MercyMe is an American contemporary Christian music band founded in Edmond, Oklahoma. The band consists of lead vocalist Bart Millard, percussionist Robby Shaffer, bassist Nathan Cochran and guitarists Michael Scheuchzer and Barry Graul.
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.
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.
The Face of Love is the third studio album from Christian rock band Sanctus Real. It was released on April 4, 2006 and peaked at number 158 on the Billboard 200. The singles "I'm Not Alright" and "Don't Give Up" both reached number 1 on Christian contemporary hit radio. The album was written and recorded following a period of personal struggles for the band members, and carries themes of honesty and brokenness.
Aaron Michael Shust is an American contemporary Christian music artist formerly on the Brash Music and Centricity Music labels, and now on his own label. Shust was named the Songwriter of the Year at the GMA Dove Awards of 2007, and his song, "My Savior My God", received the Song of the Year award.
Matthew Joseph West is an American contemporary Christian musician, singer-songwriter, and actor. He has released five studio albums and is known for his songs, "More", "You Are Everything", and "The Motions". He was nominated for five Dove Awards in 2005, two of which were for his major label debut album, Happy. West won the 2013 American Music Award for Best Contemporary Inspirational Artist.
Portable Sounds is the third full-length studio album from Christian pop rock and hip hop artist tobyMac. It was released on February 20, 2007, and debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard 200. The album includes the singles "Lose My Soul", "Made to Love", "Boomin'", "I'm for You", and "One World ". This album took a slightly different direction than tobyMac's previous hip hop efforts, having more of a pop sound. When it was released on iTunes, users were able to download a behind-the-scenes making of the album video, a digital booklet, and an acoustic version of "Made to Love." "Ignition" was selected as the theme song to the WWE pay-per-view Elimination Chamber 2011.
PureNRG was a Christian pop group from Nashville, Tennessee. They were signed to Fervent Records in late 2006. They released six albums: their self-titled debut pureNRG, their second album Here We Go Again, a Christmas album A pureNRG Christmas, a remix album reNRGized, and their junior album The Real Thing. Their final album Graduation: The Best of pureNRG was released July 20, 2010.
How Can We Be Silent is the third studio album from contemporary Christian band BarlowGirl. It was released on July 24, 2007 in five different editions, including three retailer-exclusive editions that each added a unique acoustic bonus track.
"Between You and Me" is a song by the American contemporary Christian music group DC Talk. Released in 1996, it was the second radio and commercial single released from the group's fourth album, Jesus Freak.
Spoken For is the second studio album by Christian rock band MercyMe. Produce by Pete Kipley, the album was released on October 1, 2002 by INO Records. The album's production, which followed the success of "I Can Only Imagine" on Christian radio, was described by lead singer Bart Millard as "nerve-racking"; the album musically represents a shift in the band's musical style, with critics variously identifying it as roots rock, pop rock, or adult contemporary. Lyrically, the album focuses on worship and the concept of Christians as being "spoken for" by God.
Francesca Battistelli is an American Christian singer and songwriter from New York City. 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 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" from her album If We're Honest.
"Lose My Soul" is a song by TobyMac from his third studio album, Portable Sounds (2007). It features gospel artist Kirk Franklin and contemporary Christian singer Mandisa and was released in 2008 as the fifth single from the album. The song was written by McKeehan, Christopher Stevens, and Michael Ripoll. "Lose My Soul" didn't become a hit until a year after its release, peaking at No. 2 on both the US Hot Christian Songs chart and the US Hot Christian AC chart. It was ranked the thirteenth most-played song on R&R's Year-End Top Christian CHR Songs chart in 2008.
Alive Again is the second studio album by contemporary Christian musician Matt Maher, released on September 22, 2009. It is his second album with Essential Records. It reached #6 on the Billboard Christian albums chart, and reached #128 on the Billboard 200. The single "Alive Again" became the top selling Christian and Gospel single on iTunes Rewind. The song "Hold Us Together" was the No. 1 K-LOVE song of 2010.
It Is Well: A Worship Album by Kutless, more commonly referred to as It Is Well, is the second worship album and sixth full-length album by the Christian rock band Kutless. It was released on October 20, 2009. The first single, "What Faith Can Do," has seen success on the Christian Adult Contemporary Chart, the Inspirational/Soft Rock Chart, and the Christian CHR (Pop) Chart. The album debuted at No. 2 on Billboard's Hot Christian Albums chart and No. 42 on the Billboard Top 200. Recently, they have released a music video for their hit song "What Faith Can Do." The song "What Faith Can Do" charted at No. 19 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. Musically, the album deviates away from the hard rock sound on their previous albums and features a softer, calmer tone.
Until the Whole World Hears is the fourth studio album by American Christian rock band Casting Crowns. Released on November 17, 2009, the album was produced by Mark. A Miller and features a sound that has been described as 'pure American rock', 'soft adult contemporary', and 'CCM'. Lyrically, the album discusses Christian subjects such as God, Jesus, and salvation, with several songs being reinventions of classic hymns. Until the Whole World Hears sold over 167,000 copies in its first week, Casting Crowns' highest sales week to date, and debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and at No. 1 on the Billboard Christian Albums chart. In the United States, the album ranked as the 37th best-selling album of 2010 and the 137th best-selling album of 2011; it ranked as the first and third best-selling Christian album in those years, respectively. It has sold over 1.1 million copies and been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Pieces of a Real Heart is the fifth studio album from Christian rock band Sanctus Real. It was released on March 9, 2010 via Sparrow Records. The first single released was the song "Forgiven", which reached No. 6 on Billboard's Christian Songs chart. The second single "Lead Me" reached No. 1 on Billboard's Christian Music chart and was nominated for a GMA Dove Award.
William Scott Davis is an American songwriter, musician, and producer based in Nashville, Tennessee. Davis has written for several publishing companies, including Acuff-Rose Music, Midas Records Nashville, and Word Entertainment.
Hard Love is the sixth studio album by American Christian rock band Needtobreathe, released on July 15, 2016, through Atlantic Records.
Brian Mark Johnson is an American contemporary worship musician and worship pastor. He is the president and co-founder of Bethel Music, as well as a member of its Artist Collective and is one-half of the husband-and-wife worship duo, Brian & Jenn Johnson. He is also a senior worship pastor at Bethel Church in Redding, California, and a Senior Overseer of WorshipU, an online school of worship under Bethel Music which he co-founded with Jenn Johnson.
[1]