The Afters | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Also known as | Blisse |
Origin | Dallas, Texas, U.S. |
Genres | |
Years active | 1999–present |
Labels | |
Members |
|
Past members |
|
Website | theafters |
The Afters is an American Christian rock band founded by Josh Havens and Matt Fuqua. Havens and Fuqua first worked together in a Starbucks coffee shop in Mesquite, Texas, where they performed songs for customers before deciding to form a band. They were initially joined by Brad Wigg from the same Starbucks and drummer Michael Burden and performed with the name Blisse. When Burden left the band, Marc Dodd, who also worked at the Mesquite Starbucks stepped in. Their song "Never Going Back to OK" was the most-played song on R&R magazine's Christian CHR chart for 2008. [1]
As a precursor to Blisse, Josh performed several shows around Dallas with his band The Screaming Mimes which included Charlton Parker, who later formed Deaf Pedestrians, and Hans Grumbein. While Brad was a founding member of Blisse, he took time away from the band to perform with his own blues project, playing lead guitar. Shows at the Door in Deep Ellum, part of Dallas, were filled in by Dallas bassist Eric Kitchens and bassist/filmmaker Niko Red Star.
Under the name Blisse, the band recorded a six-song EP in 2000. From the recording they made enough money to cut their first album, When the World Is Wonderful, which was released independently in 2001. This album contains songs also released on their major label debut album I Wish We All Could Win. In 2002 they released a live concert DVD filmed at a local Dallas club called The Door.
The band changed its name after discovering that another "Blisse" already existed. Settling on "The Afters", they continued to play local clubs in the Dallas area. Eventually they were discovered by INO Records and signed to a four-record deal. Word of the band later got to Epic Records, who signed the band to a deal for mainstream promotion and distribution. Their first major label album, I Wish We All Could Win , was released on February 22, 2005. The first single from the album was "Beautiful Love", written by Josh Havens about a time when his wife was abroad doing humanitarian aid. The single's music video won The Afters a 2005 MTVu "Streaming Woodie" award. In addition, "Beautiful Love" became the theme song for the MTV show, 8th and Ocean about the careers of female and male fashion models living in Miami. The song was also featured in the 2006 film, Just My Luck . The song "Until the World" was the theme song for the American drama television series that aired on the ABC Family Network Beautiful People .
In an update posted on their official website, the band went into the studio in August 2006 to begin recording their second album, Never Going Back to OK . It was originally scheduled to be released on December 26, 2007, as per a post on their MySpace blog, but was ultimately delayed and released on February 26, 2008. [2]
The first single from the album, the title track "Never Going Back to OK" was premiered on October 16, 2007, on Total Axxess. It was released as a streaming file on The Afters' MySpace page on November 10, 2007. [3] The song was on the R&R magazine charts in December 2007. It reached No. 1 on the R&R CHR chart in March 2008; [4] R&R magazine ranked it as the most played song on U.S. Christian CHR radio in 2008. [1] In the spring of 2008, the band began their own headlining tour along with Falling Up, Ruth, and Everyday Sunday. [5]
The Afters said in their Twitter account that they started recording their next album on October 27, 2009. [6] The album, called Light Up the Sky , was released on September 14, 2010. [7] The album's first single, the title track reached No. 1 on Billboard's Christian CHR radio and also appeared on MTV's The Hills . [8]
In January 2011 The Afters joined the Rock And Worship Roadshow national tour headlined by MercyMe. [9] Light Up the Sky was produced by Dan Muckala. [10] They announced a new album to be released on April 17, 2012. A month later, they released a new single entitled "Life is Beautiful" on iTunes; the song was part of the soundtrack for the movie October Baby .[ citation needed ] On February 19, 2013, a new single, "Every Good Thing", became available on iTunes.[ citation needed ] The new album's title was Life is Beautiful .[ citation needed ]
On August 28, 2015, the band released "Live on Forever", the lead single [11] [12] from Live on Forever , their fifth studio album set for release in late 2016 on Fair Trade Records.
