Bethany Dillon

Last updated

Bethany Dillon
Bethany Dillon.jpg
Background information
Also known asBethany Barnard
Born (1988-09-22) September 22, 1988 (age 34)
Bellefontaine, Ohio
Genres CCM, acoustic
Labels Sparrow
Website bethanybarnard.com

Bethany Dillon (born September 22, 1988), known since 2008 by her married name, Bethany Barnard, is a Contemporary Christian music artist. Her self-titled 2004 debut album was the highest selling female solo debut for that year, and attracted Gospel Music Association nominations for both Female Vocalist and New Artist of the Year. Her album Waking Up (2007) included production assistance of the GMA's 2005 Producer of the Year, Ed Cash, as well Will Hunt and John Alagia. Her sixth and seventh albums were Stop & Listen (2009) and A Better Word (2017).

Contents

Barnard's work has appeared on the soundtrack albums of several feature films, including the single "Hero" in Dreamer (2005, from her second album, Imagination of that year), as well as singles for the Music Inspired by The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) and Bridge to Terabithia (2007). Dillon wed Shane Barnard of Shane & Shane on March 29, 2008, and began producing her music as Bethany Barnard from that date.

Childhood and early education

Bethany Barnard was born Bethany Joy Adelsberger[ citation needed ] on September 22, 1988, in Bellefontaine, Ohio. [1] She has said that she started playing guitar at age 10, with Jennifer Knapp serving as an early influence. [2]

Music career

Dillon performs at a Patriot Day ceremony at Fort Gillem in 2009. US Army 51111 Forts McPherson,Gillem honor fallen at Patriot Day ceremonies.jpg
Dillon performs at a Patriot Day ceremony at Fort Gillem in 2009.

Dillon's musical career began at age 13, ca. 2001, with the recording an independent album, Vulnerable, that ended up in the hands of EMI executive Brad O'Donnell.[ citation needed ] Reporting from the time says that audiences connected with her first record almost immediately, and result being several hit singles, and multiple Dove nomination.[ citation needed ] As well, the album received critical acclaim,[ citation needed ] and "an exponentially increasing grassroots fan base that propelled her career forward in great leaps".[ This quote needs a citation ] Her self-titled debut album, released in 2004, was the highest selling female solo debut album for the year, and attracted GMA nominations for both Female Vocalist and New Artist of the Year.[ citation needed ] The radio single All I Need reached the number one position on the U.S. charts. [3]

She released her second album, Imagination, in August 2005. [4] [ better source needed ] The CD prompted CCM Magazine [ full citation needed ] to label her as "the future of Christian music". [4] [5] [ better source needed ]

Dillon appears on the Music Inspired by The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe soundtrack of 2005, singing "Hero".[ citation needed ] One track from Imagination , entitled "Dreamer", is featured in the end credits for the 2005 film of the same name, starring Kurt Russell and Dakota Fanning).[ citation needed ] A music video was created for this song, using clips from the film.[ citation needed ]

GMA's 2005 Producer of the Year, Ed Cash, [6] teamed up with Dillon to co-produce an eleven-track album, all of which were written or co-written by Dillon; the result was her 2007 album, Waking Up released on April 3.[ citation needed ] As described by Dillon,

Waking Up is the most joyful record I’ve made... even though it revolves around themes of brokenness and this feeling of being really, really small in the presence of God. When the Lord is growing something in me, it feels like a lot of things are dying—because they really are. And when the Lord is making things soft and vulnerable in me, it's really painful. But even so, I think this is the freest sounding project I’ve created. [6] [7]

Joining Ed Cash in the co-production of Waking Up were Will Hunt and John Alagia (an associate of John Mayer and Dave Matthews Band). [6] As CBN.com explains,

Influenced for years by penetrating and poetic writers like Rich Mullins, Keith Green, and Sara Groves, Bethany has tended to gravitate toward themes that require a measure of courage and open-heartedness to explore... Waking Up embraces big questions of suffering, barrenness, vulnerability, romance, and faithfulness. Like the writers Bethany has modeled herself after, she proves herself willing to live and create in that place of ambivalent tension that inevitably comes from refusing to settle for easy, feel-good answers. And yet, like the psalmist, Bethany has a penchant for finding the redemption in the midst of the pain. [6]

Dillon's "When You Love Someone" appears as a track on the film soundtrack album, Music from and Inspired by Bridge to Terabithia . [8] In late 2007, Dillon and Sanctus Real opened with Steven Curtis Chapman on his Live in the Moment Tour.[ citation needed ]

