Let’s talk about GOSPEL: a genre shaped by women

Gospel music is Christian music. From its beginning, it has been a way to express faith, process pain, hold on to faith and build community. It came from struggle but it also came from creativity and joy.

However, you don’t need to be religious to feel it, as it has a way of cutting through everything. It reaches the heart, no matter what you believe. It’s emotional, powerful and absolutely real.

The history of Gospel and its global impact

Gospel has roots in the spirituals sung by enslaved people in the United States. Those songs carried messages of hope and resistance. Over time they grew into something new, and became an active part of the African American Protestant church, where they were used to praise the Lord. In the early 1900s, Thomas Dorsey and similar artists mixed those spiritual messages with blues and jazz sounds.

This genre has long been shaped by women. The legend Mahalia Jackson is just an example. Countless local choir leaders were women: it’s a genre where female voices shine, often quite literally centre-stage.

Globally, even in Mediterranean countries, gospel choirs have been present since the 20th century, but it really gained momentum from the 1970s onwards, even more in the 1990s and 2000s.

It’s already part of what we listen to

Gospel influences a lot of music we already know. That choir in Like a Prayer by Madonna? That’s gospel lifting the entire song. Or take La mia parola from Sanremo 2024 by Shablo, Guè, Joshua and Tormento: the gospel choir added something rich and unforgettable to their Sanremo performance. It showed how gospel fits perfectly even in the modern world, even with topics that are not about religion. We hear gospel sounds in pop, hip hop, rock and film scores. They show up when the music needs soul, depth or that extra push.

Gospel always feels human: it connects us to something bigger than ourselves, whether that’s God, the community or just the emotion in the song. The sound has also changed over the years. Kirk Franklin, Tasha Cobbs Leonard and Maverick City Music, between others, took gospel and made it current. Modern artists usually keep the message and the style but mix it with other genres like R&B and rap. The result is music that feels fresh but still deeply rooted.

Gospel music is about connection: it lifts, comforts and inspires. It’s honest, it’s art and it welcomes everyone who’s ready to listen. Like all art forms, its value should be recognized regardless of  everyone’s personal beliefs.