"Whole Heart (Hold Me Now)" Released: 11 January 2019
"As You Find Me" Released: 9 February 2019
"Another in the Fire" Released: 1 May 2020
People is the fourteenth live album from Australian contemporary worship music band Hillsong United. It was released on 26 April 2019, through Hillsong Music and Capitol Christian Music Group. The writing process for the album involved biblical influences, having the role as worship music for Hillsong,[1] and its musical style involves a youthful influence, with use of acoustic instruments within recording.[2][3][4]
Recorded on 18 November 2018 at Hills Campus in Sydney, upon release, the album received generally positive reviews by critics, receiving a rating of 4.5 out of 5 from critics such as 365 Days of Inspiring Media.[5][6] The album debuted at No. 6 on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart, No. 2 on the US Billboard 200,[7] as well as the Canadian Albums Chart. People won the Worship Album of Year at the 50th Dove Awards in 2019, while its deluxe edition was also nominated to Worship Album of Year at the 51st Dove Awards in 2020.
To promote the album, Hillsong United toured the United States for the first time in three years,[8] and also released an accompanying film.[9] In the lead up to the release of People (Live), Hillsong United released a range of promotional material for the album, including promotional videos and merchandise.[10][11] Songs from the album has been played at over 1,000 Hillsong campus, with the songs 'Good Grace' and 'Whole Heart' collectively receiving over 32 million streams as of May 2019, a month after the release of the full album.[12][13] On 20 July 2019, Hillsong United teamed up with Spotify to release four acoustic songs from the album, along with four music videos.[14] On 1 May 2020, a studio version of "Another in the Fire", featuring Taya Gaukrodger, was released as a single.[15]
Background
Joel Houston, leader of Hillsong United, stated that part of the message of the album is "accepting that we are flawed – but that God is madly in love with us".[8] Jonathan Douglass further explained that the title of the album is "self-explanatory", saying its intention is "to connect with people and actually unite people".[16]
'Another in the Fire' is a single from the album, released on 15 March 2019. The lyrics within this extract demonstrate the biblical influences of the writing within People (Live).[21][22]
Writing for People (Live) was done by various members of the Hillsong United band, such as Joel Houston and Matt Crocker.[23]
As Hillsong United is a branch of evangelical church, Hillsong, their writing process involves biblical influences.[21] This requires that, after writing, their lyrics go through extra levels of approval from those within the church and the band to ensure its appropriateness and biblical accuracy.[21]
People (Live) was recorded at Hillsong Worship and Creative Conference in Sydney on 18 November 2018 by Ben Whincop and was produced by Joel Houston and Michael Guy Chrislett.[23][4]
Each of the songs on this album is written in a similar format by a variety of members of the band, crediting a total of twelve individuals as the writers.[23] Hillsong United's music as a whole has a specific role as worship music for the Church.[21] The writing process involves consideration of this role in order to create music that can easily be replicated and can resonate with a wide Christian audience.[21]
As Hillsong United is a part of the large branch of Hillsong Church, their album release schedule differs from most conventional bands.[21] Hillsong's various bands release a range of albums each year, following a distinct release schedule.[21] The church typically releases a live album each year, as such, People (Live) was released on 26 April 2019.[23] This album release schedule acts in accordance with the Hillsong Church conferences throughout the year, with an album being released each year following one of their conferences.[21] These include conferences such as their 'Colour Conference,' the women's conference which typically falls within the first three months of the year, and 'Hillsong Conference', which typically falls between June and August.[21] In 2019, People (Live) was released on 26 April following the Hillsong Worship and Creative Conference at the end of 2018.[23][21]
Musical style and themes
Members of Hillsong United have stated that the musical style within People (Live) differs from their previous albums.[4]
The tone of this album is darker with less use of electronic instruments which create the upbeat tone used in pop music, and more use of acoustic instrumentals.[2][4]Joel Houston, member of Hillsong United, revealed that they felt as though the group was "stagnant" so within production of this album, they altered their tone and style to maintain motivation within the band.[4]
