After finding quick success with his independently released 2024 debut album *The Prodigal*, Josiah Queen returns with this sophomore record, his first for a major label. The Tampa-born singer-songwriter largely sticks to a similar formula here, crafting the kind of poppy, inspirational CCM that first brought him attention. Highlights include opening track “Yesterday Is Dead,” a rollicking, Lumineers-esque celebration of redemption, and fan favorite “Dusty Bibles,” which finds Queen considering the tension between a life of faith and the comforts of the modern world. A handful of guests join Queen on *Mt. Zion*, including former Maverick City Music member Brandon Lake on “Can’t Steal My Joy” and fellow CCM singer-songwriter Gable Price on “Thief in the Night,” while Northern Irish Christian singer-songwriter Benjamin William Hastings lends his voice to the stomp-clap anthem “I’ll Fly Away.”
Detroit-bred singer and producer Mike Posner is a music industry veteran, but on his fifth studio album, he starts over. After a five-year hiatus filled with illness, depression, and addiction, his first solo album since 2020’s *Operation: Wake Up* begins with a triumphant declaration: “It’s a beautiful day to be alive.” Posner feels stronger than he could have imagined coming through the other side of his struggles, and *The Beginning* is a celebration, as well as a renaissance for one of pop’s most thoughtful songwriters. On “High Forever,” he kicks things off with a spoken-word introduction before reflecting on the triumphs and valleys that make life worth living. “You can’t stay high forever,” he sings.