On March 29, 2008, Dillon wed Shane Barnard of Shane & Shane in Xenia, Ohio. [9] In 2016, Dillon and Barnard released the song "Covenant", alongside a fundraising campaign to support a new, independent studio effort and recording to appear in 2017 under her new stage name, Bethany Barnard.[ citation needed ] [10] On February 10, 2017, she independently released A Better Word. [11] [12]

Discography

Albums

EPs

The Beautiful Sessions(released February 11, 2004)

   Track listing:

  1. "Beautiful"
  2. "Move Forward"
  3. "Beautiful (Acoustic)"
  4. "Great Big Mystery (Acoustic)"
  5. "For My Love (Acoustic)"
  6. "Revolutionaries (Acoustic)"
Connect Sets(released December 13, 2005)

   Track listing:

  1. "All That I Can Do"
  2. "Hallelujah"
  3. "Beautiful"
Top Five Hits: Bethany Dillon(released December 5, 2006)

   Track listing:

  1. "All I Need"
  2. "Beautiful"
  3. "Hero"
  4. "Dreamer"
  5. "Hallelujah"
To Those Who Wait(released March 16, 2012)

   Track listing:

  1. "Satisfy (Tappety Intro)"
  2. "Satisfy (live)"
  3. "To Those Who Wait (live)"
  4. "You're the Best Song (live)"
  5. "You Did Not Have a Home (live)"

Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions
TitleYearPeak chart positionsAlbum
US Christian Songs
[13]
US AC
[14]
"All I Need"20044 Bethany Dillon
"Beautiful"7
"Lead Me On"27
"O Come, O Come Emmanuel" (digital only)14
"God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen"2005 WOW Christmas: Green
"All That I Can Do"24 Imagination
"Hallelujah"28
"Dreamer"20063139
"The Kingdom"2007 Waking Up
"Let Your Light Shine"
"When You Love Someone"28 Music from and Inspired by Bridge to Terabithia
"Everyone to Know"200944 Stop & Listen

Contributions

Awards

GMA Dove Awards

YearAwardResult
2005 New Artist of the YearNominated
Female Vocalist of the YearNominated
Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year ( Bethany Dillon )Nominated
2006 Female Vocalist of the YearNominated [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geoff Moore</span> American singer

Geoff Moore is an American contemporary Christian music singer. He began recording as a solo artist in 1984. In 1987, he formed Geoff Moore and The Distance, his touring band, which released eight albums generating a string of No. 1 radio hits throughout their 10+-year tenure. In 1998, Geoff retired the band from full-time touring. After a "farewell tour", Moore has continued as a solo artist, releasing eight more records between 1999 and 2015. The Next Thing was released in April 2016, making it his 25th album to date.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sparrow Records</span> American record label

Sparrow Records is a Christian music record label and a division of Universal Music Group.

The 36th Annual GMA Dove Awards, also called the 36th Annual GMA Music Awards, were held on April 13, 2005 recognizing accomplishments of musicians for the year 2004. The show was held at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tennessee and was hosted by Steven Curtis Chapman, CeCe Winans, Rebecca St. James, Smokie Norful, Darlene Zschech and Israel Houghton.

Shane & Shane is a Texas-based contemporary worship music band known for acoustic praise and worship music. The band consists of Shane Barnard and Shane Everett (vocals). They are often joined by their drummer and manager, Joey Parish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Starfield (band)</span> Canadian Christian rock band

Starfield is a Canadian Christian music group from Winnipeg, Manitoba. The group has songs and albums that have charted in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. They have won multiple GMA Canada Covenant Awards, received four Juno nominations, five Vibes, and the Prairie Music Award for best Christian album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phil Wickham</span> Contemporary Christian musician, singer and songwriter

Philip David Wickham is a Contemporary Christian musician, singer and songwriter from San Diego, California. Wickham has released nine albums: Give You My World in 2003, a self-titled album in 2006, Cannons in 2007, Singalong in 2008, Heaven & Earth in 2009, Response in 2011, Singalong 2 in 2012, The Ascension in 2013, Sing-A-Long 3 in 2015, Children of God in 2016, Living Hope in 2018, and Hymn Of Heaven in 2021. He has also led worship at Soul Survivor. His critically acclaimed single "This is Amazing Grace" became RIAA certified Platinum and topped the 2014 year-end Christian Airplay chart.

