WASHINGTON, D.C. — October 23, 2026 — GRAMMY Award nominee and Stellar Award winner JJ Hairston returns with Anthems & Prayers (Live), a powerful new collection of praise and worship anthems paired with heartfelt, powerful prayers. The project encourages listeners to celebrate, reflect, and draw closer to God through every song and prayer. Anthems & Prayers (Live) arrives today, everywhere Friday, October 23, 2026 via James Town Music.
For more than three decades, Hairston has shaped the sound of modern gospel, from founding Youthful Praise to writing “You Deserve It,” the #1 Billboard Hot Gospel Songs anthem now sung in churches around the world. Anthems & Prayers marks a first for him: an album built to carry his pastoral ministry and his artistry together. Every anthem is paired with a prayer, inviting listeners to move from celebration into conversation with God.
The project is led by “Mighty Is Your Name (Live)” featuring Melissa Bethea, released October 2. The 11-minute live recording sets the tone for the album: a congregational declaration of God’s power that builds from worship into prayer.
The album’s prayers are led by featured voices: Reginald Robinson opens the project in prayer, followed by Trina Hairston on “We Bare His Name,” David Wilford on “A Prayer for Deliverance,” and Tiffany Wilson on “A Prayer of Repentance.” The anthems feature Tiffany Wilson and Mandela Simmons on “Heal the Land,” Mandela Simmons on “Touch of Heaven” and its reprise with David Wilford, Cassie Richardson on “We Receive” and “Yahweh Will Manifest Himself,” and more.
For years I’ve stood in two places, behind the pulpit as a pastor and on the stage as a worship leader. Anthems & Prayers is the first time I’ve brought both of those callings into one room. The anthems lift our praise, and the prayers bring us close enough to hear from God. I want people to sing, but I also want them to pray.” — JJ Hairston
Anthems & Prayers (Live) is available now on all major digital platforms.
