Pope Francis

Colored lights bounce off the stage. The crowd shivers with anticipation. This is it. The drums pick up and the festivalgoers chant, their beaded crop tops swaying. The act of the century calmly walks out wearing exactly the flowy, white getup you expected. It is, after all, Pope Francis.

While the pope’s recent tour of the U.S. wasn’t on the festival scene, Drake better watch out — Francis might be bringing a new set of praying hands to the music industry. Believe Digital, a European independent label, has announced the pope will drop an album, Wake Up!, on Nov. 27.

And it’s not just your typical Gregorian chants — rock, pop and Latin influences have all made their way onto the album, its artistic director Don Giulio Neroni said.

A single off the album, titled “Wake Up! Go! Go! Forward!” begins with some electric guitar and rhythmic drums. After a lengthy intro, we hear one of the Pope’s speeches in English.

“No one who sleeps can sing, dance and rejoice,” he says.

The album features 11 songs, with the Pope speaking in English, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese.

But while the addition of rock, pop and Latin influences might be novel, Francis isn’t the first pope to explore his musical side. Believe Digital has also worked with John Paul II and Benedict XVI.

Pope recordings go even further than the past few decades. The first known recording of a pope was Leo XIII, shortly before his death in 1903. And what did he do? You guessed it — sing. “Ave Maria,” too.

Unfortunately, Pope Benedict’s 2009 album, Alma Mater, was less him reminiscing about his college days and more a booming orchestral worship album. (What did you expect?) The cheery melodies certainly capture his devotion to God, and sure, they’re peaceful, but not exactly the modern collection Francis is selling.

Pope John Paul II’s Abba Pater was a collection of 11 original songs in Italian, Latin and English. Many of the songs are suffocated by droning violins, but some tracks feature more upbeat melodies. The ’90s influence is not disguised, but the pope could have done a little better updating his own sound.

However, the 1999 release did make it to No. 175 on the Billboard 200 chart, a spot one can only imagine Francis wakes up thinking about every morning. He might be the pope, but now he’s dabbling in Shakira, Nickelback and Miley’s territory. With God on his side and a few prayers, Francis might have the moonlight music career of the century.