The genre of this album has been described as contemporary Christian worship music, and, like their other albums, has been described in terms of its youthful style.[3] The targeted audience of this album, and others by Hillsong United, is reflected by the incorporation of contemporary rock into their musical style.[3] Songs on this album also feature synthesised and electronic sounds which mirror the music style of pop and dance music.[21] Hillsong Church has a variety of bands, such as Hillsong Worship and Hillsong Young and Free, each with differing styles, targeting different demographics of their Church.[21] Hillsong United's music and marketing has been characterized as having a youth-orientated focus, targeting the younger generation of Christianity.[3]
The theme of People (Live), like others by Hillsong, surrounds a focus on shared experiences within Christianity.[4] The band has promoted and explained this theme through various avenues. The band stated that they created this album 'to bring unity amongst people everywhere' and 'to love God and love people as people loved by God'.[24] In the product description of the album on the Hillsong store, the band states that their slight change in musical style in this album was done to demonstrate, 'the utter reliance on God and the fact that we are called to look at life through an uncomplicated lens of loving people.'[25]
People (Live) was released 26 April 2019 by the Hillsong label and the Capital Christian Music Group label.[23]
The release of this album was preceded by the release of the single Good Grace' on 7 December 2018.[26][22]Following this was the release of 'Whole Heart (Hold Me Now)' on 11 January 2019, then followed by 'As You Find Me' on 9 February 2019, and finally, the single 'Another in the Fire' released on 15 March 2019.[26][22] Since release of these singles, they were performed across Hillsong campus churches, promoting the release of the upcoming album, 'People'.[22][24]
In promotion of this album, the band toured the United States, releasing a concert film of these performances.[22][24] It includes a music video for each song on the album.[27] It features footage of the band and the crowd during their tour of the United States.[27][9] It was directed by Nathaniel Redekop and Richard Cause, and produced by Michael Guy Chislett, Joel Houston, Johnny Rays, and Jill Casey under the studio Umusic.[28] This concert film also includes songs from other Hillsong bands, such as, the Hillsong Worship song 'What a Beautiful Name,' which won a Grammy for Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song in 2017.[29][27] It also includes songs from their previous albums such as 'Oceans (Where Feet my Fail)', which won four awards in the 2014 GMA Dove Awards.[30][27]
Marketing
Hillsong has a designated marketing team for their church that releases promotional content for their upcoming albums.[10]
Hillsong and its subsequent bands market their upcoming albums largely through social media.[10] Each of their bands and church campuses have individual Instagram accounts, with Hillsong United currently possessing a following of over 2 million.[31][32] In the lead up to People (Live)'s release, Hillsong United released trailers via social media to promote its release, using the hashtag #UnitedPeople to increase visibility.[32][10] These promotional videos featured recordings from tours, including behind the scenes footage, narrated by, Hillsong United member, Joel Houston. During Hillsong's weekly church services, they featured promotional footage for the album in their 'Church News.'[33][10] Hillsong markets itself using a Hillsong logo, this is used in promotion of this album in order to identify itself with the Hillsong brand.[31]
The band also participated in a performance and interview with Good Morning America in the week of the album's release to promote its release.[34]
Merchandise
Hillsong sells various items through their 'Hillsong store' including branded clothing, hats, journals, and more.[11][10] This is sold through their online store and physical pop-up stores at local church campuses and conferences.[10] Hillsong United has its own branch of merchandise for the People (Live) album, selling the album in forms such as CD or vinyl and apparel such as t-shirts.[35] The Hillsong store, in its description for the People (Live) t-shirt, says, 'Spread the message in this fresh white t-shirt.'[36]
Artwork and visuals
The album cover of People (Live) was designed and created by Nathan Cahyadi, Nick Dellis and Nathanial Redekop.[23] It features a digitally edited picture of a crowd at a Hillsong service, representing the theme of the album, the ‘people.’[37][23]
Music videos were released for each song on the album and were recorded at the Hillsong Worship and Creative Conference in Sydney in 2018, at the same time as the audio was recorded.[38] There are additional visuals to each song as a part of the concert film, released after their tour of the United States, featuring footage from their performance at Madison Square Garden, an arena in New York City.[27]
Commercial performance
In Australia, People debuted on the ARIA Albums Chart at No. 6.[39]
