"Joyful" (stylized in lower case) is a song by American Christian and Gospel singer and songwriter Dante Bowe, which was released on March 12, 2021, as the lead single to his second studio album, Circles.[1] Bowe co-wrote the song with Ben Schofield.[2] Ben Schofield handled the production of the single.[3]
"We felt like for the times that "Joyful" was a message that felt important, you know what I mean? Choosing joy just felt more relevant — no pun intended — than anything right now. I think we wanted to just start the album off with, "You know what, this has been one crazy year, but we're going to be joyful.""
– Dante Bowe, on the decision to release "Joyful" as the lead single from Circles.[6]
On March 12, 2021, Dante Bowe released "Joyful" as the lead single to his second studio album, Circles, along with its accompanying music video.[7] The single followed the announcement made earlier that month, stated that Circles will be slated for release on March 26, 2021.[8]
Dante Bowe spoke of the message behind the song,[9] saying: "Joy is so different than happiness. While happiness is that temporary feeling created by circumstance, joy isn’t based on anything other than truth. You can be in a bad place or sad situation and still have joy: the knowing that greater things are coming and the moment you are in is not the end."
Bowe opined that "Joyful" a "completely different" single, stating that he was pushing boundaries of what he was offering his audience sonically, by giving them "something that they’d have to grow into."[6]
Composition
"Joyful" is a gospel and R&B song composed in the key of A♭ with a tempo of 92 beats per minute and a musical time signature of 4 4.[10]
"Joyful" debuted at No. 39 on the US Hot Christian Songs chart,[13] and at No. 22 on the Hot Gospel Songs chart.[14] Following the album's release, "Joyful" debuted on Christian Airplay at No. 36.[15] "Joyful" peaked at No. 14 on Hot Christian Songs,[4] No. 3 on Hot Gospel Songs,[5] and No. 12 on the Christian Airplay chart.[16]
"Joyful" debuted at No. 23 on the Gospel Airplay chart dated July 31, 2021,[17] making Bowe the first artist to simultaneously rank on the Christian radio and Gospel radio charts.[18] "Joyful" went on to reach No. 1 on the Gospel Airplay chart dated February 26, 2022,[19] becoming Bowe's first chart-topping song on Gospel radio.[20]
Music videos
Dante Bowe released the music video of "Joyful" via YouTube on March 12, 2021.[21] Creedlife directed the music video.[22] The video shows Bowe walking about in the neighborhood on a sunny day, interacting with the people in his community.[23]
On June 7, 2021, Bethel Music published the live performance video of "Joyful" by Dante Bowe on YouTube.[24]
