Lean on Me (Kirk Franklin song)

"Lean on Me"
Single by Kirk Franklin featuring Mary J. Blige, Bono, R. Kelly, Crystal Lewis & The Family
from the album The Nu Nation Project
Released	September 22, 1998
Recorded	1998
Genre	Urban contemporary gospel
Length	5:08
Label	GospoCentric, Interscope
Songwriter(s)	Kirk Franklin
Producer(s)	Kirk Franklin Dan Shea
Kirk Franklin singles chronology
"You Are the Only One" (1997) "Lean on Me" (1998) "Revolution" (1998)

"Lean on Me" is a song by American gospel artist Kirk Franklin. Released in 1998, the song greatly helped ascend Kirk Franklin's album The Nu Nation Project.^[1] The Nu Nation Project went on to top the Billboard Contemporary Christian Albums chart for 23 weeks and the Billboard Gospel Albums chart for 49 weeks, and brought Franklin his third Grammy.^[2]

History

Released as the first single in 1998, "Lean on Me" helped catapult The Nu Nation Project to becoming a 2× platinum gospel album.^[3][4] The single is also an interpretation of the Bill Withers song “"Lean on Me”.^[2] The song was a collaboration with artists Bono, Mary J. Blige, Crystal Lewis, Tamela Mann, and R. Kelly. The song was heavily praised for reaching both the gospel and secular radio. 1.5 million copies of the single have been sold to date and the single was nominated for Song of the Year Category for the 41st Grammy Awards.^[5] The single was also nominated for Best R&B Song and Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.^[5]

Kirk performed "Lean On Me" at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on 24 February before a TV audience of 1.5 billion people alongside Bono, Gerald Levert, Crystal Lewis, and Mary J. Blige.^[6]

Live performances

• "Lean on Me" was performed at the 41st Grammy Awards.

Chart performance

Weekly chart performance for "Lean on Me"

Chart (1998)	Peak position
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[7]	57
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[8]	27
Poland (Polish music charts)[9]	5
US Billboard Hot 100[10]	79
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[11]	26

See also

• Gospel Music
• Kirk Franklin

References

1. Christianity Today. "Kirk Franklin". Crosswalk.com. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
2. "Kirk Franklin at The Wiltern". 102.3 KJLH Radio. KJLH Radio. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
3. Rodney Batdorf. "Kirk Franklin The Nu Nation Project". All Music. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
4. RIAA website^{[full citation needed]}
5. "Kirk Franklin & Nu Nation". The Washington Post. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
6. Tony Cummings. "Kirk Franklin: The Grammy Award winning megastar". Cross Rhythms. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
7. "Kirk Franklin – Lean on Me" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
8. "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. July 15, 2024. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
9. "Major Market Airplay" (PDF). Retrieved July 18, 2024.
10. "Kirk Franklin Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
11. "Kirk Franklin Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved December 19, 2017.