Subway Songbird

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

 —ISAIAH 9:6

Christian recording artist Lauren Daigle performed the Christmas songs “What Child Is This?” and “Jingle Bells” in a New York City subway station last December with members of the New York Staff Band while two Salvation Army officers—Captain Clifford Douglas and Envoy LeNissa Sukhdeo—rang the bells. Daigle gave the mini concert at the Rockefeller Center station near Radio City Music Hall before her appearance on NBC’s Kelly Clarkson Show.

One of Christian music’s biggest stars, Daigle was a celebrity spokeswoman for The Salvation Army in 2023. The soulful singer released a Christmas album, Behold, in 2016 but is best known for songs like “You Say,” “Rescue,” “Hold On to Me,” and “How Can It Be.” The crossover hit “You Say” spent 132 weeks atop the Billboard Hot Christian Songs chart. Daigle, 33, has won two Grammy Awards and 12 Dove Awards from the Gospel Music Association in her career.

The Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Campaign is the oldest annual chari­table fundraiser in the nation and central to the organization’s mission. The campaign helps fund Christmas assistance and year-round soup kitchens, food pantries, utility assistance programs, and more at local Salvation Army churches.

photo by Ashley Mae Wright