Tasha Cobbs Leonard posts her fifth (and third in succession) No. 1 on Billboard‘s Gospel Airplay chart with “Gotta Believe.” The song increased by 21% in plays in the tracking week ending March 13, according to MRC Data.
Cobbs Leonard penned her new leader solo.
The coronation also follows her March 9 announcement that she and her husband, producer Kenneth Leonard, have adopted a baby boy, Asher Amaris Leonard.
“I wrote ‘Gotta Believe’ as a testament of God’s faithfulness through a difficult time on our fertility journey,” Cobbs Leonard tells Billboard. “For this song to be the most-played song at gospel radio the same week we finalized adoption of my precious new baby is amazing! I am so grateful.”
“Gotta Believe” follows Cobbs Leonard’s “In Spite of Me,” which reigned for a week last June, and “You Know My Name (Live),” which led for a week in October 2019.
The singer-songwriter topped Gospel Airplay with her debut hit, “Break Every Chain,” for seven weeks starting in June 2013, and added her second No. 1 as a featured artist on Kirk Franklin’s “My World Needs You” (also featuring Sarah Reeves and Tamela Mann), a two-week leader in July 2017.
With five No. 1s on Gospel Airplay, which launched in March 2005, Cobbs Leonard ties six other acts for the fourth-best total. Among women, she and Jekalyn Carr trail only Tamela Mann, with eight No. 1s; Mann and Kirk Franklin boast the most leaders among all acts.