Background and career
Michael DeWayne Tait (born May 18, 1966) is an American singer. He was active in contemporary Christian music from 1987 to early 2025 as a vocalist for DC Talk, Tait, and Newsboys. Tait, Toby McKeehan, and Kevin Max formed the four-time Grammy-winning music trio DC Talk in 1987. The band released five acclaimed studio albums together before going on hiatus in 2000. Tait also founded a band called Tait. He was the lead singer of Newsboys from 2009 to 2025. Beginning in June 2025, allegations emerged that Tait had groomed and sexually assaulted a number of men. He subsequently admitted the allegations were "largely true", apologized, and said he was seeking "spiritual healing" away from the public.
Michael Tait was born in Washington, D.C., on May 18, 1966 to Nathel and Maxine Tait. Tait's father was a pastor. He has three older brothers and five older sisters, and he grew up in Washington, D.C. One of his sisters, Lynda Randle, became a Southern gospel singer.
Tait met Toby McKeehan in 1984 while he was in high school in the Washington, D.C., area, and together they began creating music. Michael Tait and Toby McKeehan both met Kevin Max while attending Liberty University in the mid-1980s. Together, the three formed the four-time Grammy winning music group DC Talk in 1987. DC Talk's 1990 album, Nu Thang, was certified gold. The group appeared on The Arsenio Hall Show in 1992. In November 1992, DC Talk released their third album, Free at Last, which was eventually certified platinum by the RIAA in 1995. Free at Last stayed at the No. 1 spot on the Billboard CCM sales chart for 34 weeks and was the group's first album to top the Christian Albums chart. On November 12, 1993, the group performed "Jesus Is Just Alright" on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Free at Last also garnered the group's first Grammy Award for Best Rock Gospel Album in 1994. Jesus Freak was released in 1995, reaching No. 16 on the Billboard 200. The album, which was ultimately certified double platinum, was certified gold within 30 days of its release. It also earned DC Talk their second Grammy. The album is regarded as one of the greatest and most important albums to be released in Christian music. It yielded the hit songs "Jesus Freak" (1995) and "Between You and Me" (1996), the latter of which reached the Billboard Hot 100. Supernatural, released in 1998, debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 charts, an unprecedented feat for a Christian rock album. Supernatural abandoned the hip-hop/rap style found on the group's earlier releases and moved to a pop/rock sound. In 2000, DC Talk announced a hiatus with the release of Intermission: the Greatest Hits while all three members devoted themselves to solo projects. The three have recorded four songs together since the announcement of the hiatus: "Let's Roll" following the September 11, 2001 attacks, the remix of "Atmosphere" on TobyMac's 2004 album Welcome to Diverse City, a cover of the Prince song "The Cross" on Kevin Max's 2007 album The Blood, and "Love Feels Like" on TobyMac's 2015 album This Is Not a Test.
After DC Talk's hiatus was announced, Tait dedicated more time to his band Tait (which he named after his father, Nathel). The band released two albums: Empty and the Dove Award-winning Lose This Life (2003). The band toured on and off from 2004 to 2006.
In March 2009, Tait surprised the crowd at a Newsboys concert by performing as the band's lead singer. On March 9, 2009, Newsboys announced that Tait was their new lead singer. Former Newsboys lead singer Peter Furler still provided lead vocals on the 2009 album In the Hands of God, though Tait and Jamie Rowe of Guardian provided supporting vocals. The first Newsboys studio album with Tait as lead singer, Born Again, was released on 13 July 2010 and debuted at number 4 on the Billboard 200. The album God's Not Dead was released on 15 November 2011. The band released their 16th studio album, Restart, on 10 September 2013. The band appeared in a sequence for the film God's Not Dead, released in 2014. Tait expressed excitement about the film to The Global Dispatch during an interview, saying that "The movie is powerful because of the whole stance of it…just trying to prove God's existence…sharing the gospel, living the lifestyle, changing the mindset of people around them in this college, in this university." In 2015, the Newsboys started the "We Believe God's Not Dead Tour". Love Riot was released in 2016 and a tour followed. The band also appeared in the 2016 film God's Not Dead 2. With Tait as lead singer, Newsboys released the hit singles "Born Again" (2010), "Your Love Never Fails" (2011), "God's Not Dead (Like a Lion)" (2011), "Live With Abandon" (2013), and "We Believe" (2013). On January 16, 2025, Tait released a statement on social media saying he would be stepping down as lead singer of Newsboys. He was replaced as lead vocalist by Adam Agee. In June 2025, The Guardian reported that the day before Tait left the band, a former colleague had claimed on TikTok that Tait was "secretly gay". In 2025, The Financial Times called Tait "a kingpin of Christian music", while The Guardian described him as "a Christian music legend".
Tait told Fox News Radio host Todd Starnes in February 2016 that he supported Ted Cruz for president in the 2016 election. Tait signed a letter opposing President Donald Trump's impeachment in December 2019 and also participated in the Evangelicals for Trump rally in January 2020.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
