The ''Weekend 22'' (abbreviated as ''W22'') is a

Christian music Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely aro ...

countdown A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...

. It is a syndicated show that is broadcast nationwide in the United States and heard in over 150 cities across the country. The show is produced and syndicated worldwide by Amped Creative.

Christian Care Ministry Christian Care Ministry is a nonprofit organization based in Melbourne, Florida. It was founded by Dr. E John Reinhold in 1993, as a division of the American Evangelistic Association (AEA), with the goal of providing what it calls "biblical h ...

's Medi-Share is the main sponsor for the show. The countdown is based on the play lists found on Christian CHR radio stations across the U.S. It was based on the R&R charts until the magazine was folded into

Billboard magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...

in 2009. Jeremy "JGonzo" Gonzalez started out as the host in June 2002. Josh Ashton took over as host in August 2008. The current producer is Jason Burrows and the current executive producers are Ken Farley (owner of Amped Creative) and Brandon Rahbar. Research and script is provided by Rachael Jamison. JGonzo's wife Kathy "KJ" Gonzalez is the former announcer of the music news segments. The current music news contributor is Rachael James. Amped Creative also created and produced a countdown show for Christian AC stations called The Weekend Top 20, which is also executively produced by Ken Farley and Brandon Rahbar. While Rachael Jamison handles music news on 20WT, Wes Shattler handles the research script. 20WT is hosted by Kurt Wallace.

Background

Substitute hosts

Similarities between ''Weekend 22'' and ''20 the Countdown''

''Weekend 22'' is similar to ''20 the Countdown'', both counting down the most popular songs on Christian radio. However, while ''20 the Countdown Magazine'' used the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Christian Songs Hot Christian Songs is a music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It ranks the popularity of Christian songs using the same methodology developed for the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, the magazine's flagship songs c ...

as its source, ''Weekend 22'' used the weekly Christian CHR airplay-based survey produced by ''

Radio & Records ''Radio & Records'' (''R&R'') was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It started as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006 and became a relaunched sister ...

''. It would eventually switch to the ''Billboard'' Christian pop songs chart in 2009 after R&R folded into that magazine.

Features

*3 Songs That Might Make It to #1 *Jingles *Music News: In the middle of each half of the countdown, W22 introduces a segment featuring the latest Christian music news. Kathy "KJ" Gonzalez was the former music news coordinator, later replaced by the current coordinator, Rachael James. *Future Hits: In the middle of a segment of the countdown (usually songs 13-12 and/or songs 4-3), the countdown is paused to introduce to listeners a song that might become a future hit on the countdown (hence the name). It may be a new song that has debuted on the Christian CHR chart below the top 22, or it may be a new song that has received airplay on Christian hit radio but has yet to chart. During the holiday season, the "Future Hits" segments are replaced by "Christmas Song" segments where they introduce a new Christmas song. *Special Feature: Every once in a while, one of the "Future Hits" segments will be replaced by a segment where they play a song that was requested from a listener that has touched their lives. The Weekend 22 hotline is +1 ( 800) 761-HITS (4487). *Closing: The final segment of each countdown features the top two songs on the survey. After playing the #1 song of the week, the host will read the show's credits and sign off with "have a great weekend... or what's left of it".

Weekend 22 History of #1s

These songs hit No. 1 on the Weekend 22 Year-End Countdown from 2002 to 2021. *2002:

Newsboys Newsboys (sometimes stylised as newsboys) are a Christian rock band founded in 1985 in Mooloolaba, Queensland, Australia, by Peter Furler and George Perdikis. Now based in Nashville, Tennessee, the band has released 17 studio albums, 6 of whi ...

–

It Is You The discography of Australian Christian rock band Newsboys consists of 20 studio albums, 2 remix albums, 17 compilations, 2 live albums, 1 demo, 102 singles, 10 extended plays 22 music videos, and some official live recordings. Studio albums ...

*2003:

– He Reigns *2004:

BarlowGirl BarlowGirl was an American Christian rock and CCM all-female band from Elgin, Illinois. The band was composed of sisters Alyssa (lead vocals, bass guitar, keyboards), Lauren (co-lead vocals, drums) and Rebecca (guitar, backing vocals) Barlow. ...

