Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Vanessa Hudgens Credits Boyfriend Austin Butler With Bringing Her Back to Faith

Being Zac Efron’s girlfriend has its downsides.

“I went through a phase when I was really mean because I was so fed up,” Vanessa Hudgens told the New York Times about her three-year public romance to Efron.

The pair met on the set of “High School Musical” in 2005 and fell in love two years later. Their courtship would end in December 2010.

Seeing droves of young girls lust over her hunky boyfriend did a number on Hudgens, now 26.

“Girls were running after him, and I was giving them death stares,” she detailed vividly. “Then I realized that’s not what that’s about. ’Spread the love, be a good person, they support you, be nice.’”

Her currently relationship to actor Austin Butler is much healthier.

In fact, Hudgens credits Austin, 23, with leading her back to her Christian faith.

According to the article, the lovebirds attend services at mega church Hillsong. “It feels like Arcade Fire — it’s epic like that,” said Hudgens of the popular service. “They really focus on you having your own personal relationship with Jesus, which is wonderful.”

It will be curious how her attendance will impact her.  Justin Bieber also attends Hillsong but continues to generate negative publicity.

Also, her faith is still much in flux:
Her spirituality also involves crystals, dreamcatchers and flowers. “I’m a definite hippie,” she said. “I’m literally my happiest self when I’m dancing half naked on a grass field listening to Led Zeppelin.”

Do You Believe? Remains in Top 10

Faith-based drama Do You Believe? fell 40% to an estimated $2.2M giving the Pure Flix release $7.1M to date.

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

for King & Country to Appear on Jimmy Kimmel

 for KING & COUNTRY will make their debut performance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" tonight from the "Kimmel café".

The Vessel is also premiering the "Fix My Eyes" video, which was shot in Knoxville before a sold-out crowd of nearly 18,000, is now live and can be seen at https://www.vessel.com/forkingandcountry.

for KING & COUNTRY first caught the attention of the mainstream in America around the time that Billboard magazine named them one of the publication's "New Artists to Watch for 2012. And since then they have made good on that prophecy with a album sales topping 450,000. Their debut, Crave that made them not just a blip on the radar, but put for KING & COUNTRY on the map with 410,000 track sales and 9.5 million streams. Two years later, Run Wild. Live Free. Run Strong. celebrated an even stronger start, debuting at No. 13 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart and at No. 2 on iTunes. The Australian brothers Joel and Luke Smallbone, the core of for KING & COUNTRY, received their first Grammy Award wins earlier this year.

Vessel is a premium video service that gives passionate fans early access to short-form videos from their favorite creators. They offer these videos through a curated, beautiful and creator-first platform that is accessible via mobile apps for iPad and iPhone and via Vessel.com. Vessel, a San Francisco-based startup, was founded in 2013 by Jason Kilar and Richard Tom, the founding CEO and former CTO of Hulu.

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Do You Believe? Premieres in Top 10 at Box Office

Do You Believe? debuted in sixth place calling up $3.6M from 1,320 theaters for a per screen average of $2,721. The creators of this film were behind last year's surprise hit God's Not Dead which opened this same weekend in 2014 to $9.2M on its way to a strong $60.7M finale. It looks like Do You Believe? might be lucky to hit even one third of that number, but if the production budget was anything like the $2M spent on God's Not Dead, the film could still be pretty successful.

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

New Faith Film "Beyond The Mask" Hopes to Make Name with Special Effects

A new faith film "Beyond the Mask" is coming to theaters on April 6 bringing history to life with a talented cast, powerful script and quality special effects.

Starring John Rhys-Davies (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Lord of the Rings), Andrew Cheney, Kara Killmer, and Adetokumboh M'Cormack, "Beyond the Mask" features the adventures of William, a leading mercenary for the British East India Trading Company who has just been double-crossed and is on the run in the American Colonies. In order to redeem his name and win back the affections of the woman whose trust he lost, William hides behind a mask in hopes of thwarting his former boss. William must race against time to defuse a plot of historical proportions with help from his beloved Charlotte as well as Ben Franklin.

Written by Paul McCusker with help from "Courageous" scriptwriter Stephen Kendrick, "Beyond the Mask" celebrates grace, liberty, and true freedom that can only be found in Christ.

"It's unlike just about any movie I've ever seen," Kendrick said.

The Christian filmmaker, who co-wrote "Fireproof" along with his brother Alex Kendrick, went on to praise "Beyond the Mask" for ushering in a new era for faith-based films.

"This movie has more green screen shots and CG effects than any other live action Christian film in history," Kendrick explained. "The real adventure has been their creative climb of that digital Everest."

