The Willis Family Sings Its Way Into Another Season

TLC has started production on a new season of The Willis Family. The network ordered eight new episodes that will follow the Christian family at home and on the road. The first season averaged 1.4M viewers, and showcased Brenda and Toby Willis and their twelve children as they shared their talents around the country. From singing and dancing to acting and painting and everything in between, the family believes in inspiring others through their art. The new season is slated to premiere in early 2016.

In the new season, viewers will get a deeper look into the family’s life off the tour bus. From birthday celebrations and kids learning to drive, life at home in Nashville is a welcome change of pace from the rigors of being on the road. Being at home, though, isn’t without its hardships. After months of being away, they come home to a shocking surprise, and with homeschooling, scheduling, and extracurricular activities, things around the house are busy to say the least. While the viewers will get a closer look into their lives at home, the family will still be performing at shows of all kind.

Read about their tragic past.

Another Faith Film Shocks Hollywood with Box Office - War Room Opens in Second Place

The faith-based drama War Room delivered a terrific opening in second place despite playing in only 1,135 locations as the Sony release grossed an estimated $11M. The PG-rated movie, which beat Compton (this week's #1 title) in theaters on Friday, had a robust $9,692 per screen average.

War Room, however, was the story of the weekend. Sony's faith-based film from their Affirm division flew so far under the radar that it didn't even get a Cinemascore. But it nearly stole Compton's title and, at the same time, became the biggest hit for the Kendrick brothers. Their modestly-budgeted flicks have a great return on investment. War Room has a reported budget of $3.5M while their 2011 Courageous had a $2M budget, going on to a domestic cume of $34.5. Their 2008 Fireproof had a $33.5M domestic cume on a budget of $500K.

Matthew West Performs at Restoring Unity

Matthew West performed his hit song “Do Something” for the Restoring Unity rally — an event that attracted more than 20,000.

The song carries a strong message about the importance of making a positive personal impact on the world.

“People living in poverty, children sold into slavery — the thought disgusted me,” the song’s lyrics read, in part. “So, I shook my fist at heaven, said, ‘God, why don’t You do something?’ He said, ‘I did, I created you.’”

Watch West perform “Do Something” (and the crowd go wild) below:

#RestoringUnity
Posted by Matthew West on Saturday, August 29, 2015

Chonda Pierce to make Big Screen Debut

“Chonda Pierce: Laughing in the Dark,” a one-night only cinema event will premier in select theaters around the country Tuesday, October 27, at 7 pm.

A deeply personal glimpse into the life of Chonda Pierce, the Christian humorist and best-selling female comedian of all-time, the film chronicles a series of tragic circumstances she recently faced, including the loss of her husband. Leaning on her faith in a season of heartbreak, Pierce perseveres—her signature wit intact—hoping to inspire and encourage others with her story.

"I'm nervous! I have allowed a film crew to expose very tender and private moments in my life simply hoping to continue a dialogue about faith, depression, grief and pain to promote healing for brokenhearted people,” Pierce says. “I love the Church, but it's not perfect. I love God, but life is hard. This movie ‘shows’ it all, not just ‘tells’ it all. Mental illness is not a lack of faith and loving Jesus doesn't exempt you from pain. And being a comic doesn't mean you laugh all the time!”

Immediately following the film, theater audiences will have the opportunity to view a special post-event presentation, “Finding Light in the Darkness.” Various celebrities and public figures, including Roma Downey, Kevin Sorbo, Sherri Shepherd, Monica Crowley, Corbin Bernsen and “Duck Dynasty’s” Miss Kay Robertson, are slated to discuss the impact of Pierce’s story.

“This event really brings to light the importance of having faith through life’s most difficult times,” says John Rubey, CEO, Fathom Events. “Chonda’s ability to use humor to overcome her struggles is truly inspiring and a great lesson for us all.”

“Chonda has always been able to do the impossible,” says “Laughing in the Dark” producer Kent Songer. “She’s the best-selling female comedian in history and at the pinnacle of her career she allows her fans full access into her life. She’s an amazingly brave and talented woman, and I am proud to be a part of this unique Fathom event.”

for King & Country Filming Priceless Movie

Joel and Luke Smallbone of for KING & COUNTRY have announced that they are filming a movie.

The film is titled Priceless, in keeping with the message they have been speaking from stage for years. In an email update to fans, the brothers elaborated

"So many of you have rallied with us and stood alongside us when it comes to a woman's worth... Around America and the world, there are well over 150,000 of you with priceless necklaces around your neck and bracelets on your wrist. And now, this message is coming to the silver screen!"

