Tasha Cobbs’ sophomore album has done more than land at the top of Billboard’s gospel and Christian album charts this week, it has also become the most-streamed gospel album of the year thus far.
Cobbs, the 34-year-old Grammy award-winning gospel singer, released her sophomore album One Place Live on Aug. 21, which debuted at No. 28 on the Billboard Top-200 music charts. Two years after her debut album Grace, Cobbs’ fans helped propel her latest project to dominate Billboard gospel charts in the first week of its debut.
“Tasha’s fans have been waiting feverishly for the release of One Place Live. The purity and power of Tasha’s performance have made the wait worthwhile.” “Ken Pennell, president of Motown Gospel, said in a statement shared with The Christian Post.
The songs featured on Cobbs’ latest album stem from a multitude of moments in her worship experience that inspired her to write.
“They are what we call songs of the Lord. I can be leading worship or getting dressed for worship and a song will simply fall on me,” Cobbs said in a previous statement shared with CP. “Some songs are just moment songs, or maybe just four or five words will come, then I’ll go home and finish it.”
Cobbs’ first single, “Jesus Saves” came from a sense of peace that God gave her when she was overcoming depression.
“God spoke to me and gave me peace. Not just spiritual salvation; He saved me from the rejection and depression I used to feel,” Cobbs explained. “Jesus can save you from whatever it is you’re being overtaken by. That’s what this song is about.”
Speaking to Vibe Vixen earlier this year, Cobbs further detailed how she was able to mask her depression in public.
“My testimony is I battled depression and rejection in 2007 and it was very strong. I was ministering at my church every week but I’d go home depressed and rejected,” Cobbs said. “I needed Jesus to save me from that and He absolutely did.
“When I wrote the song, I was kind of torn because it just repeats two words,” Cobbs told Vibe Vixen. “But when I thought about it, it’s the basis of what we believe; that Jesus saves no matter what your situation is, whether needing salvation in general or needing to be saved from anything.”
With two Stellar awards and a Grammy award under her belt, the “Break Every Chain” singer said she wants people to intimately worship God when listening to her music.
“I knew that the songs were life changing and I knew that the songs were designed to bring people into worship,” Cobbs told CP. “I did not think — you know, the Bible says He’ll do above what you can even think or imagine. So my thought was they would bring people into worship but I never thought it would impact the industry as it did. But I’m grateful for that.”
After releasing two critically acclaimed albums, Cobbs said she believes God is bringing attention to people like her in the industry who have been working hard for years before being discovered.
“I believe God is there and God is in the gospel and the Christian music arena. You’re finding now that a lot of new artists are coming up and it seems like they just came from nowhere,” Cobbs said.
“A lot of people say that about me, but what I believe is happening now (that I’m really enjoying) is that God is just kind of putting the spotlight on people who have been working in the trenches or at their church homes or with their parents, kind of like I call them the ‘Davids.’ They’ve been out of the field and that’s their opportunity for God to put the spotlight on them and use them’ so that’s what I’m enjoying about the industry right now.”