<i>WOW Worship: Aqua</i> 2006 compilation album by Various artists

WOW Worship: Aqua is the sixth installment in the WOW Worship series. The collection features 33 "powerful worship songs from today's top artists", eight of which were newly recorded for this album. WOW Worship: Aqua was marketed to both the praise and worship lover and to fans of popular artists in Christian music. The album reached #75 on the Billboard 200 chart. The album was certified as gold in 2006 by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

<i>Bridge to Terabithia</i> (2007 film) 2007 film by Gábor Csupó

Bridge to Terabithia is a 2007 American fantasy drama film directed by Gábor Csupó and written by David L. Paterson and Jeff Stockwell. It is based on the 1977 novel of the same name by Katherine Paterson. The film stars Josh Hutcherson, AnnaSophia Robb, Bailee Madison, Zooey Deschanel, and Robert Patrick. Its plot follows two 11-year-old friends who create a fantasy world called "Terabithia" to cope with reality and spend their free time together.

The 37th Annual GMA Dove Awards, also called the 37th Annual GMA Music Awards, were held on April 5, 2006 recognizing accomplishments of Christian musicians for the year 2005. The show was held at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tennessee, and was hosted by Rebecca St. James and Kirk Franklin. This was the last year in which the awards were called the "GMA Music Awards", since they will change their names to "GMA Dove Awards".

<i>WOW Christmas: Green</i> 2005 compilation album by Various artists

WOW Christmas: Green is the second release in the WOW Christmas series. It is the follow-up to the platinum-selling WOW Christmas: Red album. The double-disc album features 15 new tracks that are exclusive to this release. The album peaked at #54 on the Billboard 200 chart in 2005, and at #2 on the Top Christian Albums chart. WOW Christmas: Green was certified gold in 2006 by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Group 1 Crew</span> American Christian hip hop band

Group 1 Crew was an American Christian hip hop band signed to Fervent Records and Warner Bros. Records. They made their debut with the hit song "Can't Go On" on WOW Hits 2007. Soon after they released their first EP I have a dream (2006), the band released their self-titled full-length debut studio album, Group 1 Crew, in February 2007. Their song "Love is a Beautiful Thing" charted into the Top 20 in May 2007 on R&R magazine's Christian chart. The group's second studio album Ordinary Dreamers was released on September 16, 2008. Their popular radio single "Forgive Me" appeared on Season 5 Episode 2 of One Tree Hill, which premiered on January 8, 2008. In September 2010, they released the album Outta Space Love, which has proven to be their most mainstream effort, as many of the songs were used in the reality television show America's Got Talent. In 2017, it was announced that Manwell would be departing the group in order to pursue other interests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Mullen (singer)</span>

David Mullen is a former Blues Pop / CCM singer, songwriter and musician. Later he became well known as a songwriter, music producer, and film score composer. He released his first album in 1989, and won the GMA Dove Award for New Artist of the Year in 1990. He later recorded his last album in 1994. Since then, he has written and produced recordings for several other Christian artists, most notably Nicole C. Mullen.

<i>Glory Revealed</i> American contemporary Christian compilation album

Glory Revealed: The Word of God In Worship is a compilation album by popular contemporary Christian musicians. It garnered the Gospel Music Association's Special Event Album of the Year award for 2008.

<i>Stop & Listen</i> 2009 studio album by Bethany Dillon

Stop & Listen is the fourth studio solo album by Bethany Dillon, and was released in 2009. It reached No. 29 in the US Christian Album Charts the song "Everyone to Know" reached No. 44 in the US Charts.

"Word of God Speak" is a song by Christian rock band MercyMe. Written by Bart Millard and Pete Kipley, "Word of God Speak" uses sparse instrumentation, featuring only piano and strings to accompany Millard's vocals. The lyrics to "Word of God Speak" reflect on the idea that it is impossible to speak of an infinite God with a limited vocabulary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ed Cash</span> American musician

Edmond Martin Cash is a producer, songwriter, engineer, and multi-instrumentalist. He was named the "Producer of the Year" at the Gospel Music Awards for four consecutive years (2004–2007) and gains recognition for his work with Christian singer Chris Tomlin. In addition to several Grammy Nominations and countless BMI Citations of Achievement, Cash has produced or written with artists such as Steven Curtis Chapman, Vince Gill, Dolly Parton, Colin Bernard, Amy Grant, Keith & Kristyn Getty, Bebo Norman, David Crowder Band, Bethany Dillon, Kari Jobe, Dave Barnes, Matt Wertz, Caedmon's Call, Casting Crowns, Annette Lee. Since 2018, he has been a member of the band We the Kingdom.

