Contemporary Christian music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and stylistically rooted in Christian music. It was formed by those affected by the 1960s Jesus movement revival began to express themselves in other styles of popular music, beyond the church music of hymns, gospel and Southern gospel music that was prevalent in the church at the time. Initially referred to as Jesus music, today, the term is typically used to refer to pop, but also includes rock, alternative rock, hip hop, metal, contemporary worship, punk, hardcore punk, latin, EDM, urban contemporary gospel and country styles.
Michael Whitaker Smith is an American musician who has charted in both contemporary Christian and mainstream charts. His biggest success in mainstream music was in 1991 when "Place in This World" hit No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. Over the course of his career, he has sold more than 18 million albums.
The 33rd Annual GMA Dove Awards were held on April 25, 2002 recognizing accomplishments of musicians for the year 2001. The show was held at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tennessee, and was hosted by Yolanda Adams and Kurt Warner.
Donald James Moen is an American singer, pianist, and songwriter of Christian worship music.
Phillips, Craig and Dean is a contemporary Christian music trio composed of pastors Randy Phillips, Shawn Craig, and Dan Dean. Since forming in 1991, the group has sold over two million units. They have also received ten GMA Dove Award nominations, winning four, including Praise and Worship Album of the Year in 2007 for Top of My Lungs, and Inspirational Album of the Year in 2010 for Fearless.
Healing Rain is Michael W. Smith's nineteenth album, released in 2004 and debuted at No. 11 on the Billboard 200 chart. It is a departure from his previous two albums which are live worship albums. Healing Rain is a pop CCM album, in a similar vein to his 1999 album This Is Your Time. The album was reissued as a DualDisc in 2005. Some of the album's tracks were recorded at George Lucas' Skywalker Sound, located in Marin County, CA.
Worship God is the seventh studio album by Rebecca St. James, released on 26 February 2002. It is her highest charting album to date, peaking at No. 94 on the Billboard 200. The album produced the hit singles "Song of Love" and "Breathe".
Paul Joseph Baloche is an American Christian music artist, worship leader, and singer-songwriter. A native of Maple Shade Township, New Jersey, Baloche was the worship pastor at Community Christian Fellowship in Lindale, Texas for 26 years. He and his wife, Rita left Texas in January 2015, moving to New York City to be nearer to family. Baloche composes on piano and acoustic guitar, favoring guitar when leading worship. His wife, Rita Baloche, is also a Christian songwriter. Baloche is one of the writers for Compassionart, a charity founded by Martin Smith from Delirious?.
Leeland is a Christian rock band from Baytown, Texas. The band was formed in 2004, although lead singer Leeland Mooring had been writing songs beforehand. Leeland consists of Leeland Mooring, and Casey Moore. The band's original line-up included Jeremiah Wood (guitar), who left the band in late 2006 and was replaced by guitarist Matt Campbell in early 2007, Jack Mooring (piano), Mike Smith (drums) and Jake Holtz (bass).
Lenny LeBlanc is an American musician and songwriter. He started his career with Pete Carr in 1975 and later separated ways when both had different plans for their profession. A resident of Alabama, he is known for the song "Falling" and has sung with many artists. Since 1987, LeBlanc works at his own studio in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
The 35th Annual GMA Music Awards were held on April 28, 2004 recognizing accomplishments of musicians for the year 2003. The show was held at the Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, and was hosted by Deion Sanders and Yolanda Adams.
Jimmy and Carol Owens are a husband and wife songwriting and author team. They are best known for the Christian children's album, Ants'hillvania, which was nominated for the 1981 Grammy Award for Best Album for Children. They have worked with many other singers and songwriters, either individually or together. This includes Randy Stonehill, Pat Boone, Dean Jones, Jack Hayford, Andrae Crouch, Annie Herring, Matthew Ward, 2nd Chapter of Acts, Barry McGuire, Jamie Owens-Collins, The Imperials, Michael and Stormie Omartian, Larnelle Harris, Paul Baloche, Darlene Zschech and Graham Kendrick.
Clay Crosse is a contemporary Christian music artist. He has won four GMA Dove Awards, and is probably best known for the single "I Surrender All."
CompassionArt is a studio album by the songwriters' charity of the same name. It features the entire CompassionArt song writing team, Paul Baloche, Chris Tomlin, Tim Hughes, Matt Redman, Darlene Zschech, Israel Houghton, Michael W. Smith, Graham Kendrick, Andy Park, Steven Curtis Chapman, Stu Garrard and charity co-founder Martin Smith, along with several other collaborators. All proceeds from the recording directly benefited charities of the songwriters' choosing.
Worship & Faith is the fifteenth studio album released in 2003 by American country music artist Randy Travis. It is the third gospel music album of his career, as well as his third release on Word Records. The album is composed of twenty covers of traditional gospel tunes. It was recorded live in concert at the Orlando Calvary Assembly of God in Orlando, Florida, in July 2003. Worship & Faith is certified gold by the RIAA, although its only single, "Above All", failed to chart.
Kari Brooke Jobe is an American contemporary Christian music singer and songwriter. Since her first album in 2009, she has received two Grammy Award nominations and ten Dove Award nominations, six of which she won.
The Same Love is the seventh studio album by Christian Contemporary Christian music-worship musician Paul Baloche. The album released on March 13, 2012 by Integrity Media, and it was produced by Ben Gowell and Michael Rossback. The album charted at No. 30 on the Billboard Top Christian Albums chart. In addition, the album garnered critical acclaim.
Live is a live album from Paul Baloche. Integrity Music released the album on April 1, 2014.
Christmas Worship is the first Christmas album from Paul Baloche. Integrity Music released the album on October 28, 2013.
We the Kingdom is an American contemporary Christian music band signed to the Capitol Christian Music Group. The band consists of multiple generations of relatives: Andrew Bergthold, Ed Cash, Franni Rae Cash, Martin Cash, and Scott Cash. The band's name comes after the idea that "the kingdom of God is here among us". The band released its first singles, "Dancing on the Waves" and the breakout hit single "Holy Water", followed by their debut EP, Live at the Wheelhouse, in 2019. This garnered the band four nominations at the 51st GMA Dove Awards, ultimately winning the Dove Award for New Artist of the Year. In 2020, the band released their debut album, Holy Water which contained the previously released singles "Dancing on the Waves" and "Holy Water" as well as "Don't Tread on Me", "God So Loved" and "Child of Love". The band earned two Grammy Award nominations at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, with Holy Water for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album, and the title track being nominated for the Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song. In 2021, the band won the GMA Dove Award for Contemporary Christian Artist of the Year and Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year for Holy Water (2020), and earnt a nomination for the Worship Recorded Song of the Year for "God So Loved" at the 52nd GMA Dove Awards.