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Prince Covers Christian Song 'What If' For Latest Single



Always a man with a surprise up his sleeve (was anyone anticipating his first acting credit in years to be on New Girl?), Prince's new song is probably not what you'd expect from the Purple One.

Prince and 3rdEyeGirl released an electric guitar-heavy cover of Christian singer-songwriter Nichole Nordeman's "What If."

Prince released the song to Louisville, KY, radio, where he's kicking off the U.S. portion of his Hit & Run Tour.

His cover has been in the works for years.  Nordeman says she received a call more than five years ago from Prince's management asking for permission to cover What If, a hit for her on Christian radio in 2005.

"I didn't hear anything else, so I thought it had just died," she said.

"I think Prince just heard it on the radio one day while he was driving and really liked the song, then brought it to me and the girls and just said, 'Hey, do you guys like this? Let's learn it,'" 3rdEyeGirl drummer Hannah Welton said during a radio interview preceding the track's premiere. "Then he put his touch on it, obviously, and arranged it."

"I wrote the song years ago from conversations I had had with an atheist friend," Nordeman says. "I had gone down the path of feeling compelled to argue and convince him to become a Christian. After a while, I realized how futile that was and that it really isn't my place to argue and debate someone into a faith.

"The song was kind of an apology to my friend, like, 'I'm sorry I turned every conversation about faith into an argument, and I'm sorry that I made it about debate and not about love.' I would love to know what part of that resonated with Prince."

Nordeman also has another connection to Prince: former Prince protégé Sheila E. covered Nordeman's song River God on her 2001 album Heaven.

Billboard article
USA Today article

Play Music - Embed Audio - Prince & 3EYEGIRL what-if


Saturday, March 14, 2015

Third Day's New Worship Album Premieres at #20 on Billboard 200

Third Day's new album, Lead Us Back: Songs of Worship debuted at #20 on the Billboard Top 200, at #13 on the SoundScan Top Current Albums Chart this week. Coinciding with the release, the popular band performed to a sold-out audience at the Beacon Theatre in New York on the day of release, March 3, and appeared on the national television show Fox & Friends on March 7.

The band has racked up 30 No. 1 radio singles. The band has sold more than 8.5 million albums, including two RIAA 2x Multi Platinum, five Platinum and 12 Gold certifications. A Georgia Music Hall of Fame inductee (2009), THIRD DAY has garnered four Grammy Awards (with 11 career nominations), an American Music Award (with four American Music Award nominations), multiple ASCAP honors (including its coveted Vanguard Award for songwriting), and 24 career Dove Awards (from 42 nominations).

The Atlanta-based group has performed for audiences reaching into the millions all around the world. The group has been featured on "The Tonight Show," "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson," "Fox & Friends," "60 Minutes," ABC's "Nightline," and has been written about in USA Today, the New York Times and Billboard magazine - a cover story which called Third Day "one of the best rock bands, period."

The new CD features guest appearances from Michael Tait, Michael W. Smith, Natalie Grant, All Sons And Daughters, Harvest Parker --with background vocalists including David Crowder, Michael Gungor, Sarah MacIntosh and Daniel Bashta, among others.

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

'Little Ricky' from 'I Love Lucy' - Where Is He Now?

It’s been almost 60 years since Keith Thibodeaux starred as "I Love Lucy's" 'Little Ricky' back in the 1950s. Today the child star is all grown up and managing a Christian ballet studio called “Ballet Magnificat!” with his wife in Jackson, Mississippi.

Thibodeaux, the only living star from the "I Love Lucy" show, played the drums and acted as Lucy and Ricardo’s son. After making appearances on the "Andy Griffith Show" after "I Love Lucy," Thibodeaux says his Hollywood life took a dark turn.

“My parents divorced when I was about 15 years old. So I left Hollywood kind of embittered,” he told Fox News.

The former child star said he didn’t want to always be known as “Little Ricky,” so in his teenage years he joined a Christian band called “David and the Giants.” That's when he realized he needed help.

“I needed a savior because I got down to the end of my rope when I was playing rock," Thibodeaux said. "And just went down into the drug world and I was clinically depressed. It was at that point that God answered my prayer - my cry.”

God came into his life to give him a purpose to live, according to Thibodeaux. “I don’t need anything else but God and Jesus in my life," he said. "Because He’s my beginning, my middle, and my ending.”

Aside from managing his ballet studio, Thibodeaux still plays the drums with “David and the Giants” and they just released a new album called “Still Rockin.”

Audio Adrenaline 4.0

Founding member of Audio Adrenaline Will McGinniss, as well as his supporting cast of Jared Byers, Dwayne Larring and even the newly minted lead singer Josh Engler (Abandon), all have left the band, reflecting the first time Audio Adrenaline has existed without an original member.