Laura Mixon Story Elvington is an American contemporary Christian music singer-songwriter. Billboard ranked her as the 40th Top Christian Artist of the 2010s. She has won a Grammy and six GMA Dove Awards. Her second studio album, Blessings, reached No. 1 on Top Christian Albums & Americana/Folk Albums, and peaked at No. 30 on the Billboard 200. It also achieved RIAA Gold status.

<i>Glory Revealed II</i> 2009 compilation album by Various artists

Glory Revealed II: The Word of God in Worship released in 2009, is a compilation album by popular CCM musicians. In 2010, it garnered the Dove Award for Special Event Album of the Year at the 41st GMA Dove Awards.

<i>Great God Who Saves</i> 2008 studio album by Laura Story

Great God Who Saves is the first official studio album from singer/songwriter Laura Story. The album was released on March 18, 2008.

The 53rd Annual GMA Dove Awards presentation ceremony was held on Tuesday, October 18, 2022 at the Allen Arena located in Nashville, Tennessee. The ceremony recognized the accomplishments of musicians and other figures within the Christian music industry for the year 2022. The award ceremony aired on Trinity Broadcasting Network on Friday, October 21, 2022 at 8PM ET and 10PM ET.

References

  1. "Bethany Dillon [Artist Profile]". ChristianMusic.com [defunct]. May 28, 2018. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  2. "[Bethany Dillon article]". niNe. magazine . August–October 2006. Archived from the original on June 26, 2007.[ full citation needed ]
  3. "Bethany Dillon [Artist Profile]". Last.fm . September 25, 2013.[ full citation needed ]
  4. 1 2 "Bethany Dillon Graces Cover Of August '05 CCM Magazine" (marketing press release). Top40-Charts.com. January 8, 2005. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  5. "[Artist Channel] Bethany Dillon". Rhapsody.com. February 27, 2008. Archived from the original (artist tracklist) on February 27, 2008. Retrieved February 12, 2022. [Annotation] The cover of the August 2005 issue of CCM magazine called Dillon 'the future of Christian music.' Before that, she was dubbed 'the next Amy Grant' based on her soft folk debut...
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Adult Contemporary / Bethany Dillon / Sparrow Records [Artist Profile]". CBN.com . Virginia Beach, Va.: The Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc. February 12, 2022. Retrieved February 12, 2022. 'Waking Up is the most joyful record I've made,' Bethany explains, 'even though it revolves around themes of brokenness and this feeling of being really, really small in the presence of God. When the Lord is growing something in me, it feels like a lot of things are dying—because they really are. And when the Lord is making things soft and vulnerable in me, it's really painful. But even so, I think this is the freest sounding project I've created.' / Influenced for years by penetrating and poetic writers like Rich Mullins, Keith Green, and Sara Groves, Bethany has tended to gravitate toward themes that require a measure of courage and open-heartedness to explore. Co-produced by GMA's 2005 Producer of the Year Ed Cash, as well as Will Hunt and John Alagia (John Mayer, Dave Matthews Band), Waking Up embraces big questions of suffering, barrenness, vulnerability, romance, and faithfulness. Like the writers Bethany has modeled herself after, she proves herself willing to live and create in that place of ambivalent tension that inevitably comes from refusing to settle for easy, feel-good answers. And yet, like the psalmist, Bethany has a penchant for finding the redemption in the midst of the pain.
  7. "The Entertainment Booking Resource: Bethany Dillon". EntertainmentRG.com. Las Vegas, Nevada: Entertainment Resource Group, Inc. February 12, 2022. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  8. Phares, Heather (February 13, 2007). "Original Soundtrack / Bridge to Terabithia". AllMusic . Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  9. Jackson, Kevin (August 1, 2007). "Bethany Dillon Engaged to Shane Barnard of Shane & Shane". The Christian Post . Archived from the original on July 22, 2012. Retrieved May 30, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  10. Barnard, Bethany (September 27, 2016). "Covenant" . Retrieved February 12, 2022 via YouTube.
  11. Tremaine, Chase (March 13, 2017). "JFH Music Review: Bethany Barnard, A Better Word". JesusFreakHideout.com. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  12. Smith, Christopher (March 18, 2017). "JFH Staff's Second Opinion: Bethany Barnard, A Better Word". JesusFreakHideout.com. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  13. "Bethany Dillon Christian Songs chart". Billboard . Archived from the original on June 23, 2014. Retrieved October 27, 2013.
  14. "Bethany Dillon Adult Contemporary chart". Billboard . Archived from the original on June 25, 2014. Retrieved October 27, 2013.
  15. 37th Annual GMA Awards Nominations and Winners Archived July 7, 2011, at the Wayback Machine