Story of King David Sets Base for New NBC Series

A modern-day retelling of the biblical story of King David will be premiering on NBC in March as a new series according to Christian Post.

“Kings,” created by Michael Green (“Heroes,” “Everwood”), centers on the drama surrounding David Shepherd, a young soldier in the war-torn country of Gilboa, who will rise to fame after inspiring the nation through his fearless rescue of the king’s son. Amid Shepherd's thrust toward destiny and peace for the kingdom, however, the country's power players will go to great lengths to see him fall, blurring the line between his allies and enemies.

The series is expected to draw the religious and the non-religious – the latter because of epic style and dramatic feel, and the former because it is expected to stick closely to the Old Testament, which Green says provides enough material to shape at least several seasons.

“Strangely enough, they've not yet asked us to censor the Bible,” he said, referring to NBC, during a Q&A panel earlier this month. “They tried, but then I’ve showed them what chapter it was from and they were like, ‘Oh, well I guess that’s okay.’”

Rush of Fools Enjoying Mainstream Success

Rush Of Fools is enjoying some cross-over success with their self-penned duet with Jim Brickman, “Never Far Away.” The song is currently #14 on Billboard’s AC chart.

Christian Music Sales Down Overall For 2008

According to the Gospel Music Association, while sales of digital albums were up 38% and digital singles 37%, overall, sales in 2008 of both digital and physical units were down 9.7% from 2007. In comparison, mainstream album sales were down 8.5% and Country music was down 24.2%.

The top 10 best selling albums in 2008 were:

1. Noel, Josh Grobin
2. I Can Only Imagine, various artists compilation
3. Thirsty, Marvin Sapp
4. Joy To The World, Faith Hill
5. Flyleaf, Flyleaf
6. The Altar and the Door, Casting Crowns
7. Peace On Earth, Casting Crowns
8. Revelation, Third Day
9. Fight of My Life, Kirk Franklin
10. WOW Hits 2009, various artists compilation

It's interesting to note that half of the Top 10 were either Christmas CDs or compilations. Christian music fans appear to gravitate to established and cross-over artists. Compilation CDs are popular just as they are with mainstream product, most likely because they aggregate hits and make sampling other artists easier.

As Gospel Soundcheck notes, both Flyleaf's self-titled debut and Casting Crowns The Altar and the Door were top selling Christian albums in 2007, and Flyleaf was also on the top selling list in 2006. Kirk Franklin was a top seller in 2006 with a different album, as was Casting Crowns. Compilation CDs were also top sellers.

The most popular styles of Christian/Gospel music were:
* Pop/Adult Contemporary (28%)
* Black Gospel (18%)
* Rock (17%)
* Praise & Worship (9%)
* Country (6%)

Red's New CD Debuts at No. 15

After topping the chart last week, the Fray's self-titled album slips to No. 4 with 75,000 (-58%).

Red's "Innocence & Instinct" debuts at No. 15 with 39,000

Fireproof Remains in Top 5 on DVD Sales Chart

After its impressive debut at #2 last week, Fireproof remains in the top 5 despite a 52% drop (on par with most of its competition). It has now sold 815,000 units in two weeks.

Oswald Bros. Gain National Exposure and Comparison to Jonas Bros.

Like Jonas Brothers, Oswalds succeed with clean. The Duluth-based Christian band released first album in January and are the first of six family groups named To "Face Off" seeking a recording contract.

Like the Jonas Brothers, the Oswalds project a wholesome image, cling to strong Christian values and come from a home-schooled environment. “I’ve heard … they started an awful lot like us, and it’s really cool to see how far they’ve gotten,” Zach said.

All three brothers are home-schooled, share the same room, and spend much of their time writing and rehearsing their music.

Jars of Clay Reunites With Essential

In 2007 Jars of Clay broke ties with longtime label Essential Records to form its own Gray Matters imprint. But the modern rockers just announced a renewal of their relationship with Essential for their new release The Long Fall Back to Earth.

The new CD appears to be a stylistic continuation of 2006's Good Monsters, which found the band using heavier guitars.

Paramore Teams Up With Steven Curtis Chapman’s Ministry In China

Paramore recently made news after it was announced that they were joining No Doubt on their summer tour. However, they are staying true to their faith as evidenced by two of their members recently went on a Missions Trip with Steven Curtis Chapman’s ministry to China. They helped out in “Maria’s Big House of Hope” orphanage.

Lou Gramm Announces CD Release Date

Lou Gramm has announced the release date for his first ever Christian CD. According to his site, the CD comes out May 30.

Mandisa Drops 70 lbs & Promotes Upcoming Release

Grammy® nominee and American Idol finalist Mandisa is encouraging women worldwide about the freedom she has experienced through her faith and incredible 70+lb weight loss in her upcoming sophomore release, Freedom, bowing on March 24th.

Freedom is the follow-up to Mandisa’s 2007 debut, True Beauty.

Jonas Brothers…Not That Innocent?

