Vorbis is a free and open-source software project headed by the Xiph.Org Foundation. The project produces an audio coding format and software reference encoder/decoder (codec) for lossy audio compression. Vorbis is most commonly used in conjunction with the Ogg container format and it is therefore often referred to as Ogg Vorbis.
Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus, typically performed by self-proclaimed Christian individuals. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Christian varies between bands. Many bands who perform Christian rock have ties to the contemporary Christian music labels, media outlets, and festivals, while other bands are independent.
A digital music store is a business that sells digital audio files of music recordings over the Internet. Customers gain ownership of a license to use the files, in contrast to a music streaming service, where they listen to recordings without gaining ownership. Customers pay either for each recording or on a subscription basis. Online music stores generally also offer partial streaming previews of songs, with some songs even available for full length listening. They typically show a picture of the album art or of the performer or band for each song. Some online music stores also sell recorded speech files, such as podcasts, and video files of movies.
Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely across the world.
Building 429 is an American Christian rock band from Fayetteville, North Carolina. Their name is derived from a Biblical passage known as Ephesians 4:29, which, in the New International Version of the Bible, reads as follows: "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." The band members originated from Snyder Memorial Baptist Church and various areas in North Carolina as well as Texas.
David Crowder Band was a six-piece Christian rock and modern worship band from Waco, Texas. Their final album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Christian and No. 2 on the Billboard 200 charts. They disbanded in 2012, with David Crowder pursuing a solo career under the name Crowder and the rest of the band, except for Mike Hogan, forming The Digital Age.
Lifesong is the second studio album by American Christian rock band Casting Crowns, released on August 30, 2005 by Beach Street Records and Reunion Records. Produced by Mark A. Miller, Lifesong was the follow-up to the band's self-titled debut album. Although the unexpected success of the first album led to tremendous demand for new music from Casting Crowns, lead vocalist Mark Hall was advised by Steven Curtis Chapman and Mac Powell not to worry about commercial expectations. Lifesong, which has a pop rock and adult contemporary sound, focuses on challenging believers and indicting piousness and hypocrisy in the Christian church. Worship themes are also prominent in the album.
Wouter "Wally" De Backer, better known by his stage name Gotye, is a Belgian-Australian multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter. The name "Gotye" is a pronunciation respelling of "Gauthier", the French cognate of his Dutch given name "Wouter"
Amie Street was an indie online music store and social network service created in 2006 by Brown University seniors Elliott Breece, Elias Roman, and Joshua Boltuch, in Providence, Rhode Island. The site was notable for its demand-based pricing. The company was later moved to Long Island City in Queens, New York. In late 2010, the site was sold to Amazon who redirected customers to their own website.
American singer and songwriter Carrie Underwood has released eight studio albums, one greatest hits album, and 29 singles. Underwood rose to fame after winning the fourth season of American Idol in 2005. Her debut album, Some Hearts, was released in 2005 and is the fastest-selling debut country album in Nielsen SoundScan history. It also became the best-selling solo female country debut in Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) history, as well as the top-selling debut album of any American Idol contestant in the United States.
"Durch den Monsun" and "Monsoon" are songs by German rock band Tokio Hotel. The German version of "Durch den Monsun" was released as the band's debut single in 2005, from their debut album Schrei. A remix of the song was made with Japanese lyrics, and an English version named "Monsoon" was later recorded and included in the band's first English album, Scream, and released as their first English single in 2007. Early August 2020, Tokio Hotel announced new versions of "Durch den Monsun" and "Monsoon" to celebrate the single's 15th anniversary. "Durch den Monsun 2020" and "Monsoon 2020" were respectively released on October 2, 2020 and October 16, 2020.
Live Life Loud is the fourth studio album from Christian rock band Hawk Nelson. It was released on September 22, 2009. According to Daniel Biro, the dog on the cover is lead vocalist Jason Dunn's dog Murphy. The album was packaged with a pair of 3D glasses that are needed to be worn to view the album's CD booklet which is printed in 3D. The album peaked at No. 54 the first week on Billboard 200 and at No. 3 on The Billboard Christian Albums charts.