In 2018, "Well Done" appeared on the Billboard 100,[ citation needed ] followed by "I Will Fear No More" on October 19, 2018.[ citation needed ] Both songs were advance releases for The Beginning & Everything After, their greatest hits album released on November 2, 2018, and for Fear No More, their sixth studio album released on May 31, 2019.[ citation needed ] On December 3, 2021, the band released their first live album, Where Heaven Touches Earth: Live at The Grove[ citation needed ] which was recorded in Arizona.[ citation needed ]
Current members [13]
Former members [13]
Touring members
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US [14] | US Alt. [15] | US Christ. [16] | US Heat. [17] | US Rock [18] | |||
I Wish We All Could Win |
| — | — | 24 | 40 | — | |
Never Going Back to OK |
| 41 | 9 | 1 | — | 10 | |
Light Up the Sky |
| — | — | 10 | — | — | |
Life Is Beautiful |
| 133 | — | 7 | — | — | |
Live on Forever [20] |
| — [A] | — | 7 | — | 33 | |
Fear No More [22] |
| — [B] | — | 14 | — | — | |
"—" denotes releases that did not chart |
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
---|---|---|
US Christ. [24] | ||
The Beginning & Everything After [25] |
| 38 |
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US [26] | US Adult [27] | US Christ. [28] | Christ Airplay [29] | US Heat. [30] | US Rock | ||||
"Beautiful Love" | 2005 | 55 | 29 | 37 | — | — |
| I Wish We All Could Win | |
"You" | — | — | 4 | — | — | ||||
"All That I Am" | 2006 | — | — | 13 | — | — | |||
"Someday" | — | — | 25 | — | — | ||||
"Never Going Back to OK" | 2008 | — | — | 16 | — | — | Never Going Back to OK | ||
"Keeping Me Alive" | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
"MySpace Girl" | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
"We Are the Sound" | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
"Ocean Wide" | 2009 | — | — | 23 | — | — | |||
"Light Up the Sky" | 2010 | — [C] | — | 1 | 17 | — |
| Light Up the Sky | |
"Lift Me Up" | 2011 | — | — | 3 | — | — | |||
"We Won't Give Up" | — | — | 32 | — | — | ||||
"Life Is Beautiful" | 2012 | — | — | — | — | — | Life Is Beautiful | ||
"Every Good Thing" | 2013 | — | — | 2 | — | — | |||
"Broken Hallelujah" | 2014 | — | — | 11 | 15 | — | — | ||
"Live on Forever" | 2015 | — | — | 11 | 9 | — | — | Live on Forever | |
"Battles" [32] | 2016 | — | — | 19 | 15 | — | 45 | ||
"Shadows" [33] | 2017 | — | — | — [D] | 7 | — | — | ||
"Well Done" | 2018 | — | — | 14 | 11 | — | — | The Beginning & Everything After Fear No More | |
"I Will Fear No More" | 2019 | — | — | 18 | 39 | — | — | ||
"Lightning" | — | — | — | 47 | — | — | Fear No More | ||
"Joy Unto the World" | — | — | — | — | — | — | non-album singles | ||
"Say Goodbye (Say Hello)" | 2022 | — | — | 22 | 16 | — | — | ||
"This is Our Momment" | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
"God is With Us" | 2023 | — | — | — | 32 | — | — | ||
"What God is Gonna Do" | 2024 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
"—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
Year | Award | Result |
---|---|---|
2006 | New Artist of the Year | Won |
Rock/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year ("Beautiful Love") | Nominated | |
Rock/Contemporary Album of the Year ( I Wish We All Could Win ) | Nominated | |
2009 | Song of the Year ("Never Going Back to OK") | Nominated |
Rock/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year ("Never Going Back to OK") | Nominated | |
Rock/Contemporary Album of the Year ( Never Going Back to OK ) | Won | |
2016 | Rock/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year ("Live on Forever") | Nominated |
Short Form Video of the Year ( Live on Forever ) | Won |
Sanctus Real is an American Christian rock band formed in Toledo, Ohio, in 1996. The group is composed of Chris Rohman, Mark Graalman (drums), and Dustin Lolli. The band is best known for their number one singles "Lead Me", "Forgiven", "Whatever You're Doing", "I'm Not Alright", "Don't Give Up", "We Need Each Other", "Everything About You", and "The Fight Song". Since 2002, they have released five albums through the Sparrow Records label, an independent EP This Is Love, and "Changed" on Framework Records.
Third Day was a Christian rock band formed in Marietta, Georgia in 1991. The band was founded by lead singer Mac Powell, guitarist Mark Lee and Billy Wilkins. The band's name is a reference to the biblical accounts of the resurrection of Jesus on the third day following his crucifixion. The band was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame on September 19, 2009. They have sold over 7 million albums in the United States and had 28 number one Christian album chart radio hits. Their fans are known as "Gomers" after a song on their second album about Gomer.
Kutless is an American Christian rock band from Portland, Oregon, formed in 1999. Since their formation, they have released multiple studio albums and one live album, Live from Portland. They have sold over 3 million records worldwide.
Building 429 is an American Christian rock band from Fayetteville, North Carolina. The band's name refers to Ephesians 4:29, a Biblical passage that reads: "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."
I Wish We All Could Win is the debut album from the Christian rock band The Afters. The album contains their Dove Award-nominated hit single "Beautiful Love". The album is notable for having two tracks on it used as theme songs. The aforementioned Beautiful Love was used for the MTV reality series "8th and Ocean" while the track "Until The World" was used as the theme song to the ABC Family drama Beautiful People. "You", "All That I Am", and "Someday" all charted on Billboard's Christian Songs chart.
