Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA) [11] | Gold | 500,000 |
| ||
| "Free to Be Me" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Francesca Battistelli | ||||
| from the album My Paper Heart | ||||
| Released | January 2009 | |||
| Genre | CCM | |||
| Length | 3:28 | |||
| Label | Fervent Records | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Francesca Battistelli | |||
| Producer(s) | Ian Eskelin | |||
| Francesca Battistelli singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Free to Be Me" was released as the second single from American Contemporary Christian music singer Francesca Battistelli's major label debut album, My Paper Heart , in January 2009. The song was certified Gold in the U.S. by the RIAA on April 21, 2014. [1]
"Free to Be Me" was released in January 2009, although there has not been a specified date.[ citation needed ] The song has been compared to the works of fellow Christian music artist Sarah Kelly. [2] It features a background of "thick" drums, bass, piano and electronic organ. Along with being featured on My Paper Heart , it has been featured on WOW Hits 2010 , Now That's What I Call Faith , WOW Number 1s: Yellow , and Wow: Six Decades of Hits. [3] [4] [5]
The official music video for "Free to Be Me" was released on December 16, 2009. [6]
John Fisher of Cross Rhythms said, "This young lady is not afraid to look at life's highs and lows from a very personal angle." [2] Katie R. of Teen Ink stated that it was "easy to listen to and extremely uplifting". [7] Rich Smith of Louder Than The Music called it a "stand out track". [8]
The song was nominated for three Dove Awards: "Song of the Year", "Short Form Music Video of the Year", and "Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year" at the 41st GMA Dove Awards, and won an award under the "Short Form Music Video of the Year" category.[ citation needed ]
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Hot Christian | 1 [9] |
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Christian Digital | 17 [10] |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA) [11] | Gold | 500,000 |
| ||
Amy Lee Grant is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She began in contemporary Christian music (CCM) before crossing over to pop music in the 1980s and 1990s. She has been referred to as "The Queen of Christian Pop".
WOW Hits 2004 is a two-disc compilation album of songs that have been dubbed to showcase the best in contemporary Christian music. It was released on October 7, 2003. The album features songs by Michael W. Smith, Newsboys, Amy Grant, Sixpence None the Richer, and many more widely renowned groups and singers. It peaked at No. 51 on the Billboard 200. The album was certified as platinum in the US in 2004 by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Big Daddy Weave is an American contemporary Christian band from Mobile, Alabama composed of Mike Weaver, Joe Shirk, Jeremy Redmon, and Brian Beihl. They are signed to Fervent Records.
WOW Hits 2001 is a compilation album of thirty Contemporary Christian music hits and three bonus tracks that was released on October 24, 2000. It included some music video content accessible with a CD-ROM drive. The album reached No. 36 on the Billboard 200 chart, and No. 1 on the Top Contemporary Christian album chart. Album sales were certified as double platinum in 2002 by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Francesca Battistelli is an American Christian singer and songwriter. She was originally an independent artist and had released an independent album, Just a Breath, in 2004. Her first studio album on Fervent Records, My Paper Heart, was released on July 22, 2008. Her first single, "I'm Letting Go", was released to on june bugs radio stations on July 15, 2008, and charted on national Christian CHR charts. The song was the 16th most played song of 2008 on Christian radio stations according to R&R magazine. Battistelli received her first Grammy Award nomination in 2009, for Best Gospel Performance with her single, "Free to Be Me". She later received her first Grammy Award in 2016 at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards for Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song with her single "Holy Spirit" written by the worship band Jesus Culture from her album If We're Honest.
My Paper Heart is the major label debut album from American Christian pop rock singer Francesca Battistelli, released on July 22, 2008. The album hit No. 182 on the Billboard 200 in March 2009 and peaked at No. 35 in August 2010; it has sold over 1,000,000 copies on United States. The album was certified Gold by the RIAA on July 13, 2012.
