Chris Sligh

Sligh began his college study in pre-law at Pensacola Christian College in Florida, Sligh transferred in his sophomore year to Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina intending to major in music. Despite having no previous formal instruction, Sligh progressed rapidly in the school’s vocal performance program, and was invited to audition both for The Juilliard School and the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Sligh was expelled from Bob Jones after he broke school rules. He then attended North Greenville University but left shy a few credits of earning a music degree.

In 2019, Sligh partnered with Worship Tutorials to release a series of videos.

In April 2018, Sligh released A Modern Liturgy. The album followed up Mighty Roar / Healing Flood with equally great reviews: JesusFreakHideout gave it 4/5 stars, CCM Magazine again gave this one 4/4 stars.

In 2018, Sligh produced the majority of an EP for Curt Anderson and wrote and produced new artist Jenna Long

In 2017, Sligh returned to touring and played over forty shows.

In 2016, Sligh and family moved to Chicago, Illinois, where he acted as Executive Creative Director at Parkview Christian Church. At the end of 2016, Sligh left his job at the church around the time of releasing Mighty Roar / Healing Flood in December 2016. The album received positive reviews by major Christian publications: it received 4 of 5 stars by New Release Today 4 of 5 stars by CCM Magazine and 3.5 of 5 star by JesusFreakHideout plus a 9/10 rating by CrossRhythms Magazine. The album also garnered Sligh a nomination for JesusFreakHideout's Pop Album of the Year.

In 2013, Sligh and his family moved to Austin, Texas, where Chris acted as Worship Pastor and later Creative Director at Shoreline Church. Sligh built a songwriting and production arm for the church called Shoreline Music and featured on the album No Height, No Depth, which came out in 2015.

In 2011, Sligh parted with Warner Brothers/Word Records. He took a job at Rocky Mountain Christian Church in Niwot, Colorado as Worship Pastor. Sligh released his third album, For Our God & King, and a 37-song triple album This Is Life.

In November 2009 Sligh's first Christmas album became available on iTunes. In November he also announced details of his upcoming album, titled "The Anatomy of Broken," which was released in September 14, 2010. The album has since peaked at number 44 on the Billboard Top Christian Albums Chart.

In March and April 2009, Sligh toured with [1] Natalie Grant and Meredith Andrews on the Make It Matter Tour.

In April 2009, Sligh co-wrote a song called "Here Comes Goodbye" with Clint Lagerberg (also the cowriter of Sligh's first single "Empty Me"). This song was released by the country band Rascal Flatts. The song went number one after 12 weeks on the Billboard Hot Country Charts.

In May 2009, Sligh announced that he had parted ways with his label Brash Music and was "negotiating with a major label" for his next deal. His second album "Anatomy Of The Broken" was released in September, 2010 on Word Records.

From September to November 2009, Sligh completed his 2nd Annual Back to School tour, a co-headlining effort with Aaron Shust.

The resulting album, titled Running Back to You was produced by Brown Bannister, Stephen Leiweke and Will Owsley. Sligh's album was released on May 6, 2008 by Brash Music. The first official single, "Empty Me," was added to radio playlists February 22, 2008 and reached number six on the Billboard Hot Christian Songs Charts. The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at 190 with 4,000 copies sold the first week, the top Christian debut for the week. It has sold 54,000 copies in the U.S. as of October 2009.

Through 2008, Sligh toured relentlessly, with over 115 shows and over 150 other various appearances (radio, TV, web interviews). In August and September 2008, he headlined the Back to School Tour. The tour hit 32 cities, most of which were partnered directly with Christian radio stations. In December 2008, Sligh toured with NewSong, on the NewSong Christmas celebration tour. The tour hit 18 cities from December 1–22, 2008.

Sligh was eliminated from American Idol on March 28, 2007 and is therefore the tenth-place singer in Season Six. While singing his last song, he told Phil Stacey "You owe me 50 bucks," referencing their bet that he would be eliminated that show. The next day, Sligh said that he had not sought to win the competition and that he had considered quitting the show two weeks before, but stayed on the show in order to make it into the top ten so that he could go on tour with the other top ten finalists. Later he commented that his wanting to quit was similar to anyone working a job and feeling like they could not do it anymore. He also cleared the rumor that he never wanted to win, saying, "I never set my sights on winning because it would've driven me crazy...I just focused on small goals, the first of which was to make the top 10 so I could go on tour."

In November 2007, Sligh stated that he had signed a solo deal with Brash Music, an Atlanta-based independent label that is distributed through Warner Bros, ADA distribution, and Word Distribution.

In 2006, they created the album, Take a Chance on Something Beautiful, which was produced over a few months in Sligh's home studio. After Sligh was voted off American Idol in March 2007, the band signed with record label Brash Music. Sligh produced, and wrote or co-wrote all of the album's seventeen songs. Jesusfreakhideout.com music critic Scott Fryberger reviewed the CD on July 7 saying, "Although a good mixture of adult contemporary and rock, Half Past Forever still isn't quite a must-buy album. It remains, however, a very good debut for the band. I wouldn't be surprised to hear them on mainstream radio stations in the near future.

Charles Christopher Sligh (born April 13, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, producer and pastor who was a finalist on the sixth season of American Idol, finishing in tenth place. He has released 14 albums since 2001 as a solo artist, with his band Half Past Forever or with his former church's musical entity, Shoreline Music. He also starred in October Baby.