CCM song scores about as well with us as the genre usually does.
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Thomas Inskeep: Christian pop star Daigle’s got a rich, big voice, similar to Adele’s. This expansive, inspirational ballad is sung to God but could easily be heard as being sung to a lover — I could see some crafty promotion crossing this over to the secular market — and features lovely piano, as well as some big-ass stompy drums and choral accompaniment on the chorus. It wouldn’t be anything without Daigle’s voice singing the hell outta the song, which she does in a sterling manner. “You Say” legitimately lifts me up.
[8]
Alex Clifton: I had to check a couple of times to ensure that this wasn’t Adele and that this wasn’t a retread of “Someone Like You”; Daigle’s got the same kind of deep tonality that Adele does, and that piano line only reinforces the impression. The yelping “IIIII” chorus that crops up occasionally isn’t great, but the rest of it feels pretty sweeping. I know I’m not the target audience for this at all–I don’t know squat about religion to be quite honest–but it sounds like a very comforting blanket to wrap yourself up in when you’re feeling low and lost, and it works.
[5]
Nortey Dowuona: Drifting, rippling piano lifts gently as Lauren calmly cruises, then rises with it as a choir pipes up briefly along with spiderweb strings woven in the back on slack, cavernous drums that stumble in and are too afraid to leave.
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Alfred Soto: You say this bilge is classy? I don’t believe you.
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Katherine St Asaph: Lauren Daigle goes even further into blasphemy than Ariana Grande — not only is God a woman, she claims, God is Adele.
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Will Adams: If you told me this was a Ryan Tedder remix of “Someone Like You” that had alternate lyrics for some reason, I’d a) believe you, then b) ask why you were subjecting me to such a scenario.
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Joshua Minsoo Kim: A silly but actual concern I’ve had regarding the legitimacy of a (Christian) God existing: if God created the world, how come he can’t get his followers to create good music? The vast disparity between a creative God and his uncreative believers is obvious, though. The CCM industry is an utter hack, for one, but the music that is part of this scene is meant to be accessible in every individual aspect. In other words: “You Say” isn’t meant to just get radioplay, it’s supposed to be sung within churches throughout the world. As such, the lyrics are simplistic and the music trope-laden. This “uplifting anthem” is perfectly clear in its sentiment and the sort of thing that Christian radio and congregations have been eating up for ages. It conveniently sidesteps the actual “progressions” that the CCM market has had this past decade–the U2 and Arcade Fire “Wake Up” chant-informed music of Hillsong United (from United We Stand-onward), the post-Mumford & Sons folk-stomp of Rend Collective, the new age looseness of the International House of Prayer/Bethel Church axis–and feels “timeless” in its Adele-ian banality. The drums are always corny in songs like these, but it’s the gospel choir that feels especially hamfisted. The result is one that’s overly familiar: an unsavory feeling that everything about this is inauthentic.
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