Vocal virtuoso Earnest Pugh has quickly become one of gospel music’s top artists. In just a few short years, this new leading man has become one of the most talked about psalmist in the genre. First, it was the riveting song, “Rain On Us”. Now the artist is bombarding the airwaves with his follow-up, “I Need Your Glory”. The gut-wrenching, soaring ballad has once again catapulted the singer to the top spot. The song is currently at #1 on the Billboard Top Gospel Songs chart.
This is the fourth time that Pugh has been going head to head with one of his favorite artists in the countdown. On June 27th, Earnestly Yours took the #1 slot on the iTunes Christian & Gospel Chart (for digital sales) and on July 5th, Earnestly Yours took the #1 spot on the Billboard Top Gospel Albums Chart, beating out Gospel icon Kirk Franklin. Now, his fourth encounter with Franklin, Earnest’s lead single, “I Need Your Glory”, hits the top spot on the Billboard Top Gospel Songs chart. Also, the single hit #1 on CoCo Brother’s National Countdown.
Earnest finds his recent successes quite humbling. He says, “I am amazed that over the last two years God has blessed me to have 4 top 20 singles on Billboard-two of which reached #1 (“Rain On Us” and “I Need Your Glory”). The songs have created such a demand that we are in 3-4 markets a week and often do 2 and 3 cities in one day on weekends. To me, it’s all about sharing this great gospel with the world and I am honored to be used by God for a time such as this”.
Earnest Pugh has also seen success with the video to the single. After only two weeks on YouTube, the concept video for “I Need Your Glory” has accumulated tens of thousands of views and in the last 8 days has increased by 25%. In addition, the project, Earnestly Yours, just received nine first round Stellar Award nominations including Artist of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year and CD of the Year.
Earnest Pugh got his start in gospel music singing with pioneer O’landa Draper in his hometown of Memphis. After the release his 2006 debut, he caught the attention of the industry with the hit, “Wrapped Up, Tied Up, Tangled Up”. He became a household name in the genre with the 2009 release of “Rain On Us”, which charted in the Top 10 as one of Billboard’s Top Gospel Songs of 2010. The gospel crooner, who now lives in the D.C. area, has appeared on BET’s Celebration of Gospel and the Trinity Broadcasting Network’s “Praise The Lord” program. For more information about Earnest Pugh, log on to www.earnestpugh.com.