– Never Alone *2005:

Jeremy Camp Jeremy Thomas Camp (born January 12, 1978) is an American contemporary Christian music singer and songwriter from Lafayette, Indiana. He has released eleven albums, four of them RIAA-certified as Gold, and two live albums. Camp's original music ...

– Take You Back *2006:

–

I Need You to Love Me "I Need You to Love Me" is a song by Christian rock band BarlowGirl, from their 2005 album ''Another Journal Entry''. It was released as a radio single on January 27, 2006. The song was the most played song of 2006 on the R&R Christian Contempora ...

2006 Year End Charts/Top Christian CHR songs
R&R magazine, Retrieved January 5, 2007 *2007:

Skillet A frying pan, frypan, or skillet is a flat-bottomed pan used for frying, searing, and browning foods. It is typically in diameter with relatively low sides that flare outwards, a long handle, and no lid. Larger pans may have a small grab ha ...

– The Last Night2007 Year End Charts/Top Christian CHR songs
R&R magazine, Retrieved January 4, 2008 *2008:

The Afters The Afters is an American Christian pop rock band founded by Joshua Havens and Matt Fuqua. Havens and Fuqua first worked together in a Starbucks coffee shop in Mesquite, Texas, where they performed songs for customers, before deciding to for ...

– Never Going Back to OK2008 Year End Charts/Top Christian CHR songs
, R&R magazine, Retrieved January 6, 2009 *2009: Matthew West – The Motions2009 Year End Charts/Top Christian CHR songs

, Retrieved January 5, 2010 *2010:

– Born Again2010 Year End Charts/Top Christian CHR songs

, Retrieved January 4, 2011 *2011:

Jamie Grace Jamie Grace Harper (born November 25, 1991) is an American contemporary Christian musician, singer, rapper, and songwriter from Atlanta, Georgia. In 2010, TobyMac found her songs on YouTube and signed her to his label Gotee Records for two alb ...

featuring

TobyMac Toby McKeehan (born Kevin Michael McKeehan; October 22, 1964), better known by his stage name TobyMac (styled tobyMac or TOBYMAC), is an American contemporary Christian music singer, rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He was first known f ...

– Hold Me2011 Year End Charts/Top Christian CHR songs

, Retrieved January 3, 2012 *2012:

– Me Without You2012 Year End Charts/Top Christian CHR songs

, Retrieved January 1, 2013 *2013:

Hawk Nelson Hawk Nelson is a Canadian rock band from Peterborough, Ontario. Formed in 2000, the band has released eight studio albums to date. History Early independent releases (2000–2003) In 2000, Dunn, Clark, and Paige founded a Peterborough-based gro ...

featuring

Bart Millard Bart Marshall Millard (born December 1, 1972) is an American singer and songwriter who is best known as the leader of the band MercyMe. He has also released two solo albums: ''Hymned, No. 1'', in 2005 and ''Hymned Again'' in 2008. He received a ...

from

MercyMe MercyMe is an American contemporary Christian music band founded in Edmond, Oklahoma. The band consists of lead vocalist Bart Millard, percussionist Robby Shaffer, bassist Nathan Cochran and guitarists Michael Scheuchzer and Barry Graul. The b ...

– Words2013 Year End Charts/Top Christian CHR songs

, Retrieved January 7, 2014 *2014: for KING & COUNTRY –

Fix My Eyes "Fix My Eyes" is the first single by Australian Christian alternative rock duo For King & Country on their second studio album titled ''Run Wild. Live Free. Love Strong.'' It was released on 1 May 2014. The song reached No. 3 on the Christ ...

2014 Year End Charts/Top Christian CHR songs

, Retrieved January 6, 2015 *2015:

NEEDTOBREATHE Needtobreathe (stylized as NEEDTOBREATHE) is an American rock band from Seneca, South Carolina. The band is composed of Bear Rinehart (lead vocals, guitar, piano), Seth Bolt (backing vocals, bass), Josh Lovelace (backing vocals, keys), Randal ...

featuring

Gavin DeGraw Gavin Shane DeGraw (born February 4, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter. DeGraw rose to fame with his song " I Don't Want to Be" from his debut album ''Chariot'' (2003); the song became the main theme song for The WB drama series ''One Tree ...

