Green-influenced “A Little Prayer.”
Helping to push his album to the Gospel Chart’s top spot, last week Haddon completed an eight city R.E.D. promotional tour with stops in Los Angeles, New York, Baltimore, Washington D.C., Richmond, Atlanta, Chicago and Detroit. With R.E.D. well underway, Haddon will now turn some if his attention to the new docu-series “Preachers of LA,” which is set to premiere on the Oxygen Network in October. Haddon, who stars in the series, is also an executive producer on the project.
The R.E.D. metaphor and its message of redemption are consistent throughout the album that is available in a standard 12-song set and an expanded “Deluxe Edition” featuring five bonus tracks. But the heart of R.E.D. is Haddon’s unfailing desire to offer his faithful fan base a window into his most intimate thoughts and feelings.
“I want people to know that I’m not making music to fit a format or make church people happy,” says Haddon. “I am making music that reflects my experience on the planet Earth as a Christian.”
[Deitrick Haddon with new wife at the Merge Summit]
Follow Deitrick Haddon on Twitter: @DeitrickHaddon
