Tamela Mann Notches Record 10th Gospel Airplay No. 1: ‘With Your Love and Support, We Did It!

March 23, 2023 E Jazz Reporter

Entertainment

Mann first topped the chart in 2012.

Tamela Mann

TILLYMANN ENTERTAINMENT

Tamela Mann scores her record-breaking 10th leader on Billboard’s Gospel Airplay chart, as “Finished” ascends to No. 1 on the ranking dated March 25.

In the tracking week ending March 16, the song gained by 7% in plays, according to Luminate.

Mann co-wrote the hit with Travis Greene, who, as a recording artist, has earned five Gospel Airplay chart-toppers of his own.

Now with 10 No. 1s, Mann solely claims the most on Gospel Airplay, which began in March 2005, as she breaks out of a tie with Kirk Franklin. James Fortune & FIYA follow with eight leaders, while Jekalyn Carr, Todd Dulaney, Charles Jenkins & Fellowship Chicago and Marvin Sapp are next with six each.

“Thank you to everybody who listened and made this possible,” Mann tells Billboard. “An extra-special thank you from the bottom of my heart to gospel radio for making me a part of your music family and always believing in me. With your love and support, we did it – 10 No. 1s! To God be the glory.”

“Finished” follows Mann’s “He Did It,” which dominated Gospel Airplay for two frames last May. She has now linked four straight No. 1s, after “Help Me” ruled for four weeks starting in September 2021 and “Touch Me” governed the tally for five frames beginning in December 2020.

Mann boasts two other runs of three Gospel Airplay leaders in a row. She earned her first three No. 1s – “Take Me to the King” (25 weeks on top), “I Can Only Imagine” (13) and “This Place” (six) – in 2012-15 and achieved her next three – “God Provides” (13), “My World Needs You,” by Franklin, featuring Sarah Reeves, Tasha Cobbs and Mann (two), and “Change Me” (14) – in 2016-17.

Mann also extends her record for the most weeks totaled atop Gospel Airplay, across all her No. 1s: 85. James Fortune & FIYA rank second with 81 weeks in charge, followed by Sapp (79), Franklin (72) and Hezekiah Walker (59).

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