Sidewalk Prophets is an American contemporary Christian music band from Nashville. Their album These Simple Truths contained the single "The Words I Would Say" which is also featured on WOW Hits 2010 and WOW Hits 2011. The group won the 2010 GMA Dove Award for New Artist of the Year.
Hundred More Years is the second studio album by American singer and songwriter Francesca Battistelli. It was released on March 1, 2011, through Fervent Records, Curb Records, and Word Entertainment. It peaked at No. 16 on the US Billboard 200. A deluxe edition of the album was released on March 12, 2013.
Ian Eskelin, is a record producer, songwriter, solo artist, and founding member and lead singer of the Grammy-nominated Christian rock band All Star United, and president of recording and publishing company Radiate Music. He won the Dove Award for "Producer of the Year" in 2011 and 2008, and was nominated for the same award in 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2012. Eskelin also has received multiple Dove and Grammy nominations for his songwriting and production work working with artists such as Francesca Battistelli "Holy Spirit", 7eventh Time Down "God Is on the Move", Sidewalk Prophets, Chris August, and Hawk Nelson to name a few. As an artist and writer Eskelin has had more than fifty Top 10 singles in the United States, including 25 No. 1 charting songs. He has additionally had international No. 1 songs in various countries including Japan, Singapore, and Australia. Ian's songs have been licensed for use on major networks including ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, ESPN and feature films.
WOW #1s: Yellow is a two-disc compilation album of 30 songs heralded as the biggest Christian hits of 2005-2010. It debuted at No. 9 on the Billboard Top Christian Albums chart.
You Got My Attention is the first studio album by contemporary Christian-soul musician Dara Maclean, released on July 5, 2011 on iTunes and nationwide on July 12, 2011 by Fervent Records.
Christmas is the first Christmas album by American contemporary Christian music artist Francesca Battistelli. The album is her third release with Fervent Records, and her fourth album overall including her first independent release. The album was produced by Ian Eskelin, and was released on October 16, 2012. The album charted in the Top Five on the Billboard Holiday Albums chart and has received critical acclaim.
WOW Hits 2014 is a two-disc compilation album composed of some of the biggest hits on Christian radio in 2013. This disc features 33 songs.
"I'm Letting Go" is the lead single from American Christian music artist Francesca Battistelli's major label debut album, My Paper Heart. The song was released on July 15, 2008.
If We're Honest is the third studio album by American Christian singer and songwriter Francesca Battistelli that was released on April 22, 2014 by Word Entertainment and Fervent Records. The lead single from the album was "Write Your Story", which was released before the album on January 3, 2014 to radio and on January 14, 2014 as a commercially available single for download.
The discography of American contemporary Christian music artist Francesca Battistelli consists of five studio albums, one Christmas album, five music videos, sixteen singles and eight other charted songs.
Music Inspired by The Story is a 2011 compilation album of songs by various contemporary Christian music artists. The songs were inspired by scripture passages found in the Bible; it is included in a series with books by Max Lucado and Randy Frazee. The album was named the Special Event Album of the Year at the 43rd GMA Dove Awards.
Barry Weeks, is a record producer, songwriter and mixer. As a producer and songwriter he has garnered multiple Grammy and Dove award nominations and multiple BMI awards as well as several #1s and multiple top 10 songs. Barry's songs have been licensed for use on ESPN, NBC, CBS and many other networks. Barry has worked with many well known artists such as Kelly Clarkson, Backstreet Boys, Francesca Battistelli, and Dave Barnes.
"The Breakup Song" is a song by American Christian singer and songwriter Francesca Battistelli. It was released on June 15, 2018. The song peaked at No. 6 on the Hot Christian Songs chart, becoming her 11th top 10 single from that chart.
"It's Your Life" is a song by American Christian singer and songwriter Francesca Battistelli. The song was released as the third single from her 2008 album My Paper Heart on August 1, 2009. The song entered the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 95, becoming the highest-charting song in her career. The song also peaked at No. 12 on the US Hot Christian Songs chart. The song is played in a D major key, and 91 beats per minute.