Audio Adrenaline is now fronted by lead vocalist Adam Agee, who was referred in the band's official press release as the "former Stellar Kart frontman"- reflecting a shake-up in that band as well.

Joining Agee will be former Wavorly frontman Dave Stovall, guitarist Brandon Bagby and drummer Jack Campbell.

As for McGinniss, his transition out of the band he started in the early 1990s comes with an increased role in the organization that inspired the band's 2012 comeback. He currently serves as Board President of the band-founded nonprofit orphan care organization Hands and Feet Project.

"To get to bring back Audio A, for one sole purpose- to champion the cause of the orphan and abandoned children through our work at the Hands & Feet Project in Haiti- was incredible. But now God is calling me to a new season in Him off the road. I have every confidence that with this new group of guys and an incredible bunch of new songs, Audio A will be all about that same goal. I pray God's heart and blessing over them." McGinnis shared.

"I'm so excited to be a part of the ongoing legacy that is Audio Adrenaline," said new lead singer Agee. "The band was a huge influence on me and my decision to pursue music. My hope is to continue to inspire Audio A fans with new songs we are passionate about. We can't wait to share them live as we hit the road with the Newsboys this spring."

Following the band's hiatus in 2007 in the wake of founding lead singer Mark Stuart's vocal health issues, a new lineup of veteran artists rekindled Audio Adrenaline in 2012. Continuing on to answer the band's original call to bring the story of orphans in Haiti--and around the world--to the forefront, Audio Adrenaline partnered with Fair Trade Services and the Know Hope Foundation to release Kings & Queens, which saw multiple radio singles impact listeners, including the smash title-cut.

So what does Stuart think of version 3.0?

"Watching the guys practice for this upcoming tour and record has been such a joy," he said. "Hearing the old classics with the new Audio A message makes me proud to be part of a legacy that continues to focus on the Glory of Christ and the absolute joy of becoming His hands and feet."

Friday, March 6, 2015

Mat Kearney's Kids Around with Billboard Top 20

Mat Kearney's fifth studio album debuted in the Top 20 on Billboard's Top 200 and took the No. 2 spot on Billboard's Christian Chart.

In conjunction with the release, Mat's recently performed his current single "Billion" on the Today show.

Just Kids is the follow up album to his 2011's Young Love record that debuted at #1 on the Billboard Digital Chart and #4 on the Billboard Top 200 chart. Known for ubiquitous anthems such as "Nothing Left to Lose", "Hey Mama", and "Ships in the Night", with over a million albums sold, his music has been featured in countless television shows and films ranging from Soul Surfer and Parenthood to The Closer, NCIS, 30 Rock, and Vampire Diaries. His 2006 major label debut Nothing Left to Lose has sold over 450,000 copies, while 2009's City of Black & White hit #13 on the Billboard Top 200. In between it all, he supported everybody from John Mayer to Keane on the road.

Thursday, March 5, 2015

RED Rages into Top 15

Grammy nominated rock band RED debuted this week in the Top 15 on the Billboard Top 200 and is #10 on the SoundScan Top Current Albums chart - with the recent February 24 release their fifth studio album BEAUTY and RAGE. The music video for the "Darkest Part" premiered on Loudwire on February 23, and is also featured on Xbox Live consoles.  of BEAUTY and RAGE marks the fifth consecutive RED album to chart on the Billboard Top 200.

RED has garnered two Grammy nominations, five Dove Awards, two Top 10 Active Rock singles, three Top 10 Mainstream Rock singles, and 10 consecutive #1 hits at Christian radio - and currently hosts more than one million Facebook fans. The band has sold more than one million albums collectively.

Over the last decade, the RED has performed alongside such artists as Hinder, 3 Doors Down, Creed, Breaking Benjamin, Three Days Grace, Sevendust, Flyleaf, Seether, Papa Roach, Buckcherry, Saving Abel, Third Day, Switchfoot, Skillet and others.

Casting Crowns' Mark Hall Reveals He May Have Cancer

On Casting Crowns' Facebook page today, Mark Hall shared the following:
Hey Casting Crowns Family,
I would appreciate your prayers.
Doctors found a solid mass in my right kidney about a week ago. They are 90% sure it's cancer and they are going to remove the entire kidney next Wednesday, March 11th. They believe the cancer is contained in the kidney, which is also a great hope. They will know more once it is out and Pathology can see it.
I'll be in recovery for a month or a little longer because of the surgery. Please pray for healing and for God's peace for my family.
Praising Him in This Storm
Mark Hall
For updates you can follow Mark Hall on Twitter

Earlier this week, he had a happier update, sharing an image of NBA star Lebron James reading his book.

 
A photo posted by Mark Hall (@markhallcc) on