Background
King of Hearts was first announced on April 2, 2025. Brandon Lake announced the album through a "record reveal" live performance at the Riviera Theater in Charleston, South Carolina. The performance was live-streamed later that day. [12] [13] Lake stated about the inspiration behind the album, "It's not for the seemingly put together, but for those honest about their brokenness, longing to connect with their Creator. He is King of the universe, nations, creation-but most of all, King of hearts." [14]
Three singles were released off of the album, predating the album's release. [15] [16] The lead single of King of Hearts was "That's Who I Praise", which was released on July 9, 2024. [17] The song was written by Brandon Lake, Steven Furtick, Benjamin William Hastings, Micah Nichols, Zac Lawson, and the lattermost's brother Jake Lawson, better known as Jvke. It was produced by Micah Nichols. [18] The song charted notably, peaking at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Christian Songs, and remaining at the top of that chart for nine weeks. [19] The song spent 10 weeks at No. 1 on the Christian Airplay chart, tying it with "I Thank God" by JWLKRS and Housefires and "No Fear" by Jon Reddick as the longest time spent at No. 1 on that chart of the 2020s. [7] [20] It additionally peaked at No. 12 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 and No. 39 on the Recorded Music NZ Hot Singles chart. [21]
The second single released off of King of Hearts was "Hard Fought Hallelujah", which was released on November 8, 2024. [22] [23] The song was written by Brandon lake, Steven Furtick, Benjamin William Hastings, Chis Brown, Rodrick Simmons, and Jason Bradley DeFord, better known as Jelly Roll. It was also produced by Micah Nichols. "Hard Fought Hallelujah" peaked at No. 40 on the Billboard Hot 100, [24] marking his first entry on the chart. [10] It additionally reached No. 1 on the Hot Christian Songs chart and has been at the number 1 position for 20 weeks, [25] No. 18 on the RMNZ Hot Singles chart, [26] and No. 197 on the Billboard Global 200. [27]
The third single of the album, was "I Know a Name", released on February 14, 2025. [28] [29] [30] It was written by Brandon Lake, Hank Bentley, Steven Furtick, and Jacob Scooter. It was produced by Chris Brown and Steven Furtick. The song peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot Christian Songs chart. [31] Lake released a solo version of the song exclusive to Amazon Music. [32]
On April 29, 2025, the song "Daddy's DNA" was released as a promotional single. [33] The fourth and final single, "Sevens", was released on May 15, 2025. [34] [35] [36] It was released to celebrate King of Hearts having reached 20,000 presaves within a week. [37]
On May 29, 2025, a Walmart-exclusive two-disk CD was released, featuring the live performance of "Hard Fought Hallelujah" at the Grand Ole Opry. [38]
Writing and development
Lake stated at the "record reveal" performance that the song "Sevens" is in reference to the rainbow, which features seven colors. [12] He stated about the inspiration behind the album, "It's not for the seemingly put together, but for those honest about their brokenness, longing to connect with their Creator. He is King of the universe, nations, creation-but most of all, King of hearts." [14]
Critical reception
Josh Balogh of Jesus Freak Hideout awarded the album 3.5-out-of-5 stars, praising that it is Lake's "most musically ambitious project yet, weaving heartland rock, country twang, R&B grooves, and pop anthems into a vibrant tapestry of worship." He criticized the album, saying, "King of Hearts isn't perfect; its ambition sometimes outpaces its execution." He labelled it as a top-ten album of 2025. [39]
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