The King Is Still the King
The King Is Still the King is the fourteenth studio album by American Christian contemporary musician Chris Tomlin, released on September 26, 2025, via Evergreen Music Recordings and Christian Music Group. The album features guest appearances from Phil Wickham, Ben Fielding, Aodhán King, Jamie MacDonald, and CalledOut Music. It was produced by Jonathan Smith, Tomlin, Jordan Mohilowski, Casey Moore, Matt Gilder, and Cozi.
The album was supported by the release of "The First Hymn" as a single, with "You Are My King (Amazing Love)", "How Good It Is", "Doesn't He", and "Jesus Saves" as promotional singles. 'The First Hymn" peaked at No. 49 on the Billboard Hot Christian Songs chart. "How Good It Is" peaked at No. 38 on the Hot Christian Songs and No. 20 on Christian Airplay. "Doesn't He" peaked at No. 49 on the Hot Christian Songs.
Writing and development
Tomlin explained the inspiration behind the album, saying,The King Is Still the King was Tomlin's first album in three years, making it his longest time between album release dates.
Release and promotion
The lead single released from The King Is Still the King was "The First Hymn", featuring Ben Fielding, on April 11, 2025. The song was supported by a live video and a lyric video. "The First Hymn" covers the song P.Oxy 1786, which, written in the 3rd century AD, is credited as being the earliest known Christian Greek hymn to contain both lyrics and musical notation. The single's tracklist featured both a studio recording, as well as a live recording, from the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. "The First Hymn" was featured in a documentary of the same name, directed by Dr. John Dickson, which studied the origins of P.Oxy 1786. It premiered at Biola University on April 14, 2025, and was made available digitally in August 2025. Tomlin spoke about the song, saying,On April 16, 2025, as the first of Spotify's Easter Singles Campaign, Tomlin released a cover of Billy James Foote's "You Are My King ".
On July 10, 2025, Tomlin appeared on Fox & Friends, where he announced the song "How Good It Is" and the release date for The King Is Still the King. The following day, "How Good It Is" was officially released and the album was made available for preorder. It was supported by lyric video. "How Good It Is" became Tomlin's biggest single debut since his 2020 collaboration with Thomas Rhett and Florida Georgia Line on "Thank You Lord". On July 27, the song appeared on Fox & Friends, premiering to Television audiences.
"Doesn't He" was released as a promotional single on August 8, 2025, supported by a lyric video. Tomlin spoke about the song's meaning, saying,
The album's final predecessor, "Jesus Saves", was released on September 5, 2025, supported by a lyric video.
Accolades
| Publication | Accolade | Rank | |
| New Release Today | Top 10 Worship Albums of 2025 | Unordered |
Commercial performance
Within its first week, The King Is Still the King became Tomlin's biggest global streaming debut of his career.With the release of the album, it debuted in the UK at No. 12 on the OCC Official Christian & Gospel Albums chart and No. 42 on the Official Album Downloads chart. In the US, it debuted at No. 8 on the Top Christian Albums chart, No. 41 on the Top Album Sales chart, and No. 36 on the Top Current Album Sales chart.
Singles and charted songs
Tomlin and Fielding earned an entry into the Hot Christian Songs chart with "The First Hymn", which achieved a peak of No. 49. The song remained on the chart for one week. "Doesn't He" did the same. "How Good It Is" peaked at No. 38 on the Hot Christian Songs, No. 20 on Christian Airplay, and No. 26 on Christian AC Airplay.With the album's release, the track "Still the King" entered the Hot Christian Songs at No. 23.