Fireflight is an American Christian rock band formed in Eustis, Florida, in 1999. The band was signed by Flicker Records.
Go is the twelfth studio album by Christian pop rock band Newsboys, released on 31 October 2006. It is the band's last album with Phil Joel as a member until 2019's United, and is their first album with Paul Colman.
Brandon Heath is an American contemporary Christian musician. He has released eight studio albums: Don't Get Comfortable (2006), What If We (2008), Leaving Eden (2011), Blue Mountain (2012), No Turning Back (2015), Faith Hope Love Repeat (2017), "Enough Already" (2022), and "The Ache" (2024). He is best known for the No. 1 singles: "I'm Not Who I Was" and "Give Me Your Eyes". He was nominated four times at the Dove Awards of 2008 and won in the "New Artist of the Year" category. His second album was nominated for "Gospel Album of the Year" at the 51st Grammy Awards of 2009.
Never Going Back to OK is the second album by Christian rock group The Afters, released on February 26, 2008.
Don't Get Comfortable is the first studio album from contemporary Christian musician Brandon Heath. The album was released on September 5, 2006. The album's first single "I'm Not Who I Was" became a number one hit on Christian radio. The album received one GMA Dove Award nomination with its single "I'm Not Who I Was".
Tenth Avenue North is an American contemporary Christian music band from West Palm Beach, Florida. The band released a total of fifteen original music projects, including eight full-length studio albums and multiple RIAA gold singles.
What If We is the second studio album by contemporary Christian musician Brandon Heath. It was released on August 19, 2008 through Provident Label Group. The album debuted at No. 73 on the Billboard 200. During mid and late 2008, the album's first single "Give Me Your Eyes" stayed at No. 1 on R&R's Christian CHR format for 13 consecutive weeks, and was the second most played song of 2008 for the same format. The album received a Grammy Award nomination in 2009 for Best Pop Gospel Album.
"Light Up the Sky" is a song by American Christian pop rock band The Afters from their 2010 album of the same name Light Up the Sky. It was released on June 2, 2010, as the lead single. The song became the group's first Hot Christian Songs No. 1, staying there for two weeks. It lasted 51 weeks on the overall chart, their longest charting single to date. The song is played in the key of D major, and has a tempo of 142 beats per minute.
Light Up the Sky is the third studio album and fourth album overall from contemporary Christian music band The Afters, which the producer on the album is Dan Muckala, and was released on September 14, 2010, by INO Records. This album has seen some commercial and critical success.
"Gold" is a song by musician Britt Nicole from her fourth album, Gold. It was released on November 13, 2012 as her debut mainstream single on Capitol Records.
Life Is Beautiful is the fourth studio album and fifth album overall from the contemporary Christian music band The Afters. The album was produced by David Garcia, Ben Glover, Jordan Mohilowski, and Dan Muckala. It was released on April 16, 2013 by Fair Trade Services. The album has been received critical and commercial success since it has been released.
The discography of American alternative rock band Needtobreathe consists of ten studio albums, four live albums, twelve extended plays and more than forty singles. Four of the albums charted in the Billboard 200 with Rivers in the Wasteland reaching No. 3. The band was signed to Atlantic Records until 2020, when they released Out of Body and subsequent music under the Elektra Records label. Needtobreathe has been classified as a Christian rock act, with distributors Sparrow Records and Word Records.
Ryan Dale Stevenson is an American Christian music singer, musician and guitarist, who primarily plays a contemporary Christian music and worship style of music. His record label is Gotee Records, co-owned by Christian music artist tobyMac. He released three extended plays, Yesterday, Today, Forever, with BEC Recordings, Champion of the World, independently, and Hold Nothing Back, with Gotee Records. His first studio album, Fresh Start, was released on September 18, 2015, with Gotee Records. He's had five songs chart on the Billboard charts, "Holding Nothing Back", "The Human Side", "Not Forgotten", "All Yours" and "Eye of the Storm".
Live On Forever is the fifth studio album by American rock band The Afters, released on September 9, 2016, through Fair Trade/Columbia. "Live on Forever", the title track from that album, placed top 5 on the Billboard Christian Hot AC radio chart as well as top 10 on the Billboard National Christian Audience chart. Chris Major of The Christian Beat describes the work as a "beautiful and inspiring album full of encouragement and hope".
"Every Good Thing" is a song by American Christian pop rock band The Afters from their 2013 album Life Is Beautiful. It was released on February 19, 2013, as the second single. The song peaked at No. 2 on the Hot Christian Songs chart, becoming their second highest-charting single after Light Up the Sky, which reached No. 1 in 2010. It lasted 40 weeks on the overall chart. The song is played in a D-flat major key, and 123 beats per minute.