Joel is playing the lead in the film, playing James Stevenson, a man who finds himself in the middle of the world of human trafficking and ultimately has to fight to shut down a trafficking ring. The dramatic story is being filmed in New Mexico.

The band has already been sharing updates and pictures from the filming process on the movie's official social media accounts, encouraging fans to keep up through Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. The brothers also hope to see this movie become even more of a rallying call, saying "We can be a part of spreading this Priceless message and movement into theaters and peoples homes around the world!"

Reigning NBA MVP Joins Lecrae on Stage

Fans of rapper Lecrae received a surprise at his concert in Oakland when he honored NBA MVP Steph Curry who helped the Christian recording artist perform the song, "I'm Turnt."

Curry, the 27-year-old Golden State Warriors point guard, appeared onstage at Lecrae's tour stop in Oakland, California, last week to introduce "I'm Turnt" and dance alongside the rapper during the entire song.

The basketball star, who recently won an NBA championship for the 2014-2015 season, introduced the rapper's song by glorifying the "most high," saying "that's what it's all about."

After Curry danced onstage to the song during the Aug. 20 performance, Lecrae honored the Christian athlete.

"I love this dude because he really knows what it's all about. As good as he is, as amazing as he is on the court … his character, man, it comes from the most high all day every day," Lecrae told the audience while Curry was onstage before turning to the basketball player. "We love you; we appreciate what you represent man. God bless you."

#116

A photo posted by Wardell Curry (@stephencurry30) on Aug 21, 2015 at 12:31am PDT

Curry has been honored multiple times this year, and has made sure that his Christian faith has been at the forefront of it all. During his NBA MVP acceptance speech last May, Curry spoke about his blessings despite some of the struggles he was forced to endure.

"There were obviously good times and bad times. Times I wanted to shut it down," Curry said in his speech, which is featured on the official NBA website. "It just made me feel like how blessed and thankful I am to be in this position."

While the player shared notable memories with his teammates and Warriors staff, he also made it clear that his faith was one of the key reasons for his success.

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TobyMac Performs on Fox & Friends

Watch performance

Premiere of UP's 'Ties That Bind' Reaches Over 1 Million Viewers

The premiere of "Ties That Bind," UP's first original scripted series, reached more than one million viewers and scored solid numbers among key audiences, according to Nielsen data. The series airs on UP Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET.

The premiere also was a popular topic on social media, resulting in UP trending on Twitter multiple times that evening.

The 9 p.m. telecast was UP’s strongest original series premiere ever in P18-34 and ranked #18 in that demo in the time period vs all of ad supported cable.

TobyMac Schools Billboard Top 5

TobyMac’s This Is Not a Test enters at No. 4 with 38,000 units (of which 35,000 are pure album sales). The album is the follow-up to TobyMac’s chart-topping Eye on It, which debuted atop the list dated Sept. 15, 2012.

On the Christian Albums chart, This Is Not a Test concurrently debuts at No. 1 -- the artist’s fourth chart-topper.

The week was a notable one for the music industry.

Luke Bryan celebrates his third No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart as his new release Kill the Lights makes a smashing debut atop the list. The album moved 345,000 equivalent album units in the week ending Aug. 13, according to Nielsen Music.  Of that sum, 320,000 were pure album sales.

Thus, Kill the Lights tallies the third-largest week of 2015 for an album, both in overall units and album sales. Kill The Lights’ start is also the largest sales week for a country album in three years -- since Bryan’s last studio effort, Crash My Party in 2013.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week based on multi-metric consumption, which includes traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA).

Bryan and Dre’s debuts are a welcome sight on the chart, following a woeful week at the top of the list. A week ago, the Descendants soundtrack opened at No. 1 with both the lowest overall unit total (42,000) for a chart-topping set, and the smallest weekly sales figure (30,000) for a No. 1 since Nielsen Music started tracking sale in 1991.

Combined, Bryan's Kill the Lights and Dre's Compton moved 640,000 overall units, and sold 596,000 albums. To put those numbers in perspective, the 640,000 sum is more than the combined total of Nos. 3-32 albums on the new Billboard 200. Further, the 596,000 sales tally -- which places the albums at Nos. 1 and 2 on the Top Album Sales chart -- is greater than the Nos. 3-65 titles on the Album Sales list.

Also, this week marks the first time two albums have sold at least 294,000 units in a week since the Billboard 200 transitioned to ranking popularity based on overall units earned in December of 2014.

And finally, this is the first week in eight months where two albums have sold at least 275,000 copies each. It last happened on the Dec. 27, 2014-dated chart (reflecting the sales week ending Dec. 14, in the thick of the Christmas shopping season).