–

Brother A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-famil ...

2015 Year End Charts/Top Christian CHR songs

, Retrieved January 8, 2016 *2016: for KING & COUNTRY –

Priceless Priceless may refer to: * Something so rare, unique or desirable that it transcends normal concepts of price; in other words, it cannot be sold at any price * Priceless (2006 film), ''Priceless'' (2006 film) (aka ''Hors de prix''), a 2006 French f ...

2016 Year End Charts/Top Christian CHR songs

, Retrieved January 7, 2017 *2017:

featuring

Lauren Daigle Lauren Ashley Daigle () (born September 9, 1991) is an American contemporary Christian music singer and songwriter. After being signed to the label Centricity Music, she released her debut album, '' How Can It Be,'' in 2015. It reached No. 1 on ...

– Hard Love2017 Year End Charts/Top Christian CHR songs

, Retrieved January 8, 2018 *2018:

Tauren Wells Tauren Gabriel Wells is an American singer, songwriter, and multi instrumentalist from Houston, Texas who is known for making contemporary Christian music. Biography Wells was a founding member of Royal Tailor along with DJ Cox and Blake Hubb ...

– Known2018 Year End Charts/Weekend 22
Podbean, Retrieved January 2, 2019 *2019: for KING & COUNTRY –

God Only Knows "God Only Knows" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1966 album '' Pet Sounds''. Written by Brian Wilson and Tony Asher, it is a Baroque-style love song distinguished for its harmonic innovation and its subversion of typi ...

2019 Year End Charts/Top Christian CHR songs

, Retrieved December 26, 2019 *2020: for KING & COUNTRY –

Burn the Ships ''Burn the Ships'' is the third studio album by For King & Country, an Australian Christian pop duo comprising brothers Luke Smallbone and Joel Smallbone, released via Word Entertainment on 5 October 2018. It features appearances from Moriah P ...

In 2020, ''Billboard'' did not publish an official Christian CHR year-end list. The countdown was instead based on data gathered by the producers of ''Weekend 22''. *2021:

– Help Is on the Way (Maybe Midnight)2021 Year End Charts/Weekend 22
Podbean, Retrieved January 7, 2022

Expansion into Christian adult contemporary charts

In 2003, Amped Creative added a second countdown show. With Christian pop radio in decline, and many ''Weekend 22'' affiliates having a

Christian adult contemporary Christian adult contemporary, also known as Christian AC or CAC, is a radio format. In the United States, Christian adult contemporary radio stations cater to a mostly adult audience and are similar to mainstream adult contemporary stations in that ...

format, Amped Creative launched ''Weekend Top 25'' in November 2003, as a two-hour, 25-song countdown (reduced to 20 in June 2006), using the ''Radio & Records'' Christian AC chart, eventually switched to the ''Billboard'' Christian AC chart after R&R folded into that magazine. Lisa Williams started out as the host in November 2003. Scott Smith took over as host sometime in 2005. The current host, Kurt Wallace, took over sometime in 2007. As on the parent program, ''Weekend Top 20'' concludes its years with an annual special featuring the top hits of the year. It featured a twenty-five song countdown from 2003 to 2005, reduced to twenty beginning in 2006. The songs that finished the year atop the charts are as follows: *2003:

– Word of God Speak *2004: Matthew West – More *2005:

– Take You Back *2006: Aaron Shust – My Savior My God2006 Year End Charts/Top Christian AC songs
R&R magazine, Retrieved January 5, 2007 *2007:

Rush of Fools Rush of Fools is an American Christian rock/contemporary Christian music band from Birmingham, Alabama. They are known for their 2007 hit single "Undo", co-written with producer Scott Davis, which was the most played song of 2007 on Adult Con ...

–

Undo Undo is an interaction technique which is implemented in many computer programs. It erases the last change done to the document, reverting it to an older state. In some more advanced programs, such as graphic processing, undo will negate the las ...

