Josiah Queen Hits #1 on YouTube Hype Leaderboard

Josiah Queen’s new song demons is currently sitting at #1 on YouTube’s new Hype leaderboard, with alternate version of his song also landing at #4, putting Christian music squarely at the top of YouTube’s newest feature designed specifically to spotlight rising creators.

Once again Josiah bucked a traditional marketing push. It happened because fans showed up, participated, and helped carry the song there.

Queen invited listeners to create and share their own second verse of “demons,” turning the track into a collaborative moment rather than a one-way release. That challenge sparked a wave of engagement across Reels, Shorts, and social posts, with fans not just listening but actively building on the message of the song. The result is exactly the kind of organic momentum the new YouTube tool was built to measure.

What Is YouTube “Hype”?

YouTube’s Hype feature allows viewers to “boost” eligible long-form videos from creators with 500 to 500,000 subscribers, helping surface emerging voices through a live, fan-powered leaderboard. Users can send free hype points to videos up to three times per week, and rankings update constantly based on real audience activity.

It’s essentially discovery powered by community rather than industry gatekeeping.

Why This Moment Matters for Christian Music

Christian music has often relied on radio, retail, and touring ecosystems to break new artists. What’s happening with Josiah Queen shows a different path, one where songs spread through participation, testimony, and shareability long before traditional systems catch up.

We’ve already seen this kind of grassroots resonance with songs like “Dusty Bibles” and “The Prodigal,” tracks that connected deeply online because they felt personal, reflective, and easy for listeners to carry into their own stories. “demons” is following that same trajectory, but now inside a platform feature explicitly designed to reward fan mobilization.

A Shift From Platform to People

The Hype leaderboard isn’t curated by programmers or playlists. It rises and falls based on whether audiences decide a piece of content is worth championing. That dynamic plays naturally into the strengths of faith-based artists, whose listeners tend to engage as a community, not just as consumers.

Josiah Queen landing at #1, with another placement in the Top 5, gives a glimpse at how Christian artists are learning to move at the speed of digital culture while staying rooted in message-driven music. For years, CCM has adapted to new media after the fact.

This time, it’s leading the moment.