"Until the Whole World Hears" is a song by Christian rock band Casting Crowns. Written by Mark Hall, Bernie Herms, Jason McArthur and Roger Glidewell and produced by Mark A. Miller, it was released as a digital download on August 20, 2009 and to Christian radio on August 29, 2009 as the lead single from the band's 2009 album of the same title. Musically, Until the Whole World Hears is an arena rock song with a crunchy guitar lick accompanied by blasting guitar chords and the "throaty growl" of Mark Hall's vocals. Lyrically, it revolves around speaking the truth into a culture that doesn't want to hear it. Part of the chorus references the Biblical character of John the Baptist.
Copy, real name Marius Libman, is an electronic music artist on the Audio Dregs record label. He has released four full-length albums, along with three "DJ Copy" remix CDs. Copy was chosen as the winner of Willamette Week's "Best New Band" award for 2006, which showcases the top new artists in Copy's native Portland, Oregon.
"Monster" is a song by American rock band Paramore. It was released on June 7, 2011 for digital download. It is also the second single from the Transformers: Dark of the Moon OST, which was released on June 14, 2011. It is the first song to not feature former band members Josh and Zac Farro, who separated from the band in 2010. A sneak peek of the song surfaced when lead singer Hayley Williams posted lyrics on the band's Official Fan Club. An audio video for the song was posted on YouTube on June 2, 2011. The video itself achieved over 1 million views in the first three days of posting. The song won Choice Rock Track at the 2011 Teen Choice Awards. On March 24, 2016, the song was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for sales exceeding 500,000.
"Born Again" is a song recorded by the Christian rock band Third Day and alternative metal singer Lacey Mosley. Written by Mac Powell and composed by Third Day, "Born Again" was released as the third and final single from Third Day's 2008 album Revelation. Musically, the song is a ballad featuring influences from the genres of folk music and pop music, while the song is lyrically a "study in self-examination and celebration of a life redeemed". It was included on the compilation album WOW Hits 2011.
"Celebrate" is a duet by American recording artists Whitney Houston and Jordin Sparks. It was written and produced by R. Kelly for the soundtrack album Sparkle: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack to the 2012 musical drama film Sparkle. RCA Records released "Celebrate" as the first official single from the soundtrack. It is the last song recorded by Whitney Houston before she died on February 11, 2012. It was officially released on June 5, 2012 for digital download on iTunes and Amazon. The song made its US radio premiere on On Air with Ryan Seacrest on May 21, 2012. For the week June 16, 2012, "Celebrate" debuted at number 34 on the US Adult R&B Airplay. During that same week, "Celebrate" also debuted at number 84 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and has since peaked at number 62. The accompanying music video for the song was filmed on May 30, 2012. The video was shot over two days by director Marcus Raboy. The music video made its world premiere on BET's 106 & Park on June 27, 2012.
Church Clothes is the first mixtape by Christian hip hop artist Lecrae, released for free on May 10, 2012, and hosted by DJ Don Cannon. It featured No Malice of Clipse on the song "Darkest Hour", and included production work by 9th Wonder, Boi-1da, S1 and Street Symphony. Label-mates Tedashii and Andy Mineo, as well as other fellow Christian hip-hop artists such as Dre Murray, Thi'sl, Swoope, Christon Gray, and Braille, also made appearances on the album. The mixtape was downloaded 100,000 times in 48 hours, and met with critical acclaim. It received controversy in Christian media upon its release due to its condemnation of hypocrisy in the Christian Church and Lecrae's collaboration with the mainstream producer Don Cannon. A shorter, remastered EP version was released on iTunes on June 25, 2012. The EP debuted at number 10 on the Billboard Christian Albums and Gospel Albums charts.
"Say Yes" is a song recorded by American recording artist Michelle Williams, taken from her fourth studio album Journey to Freedom (2014). It features Williams' former Destiny's Child groupmates Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland. The song was written by Williams, Carmen Reece, Al Sherrod Lambert and Harmony Samuels who also produced it. E1 Music released "Say Yes" as the album's third single on June 2, 2014. "Say Yes" marks the third time the trio collaborated as solo artists following the disbandment of their group in 2006.