2007 Year End Charts/Top Christian AC songs
R&R magazine, Retrieved January 4, 2008 *2008: Matthew West – You Are Everything2008 Year End Charts/Top Christian AC songs
, R&R magazine, Retrieved January 6, 2009 *2009: Matthew West – The Motions2009 Year End Charts/Top Christian AC songs
,

, Retrieved January 5, 2010 *2010:

– All of Creation2010 Year End Charts/Top Christian AC songs

, Retrieved January 4, 2011 *2011:

Casting Crowns Casting Crowns is a contemporary Christian and Christian rock band started in 1999 by youth pastor Mark Hall, who serves as the band's lead vocalist, as part of a youth group at First Baptist Church in Downtown Daytona Beach, Florida. They late ...

–

Glorious Day (Living He Loved Me) "Glorious Day (Living He Loved Me)" is a song performed by contemporary Christian band Casting Crowns from their 2009 album '' Until the Whole World Hears''. While the music was composed by the band, the lyrics come from the hymn "One Day", wri ...

2011 Year End Charts/Top Christian AC songs

, Retrieved January 3, 2012 *2012:

Building 429 Building 429 is an American Christian rock band from Fayetteville, North Carolina. Their name is derived from a Biblical passage known as Ephesians 4:29, which, in the New International Version of the Bible, reads as follows: "Do not let any un ...

– Where I Belong2012 Year End Charts/Top Christian AC songs

, Retrieved January 2, 2013 *2013:

Chris Tomlin Christopher Dwayne Tomlin (born May 4, 1972) is an American contemporary Christian music singer, songwriter, and worship leader from Grand Saline, Texas, United States, who has sold over 7 million records. He is a member of Passion Conferences an ...

– Whom Shall I Fear od of Angel Armiesref name=BB2013CA
2013 Year End Charts/Top Christian AC songs

, Retrieved January 1, 2013 *2014: Phil Wickham – This Is Amazing Grace2014 Year End Charts/Top Christian AC songs

, Retrieved January 6, 2015 *2015:

Third Day Third Day was a Christian rock band formed in Marietta, Georgia during the 1990s. The band was founded by lead singer Mac Powell, guitarist Mark Lee (both of whom were the only constant members) and Billy Wilkins. Drummer David Carr was the ...

featuring

All Sons & Daughters All Sons & Daughters was an American Christian worship music duo, who performed in the styles of acoustic and folk music, originating from Franklin, Tennessee. The group's leads were Leslie Anne Jordan on vocals and guitar and David Alan Leon ...

– Soul on Fire2015 Year End Charts/Top Christian AC songs

, Retrieved January 8, 2016 *2016:

–

Trust in You "Trust In You" is a song by American contemporary Christian music singer-songwriter Lauren Daigle. It was released as the third single from her debut studio album, '' How Can It Be'', on January 22, 2016. The song became her first Hot Christian S ...

2016 Year End Charts/Top Christian AC songs

, Retrieved January 7, 2017 *2017:

– Even If2017 Year End Charts/Top Christian AC songs

, Retrieved January 8, 2018 *2018:

Cory Asbury Cory Hunter Asbury is an American Christian musician, worship pastor, songwriter, and former member of the Bethel Music collective. Starting as an intern with the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, Missouri, in 2005, Asbury's career ...

–

Reckless Love Reckless Love is a Finnish rock band formed in Kuopio in 2001. They released their debut album in 2010, which reached number 13 in the Finnish charts. In 2011, they released their second album ''Animal Attraction'', which was in the top 10 of t ...

2018 Year End Charts/Weekend Top 20
Podbean, Retrieved January 2, 2019 *2019: for KING & COUNTRY –

2019 Year End Charts/Top Christian AC songs

, Retrieved December 26, 2019 *2020:

– The Father's House2020 Year End Charts/Top Christian AC songs
Billboard, Retrieved December 30, 2020 *2021: David Crowder – Good God Almighty2021 Year End Charts/Weekend Top 20
Podbean, Retrieved January 7, 2022

References

External links

*{{Official website, www.weekend22.com Christian rock radio programs American music radio programs American Christian radio programs American record charts Music chart shows 2002 radio programme debuts