The Jonas Brothers spoke to British magazine, Teen Now about how the meaning of their purity rings was "taken out of context" and instead represent they have values. Does this mean they haven't taken a purity vow?

Teen Now: "So are you guys really vowing to stay virgins until marriage?"

Nick Jonas: "No. That was something that got taken out of hand and that we wanted to keep to ourselves."

Kevin Jonas: "The media took things out of context."

Joe Jonas: "Those rings are just to show that we have solid values in life."

Fireproof DVD Premieres at #2

Fireproof has translated its stunning box office success (over $33 million) into record DVD sales. It's in the second position in DVD sales behind Open Season 2 which outperformed it by only 4,000 units.

David Bowie is the Future of Christian Music

David Brighton the former lead singer for Christian 90s band, Brighton, has become the "world's best David Bowie impersonator." If you have the heart for it, you can experience it here.

The Fray's New CD Debuts at No. 1

The Fray earns its first No. 1 on The Billboard 200 with its sophomore self-titled Epic album, which sold 179,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

The rock act's previous album, "How To Save a Life," peaked at No. 14, but has sold 2.37 million to date.

The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus Debuts at No. 14

Although platinum-selling modern rockers The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus chose the title Lonely Road for their new release with family and friends at home in mind, the band continues to build a loyal worldwide group of fans propelling their new release to a No. 14 debut.

Prior to the release of Lonely Road, the lead-off single "You Better Pray" had proven itself a national hit in both the Alternative and Active Rock radio formats, with wide video exposure through FUSE, Music Choice, MTVu and MTV2, which premiered their video all day long on "Unleashed."

As for why the Red Jumpsuit isn't a household name, the band's lead singer Ronnie Winter has an idea. "We kind of walk a fine line between what I call Bible-thumping and doing the right thing," Winter says. "I don't beat you over the head with it in our lyrics. We don't beat you over the head with it with our message."

Winter also notes: "Yes, we are all Christian and some of the songs do send out a message but that doesn't mean we fit into the genre of a Christian Band,to have made it this far is a blessing. we are all so happy and thankful,thanks to all the fans,our family,friends."

Korn Bassist Finds Faith

Korn bassist Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu has found faith, according to the product page for a new HarperCollins book releasing March 10. Got the Life: My Journey of Addiction, Faith, Recovery, and Korn, which is being described as "the ultimate story of rock and redemption," details how Fieldy came to terms with the faith of his father, a Christian, when he died of a mysterious illness.

Fieldy is the second Korn member after Brian "Head" Welch to find Christianity.

'Chuck' Star Zachary Levi Joins 'Chipmunks' Sequel

Alvin, Simon, Theodore and ... Chuck?

Zachary Levi, star of the NBC action comedy series Chuck, has been cast to play the cousin of Jason Lee's character and gets tangled up with the tiny animated threesome in Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel.

Alvin and the Chipmunks was a bonified hit in 2007 and grossed a shocking $217 million in North America.

American Idol Season 8 Contestants With Ties to Christian Music

Joanne on Gospel Soundcheck lists a dozen Season 8 contestants with ties to Christian music. Most notable are Jesse Langseth (her brother is Jonny Lang) and Ryan Johnson (plays with Instereo).

TobyMac Wins a Grammy While in Concert

It was announced at the Winter Jam Tour stop in Atlanta that TobyMac had won a Grammy, ironically, for Alive & Transported. He had made a commitment to the Tour, so he did not attend the event.



He was nominated last year for the Gold-certified Portable Sounds, but lost out to Israel & New Breed (?!)

Winter Jam Warms the Heart But Not the Wallet

The Winter Jam Tour is selling out as it blows into town because of its compelling line-up and is amazingly affordable at just $10 at the door with no advance ticket sales.

The tour is headlined by tobyMac and features artists Hawk Nelson, Brandon Heath, NewSong, Francesca Battistelli, pureNRG, Stephanie Smith, and Guest Speaker Tony Nolan.

It's a great night and well worth the long lines when the doors open. At the Atlanta stop it was clear the majority of the crowd was there to see TobyMac, Hawk Nelson and pureNRG, but all were well received.

Top Marx for Rockers

Red is quickly becoming a phenomenon, and if early reviews of Innocence and Instinct are indicative of the CD's promise it should be a worthy follow-up to Red's stellar debut End of Silence.

For the uninitiated, Red is unlike anything you've heard before, a metal band with catchy melodies, electronic flourishes and powerful vocals that range from beautiful intonations to emotional screams.

They've had a relentless tour schedule that has included dates with Papa Roach, Three Days Grace, Flyleaf, Puddle of Mudd, Kutless, Seether and Staind that has helped Red reach a wider audience.

The new CD promises collaborations with 80s crooner Richard Marx (!) and a cover of Duran Duran's "Ordinary World"! It should be a wild ride.

Casting Crowns Performs at National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C.

