Josiah Queen Talks Chart-Topping New Album ‘Mt. Zion,’ His Folk-Rock Sound: ‘It’s About Breaking Down the Walls’

Known for his rustic, acoustic-folk sound, Contemporary Christian singer-songwriter Josiah Queen has a troubadour’s knack for translating keen observations into evocative songs, specified arsenic his breakthroughs “Fishes and Loaves” and “The Prodigal,” and his astir caller vigor azygous release, “Dusty Bibles.”

With his caller medium Mt. Zion, the 22-year-old Florida native’s scope expands beyond Billboard’s Top Christian Albums chart, wherever it debuted astatine No. 1; the medium besides marks his debut connected the all-genre Billboard 200 (No. 57), portion besides debuting astatine No. 4 connected the Americana/Folk albums illustration and No. 12 connected the Top Rock & Alternative Albums chart.

“It’s crazy, particularly the stone chart. I’m like, ‘Man, I didn’t cognize I made stone music, but let’s go,’” Queen told Billboard soon aft the album’s debut.

Queen has six songs proliferating the Hot Christian Songs chart, including “Dusty Bibles” astatine No. 3, arsenic good arsenic his Brandon Lake collaboration, “Can’t Steal My Joy” and different songs from the caller album, “Cloud and Fire” and “Watch Your Mouth.”

Mt. Zion besides marks Queen’s archetypal medium aft signing with Capitol CMG (in conjunction with F&L Music Group) earlier this year.

“Josiah has had an exceptional year,” Capitol CMG president Brad O’Donnell told Billboard successful a statement. “He’s had his biggest shows ever and present has released an unthinkable caller album. Its success across multiple genres is simply a testament to the prime and extent of his music. Not lone did helium apical the Christian charts, helium besides had beardown showings astatine stone and folk, proving that his euphony is reaching a cosmopolitan audience.”

Queen is besides gearing up for a imaginable torrent of awards wins adjacent period astatine the GMA Dove Awards, acknowledgment to his debut The Prodigal, which besides reached No. 1 connected Top Christian Albums. Queen is successful the moving for creator of the twelvemonth astatine the Oct. 7 GMA Dove Awards, portion “The Prodigal” is up for opus of the year, and the deluxe mentation of The Prodigal is up for pop/contemporary medium of the year.

“I’m genuinely blessed. Just the information that I tin adjacent accidental I person 2 albums, it’s amazing,” Queen says.

Billboard spoke to Queen astir Mt. Zion, his caller statement home, and the occurrence of songs including “Dusty Bibles” and “Can’t Steal My Joy.”

“Dusty Bibles” is astatine No. 3 connected the Hot Christian Songs illustration and climbing connected the Christian Airplay chart. You wrote it with Zac Lawson, Dylan Thomas and John Michael Howell.  What inspired the song?

I was listening to Chris Martin of Coldplay speech astir however each his biggest songs, helium wrote successful similar 10 minutes. I consciousness similar sometimes the ideas conscionable travel retired of nowhere. With this album, I wanted to constitute astir things that are applicable successful our lives, that support america distant from God, whether it’s a opus similar “Slow Down, Please,” wherever I was going done a play of beingness wherever I felt similar it was a cardinal miles an hour. With “Dusty Bibles,” I conscionable had this thought astir we’ve got particulate connected our Bibles but brand-new iPhones. We each benignant of laughed and [my co-writers] were like, “You can’t enactment that successful a song,” and “How astir Android users?”

But it conscionable stuck. I wrote ...