In the United States, People sold 107,000 equivalent album units in its opening week, thus debuting at No. 2 on the mainstream Billboard 200 chart (dated 2 May).[40] Being their third top ten appearance on Billboard 200, the album is the highest ranking appearance for Hillsong United on the chart beating out the No. 5 debuts by Empires (2015) and Zion (2013), while breaking their best sales week record, formerly held by Empires.[7] The album concurrently registered at No. 1 on BillboardChristian Albums chart.[41]
On 21 January 2021, Hillsong United announced the release of a live album and concert film featuring the group's 2 July concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City.[45] The album, The People Tour: Live From Madison Square Garden, was released on 29 January 2021.[45]
The release of People (Live) gained status as Hillsong United's biggest sales week as of its release in 2019.[58] It debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Christian Albums, No. 1 on Top Album Sales with the most sales in that week, and No. 2 on the Billboard Top 200.[58] Within its first week, People (Live) received over 8 million streams and sold over 100 thousand albums.[58][13]
Hillsong United received generally positive reviewed from critics for People (Live).[5] Jessica Morris, an internationally published journalist, in a review for 'Others' wrote that the album has a 'superb production value and artistry with an authenticity rarely seen in worship.'[59] Joshua Andre in a review for 365 Days of Inspiring Media rated People a 4.5 out of 5 stars.[6] Josh Balogh, a music reviewer with a bachelor's degree in Biblical Studies also rated the album a 4.5, noting, ‘despite their musical direction changing, they have remained accessible,’ in his review for Jesus Freak Hideout.[5] Similarly, Timothy Yap, a senior editor for Jubilee Cast with a broad career in journalism, such as working as a researcher and teacher at Florida State University for journalism, rated the album a 4.75 out of 5 stars.[60]
Others in the music field have also commended the album, with the National Music and Media manager of Koorong stating, ‘the thing I love most about People is how the raw energy captured in the live recording transports me back to the early days of UNITED.'[61] Reviews such as this highlight the generally positive feedback from critics surrounding Hillsong United's change in musical style and choice of live production.[5][4]
Impact and response
Hillsong United performing at The Forum in California in 2014.
People (Live) was first performed as a whole on 18 November 2018 at the time of its recording, prior to its release as it is a live album in 2019.[22][23] Hillsong's live albums typically follow this process.[62] The album was played in its entirety for the first time at the Hillsong Worship and Creative Conference in 2018 and was recorded at this time.[23][22] Within the recording, singing and cheering from the crowd at this performance is featured throughout and can be heard within the background of the songs.[62][22]
With the release of People (Live) and other albums by Hillsong United, the band provides technical aides such as backing tracks and sheet music.[63] On the Hillsong store, along with the CD and vinyl version of the album, they offer the album in the form of a music book for US$25, sheet music for US$20 and the instrumental for US$10.[25] The inclusion of these aides has the intention of making it easier for other bands and churches across the world to replicate their music.[63] This assistance has meant that their album has been able to be played at almost 1,100 Hillsong campuses across the world, and also, other churches.[12] Churches such as Bethel Church are among the many that perform songs from People at their weekly services.[12]
The most popular songs on this album are 'Whole Heart' with 74 million streams on Spotify, followed by 'Another in the Fire' and 'Good Grace' with 62 million and 53 million streams respectively as of Oct 22, 2022.[13]
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1 2 McIntyre, EH (2007). "Brand of Choice: Why Hillsong Music is Winning Sales and Souls". Australian Religion Studies Review. 20 (1): 175–194. doi:10.1558/arsr.v20i2.175.
1 2 3 4 Bowler; Reagan, K; W (2014). "Bigger, Better, Louder: The Prosperity Gospel's Impact on Contemporary Christian Worship". Religion and American Culture. 24 (2): 186–230. doi:10.1525/rac.2014.24.2.186. S2CID146821609.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
1 2 McIntyre, Hugh (7 May 2019). "Pink, Hillsong United, Schoolboy Q And AJR Debut New Albums Inside The Top 10". Forbes. Retrieved 9 May 2019. Behind Pink's Hurts 2B Human comes Christian musical act Hillsong United, whose latest project People debuts at No. 2 with 107,000 equivalent units—just 8,000 equivalent copies behind the pop star. People, a live album, marks Hillsong United's highest-ranking appearance on the Billboard 200 and their third top 10. They previously peaked at No. 5 with a pair of studio recordings, Zion and Empires. Of that 107,000 total, 101,000 were actual sales, which gives them the bestselling title of the week, though Pink bested them when it comes to streams.
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