Yesterday, Grammy-winning artist Casting Crowns was the featured guest performer during the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. The platinum-selling band played “Voice of Truth” and “Who Am I” for President Obama, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the more than 3,000 attendees, including dignitaries from more than 180 nations. For the first time in its 57-year history, the prayer breakfast was broadcast live over the internet.

In other Casting Crowns news, the band announced that drummer Andy Williams is leaving to work full time with his wife Kelly in a band and ministry called Soul Sister Sally.

Third Day makes mainstream play

Third Day is featured on the CNN.com home page today with an article on their mainstream play with the release of "Revelation".

Grammatrain derailed

A day after Jesus Freak Hideout announces Grammatrain is working on a new CD after a 10 year hiatus, they've followed up with this troubling addendum:

After posting this, Pete shared with us, "I'm not sure if you've followed me much musically over the last several years, but I've been fairly upfront about the fact that I don't consider myself a Christian any longer. I realize this is kind of a touchy subject with people who were/are fans of grammatrain and of me as a solo artist. Obviously, that's going to set the tone for this record to be different than our albums of the past and quite likely much of its reception." Stewart doesn't speak for Grammatrain's other members, as far as their spiritual status (they both consider themselves to be Christians), but this clearly changes the direction of Grammatrain since their years on Forefront in the mid to late 90's...

Beyond his notable band and solo work, he also was briefly a part of Tait.

The Fray releases sophomore album to Christian market

The Fray released their sophomore effort to the Christian market yesterday. The band, who sold 3.2 million copies of their debut album How To Save A Life, chose to release their second album in both markets.

That's kind of unusual in a time when a lot of Christian bands are trying to separate themselves from the Christian artist label in order to find mainstream success. But in a video for the song "You Found Me", lead vocalist Isaac Slade says that this is what they would have done the first time if they had the time and where they want to go for the rest of their career.

The first single "You Found Me" was released to Christian radio early this year, and landed at #23 on R&R's Christian CHR. The song was also used as the promo for the new season of ABC's "Lost."

"You Found Me" is a tough song for me,” comments Slade on the band’s MySpace page. “...There's some difficult circumstances my family and friends have been going through over the past year or so and can be overwhelming. It wears on me. It demands so much of my faith to keep believing, keep hoping in the unseen. Sometimes the tunnel has a light at the end, but usually they just look black as night. This song is about that feeling, and the hope that I still have, buried deep in my chest."

Does Christian Music lead people to Christ?

There's an interesting post on Gospel Soundcheck on whether Christian does or should lead people to Christ. The posting is prompted by a response from FamilyForce5.

On one hand, it's nice to see the guys are deeper than their madcap stage persona, on the other hand, it's disturbing how they respond and the inspirations and reading material they recommend.

Most troubling is the band's recommendation of Marcus Borg who has a pantheistic understanding of God, which sees God as both indwelling in everything and transcendent.

Based on their lyrics and style, I guess I shouldn't be surprised by their liberal beliefs.

Country legend Milsap releases Hymns Album

Country legend Ronnie Milsap is set to release his first Gospel CD "Then Sings My Soul: 24 Favorite Hymns & Gospel Songs." The two-disc set features Christian classics such as "Amazing Grace" and "I'll Fly Away," plus secular favorites like "People Get Ready" and "Stand by Me."

"I was shy to do this for a long time because I didn't necessarily want to show the inside of my soul," Milsap says. "Nobody ever asked me to dig deep inside of your spirit and expose that. That's why it took me a while to be able to do that."

"I Can Only Imagine" turns 10

"I Can Only Imagine," the mega-hit from MercyMe, turns a decade old in 2009, and on April 7 the band is pulling all the stops to celebrate the occasion. A new version of the song recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra will be included on "10," a commemorative CD/DVD bundle that also includes all 11 of MercyMe's #1 singles, plus the unreleased "Only Temporary" and the concert favorite "10 Simple Rules."

MovieMinistry’s Films to Look For in 2009

MovieMinistry looks ahead at films that might represent interesting ministry opportunities for those people who use film for outreach, or to create teachable moments.

The list can be read here.

Fox Steps Up for 3rd Narnia Film

With Walt Disney Pictures no longer on board to help produce launch the third installment of the “Chronicles of Narnia” films, 20th Century Fox has reportedly stepped in to partner with Walden Media for the next title in the fantasy series.

As first reported by Variety magazine, Fox and Walden plan to split production and marketing costs for "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader," which is projected to go into production with a $140 million budget. Though the two companies are still working out budget and script issues, the hope is to shoot the film at the end of summer for a holiday 2010 release through the Fox Walden label.

Chuck Star an Outspoken Christian

Chuck, heavily promoted in last night's captivating Super Bowl, will season premiere tonight with a 3D episode.

Zachary Levi, the star of Chuck, is an outspoken Christian.

This season will feature a fair amount of guest stars. The Green Mile's Michael Clarke Duncan appears in the season premiere, followed by John Laroquette of Boston Legal and Lost's Dominic Monaghan. Nicole Richie also puts in an appearance, as does The Fast and the Furious actress Jordana Brewster.