The new Now 55 compilation debuts at No. 3 with 76,000 units (all from album sales). The arrival continues the long-running Now That’s What I Call Music series’ hit track record, as every one of the numbered Now titles have reached the Top 10.

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Matthew West's "Do Something" Is Theme Song for Glenn Beck Event

On Saturday, August 29, Matthew West will appear in Birmingham, Alabama in front of thousands during the Restoring Unity event to perform his hit single "Do Something." Restoring Unity is a two-day event helmed by Glenn Beck which supports his non-profit organization, Mercury One.

When West appeared on Beck's radio show earlier this summer to talk about his new album, Live Forever, the two made an instant connection. And during their visit, Beck soon realized that Matthew West was the artist and songwriter behind "Do Something," the very song that Beck wanted as the theme for his Mercury One event, Restoring Unity. Leading up to August 29, "Do Something" can be heard every day on Glenn Beck's TV show. (To find out more about this event, visit Now.MercuryOne.org.)

With his latest album, West continues his mission to tell a story of a different kind with his music-to transform listeners' stories into life-changing songs.

In between festival dates, last weekend West appeared at Chicago's famed Wrigley Field for the Cubs' home game to sing the National Anthem. He also performed "God Bless America" in front of the packed stadium and went on to watch his favorite team win against the San Francisco Giants.    

Yolanda Adams Leaves Jimmy Fallon Speechless

Grammy award-winning singer Yolanda Adams performed on NBC's "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" earlier this week after which she received a standing ovation despite praising Jesus in song.

The radio host/singer stole the show with her powerhouse performance of her hit song “Victory”.. Even Jimmy Fallon stumbled over his words after Yolanda brought the worship to NBC!

“Oh my goodness! OH MY GOODNESS!,” Jimmy shouted when Yolanda finished. “Thank you! Oh my goodness! Look at that! Standing ovation right there and why not? Well deserved!”

Check out some of the lyrics from “Victory” that left the audience cheering.

“Truly I’ve been through the storm and rain. I know everything about heartache and pain. God carried me through it all. Without His protection I’d surely fall. Ive been broke without a dime to my name. But all my bills got paid because I called on Jesus name. You can’t tell me that God isnt real ’cause I’ve got the victory and that’s why Im still here.”

Watch the performance below:

Third Day to Appear in Miracles from Heaven?

Will Third Day appear in upcoming movie, Miracles From Heaven, starring Jennifer Garner?  Scotty Wilbanks' last two tweets imply as much:

Up early for a movie shoot...gonna be a long day. pic.twitter.com/2mIT8GNPKB

— Scotty Wilbanks (@scottywilbanks) August 10, 2015

Oh just hangin out with Jennifer Garner....ha. She's really cool and nice! pic.twitter.com/3NhwMCYnR5

— Scotty Wilbanks (@scottywilbanks) August 10, 2015

Antonio Banderas Film 'The 33' Will Highlight Christian Faith of Trapped Chilean Miners

'The 33' is a disaster-survival drama film based on the real events of 2010 mining disaster, in which a group of thirty-three miners were trapped inside the San José Mine in Chile for more than two months. The film stars Antonio Banderas as Mario "Super Mario" Sepúlveda, who sent videos to the rescuers to notify them about the miners' condition.

A new trailer for the upcoming film "The 33," tells the true story of 33 Chilean miners who were trapped over 2,000 feet underground for 69 days in 2010, and provides a glimpse of how the faith of the survivors will be central to their dramatic story.

"We can say a prayer together," says one of the trapped miners, while another responds, "I don't know the words." The first miner answers, "God doesn't care."

The miners had only about three days worth of food and drink if they rationed. After their rescue, the group recalled how God had performed various miracles to keep them alive while they were trapped below the surface.

"Super Mario" (Banderas) is the public face of accident who sent videos to the rescuers to update them on the miners' condition. Martin Sheen, Cote de Pablo, Gabriel Byrne, Bob Gunton also star.

In June 2013, it was announced that Jennifer Lopez has joined to lead the cast of the film but later left due to scheduling conflicts with American Idol. She was replaced by Juliette Binoche.




Producer Mike Medavoy, who also produced "Apocalypse Now," has worked with the miners, their families, and those involved to put the film together.

U2's Bono Attends For King & Country Show

For King & Country shared on their Facebook page that they met with U2 frontman Bono.

It was already a momentous occasion for the band because of their performance at Madison Square Garden last month, but Bono's attendance made it even more special.

ESPN.com Premieres TobyMac's Feel It Video

ESPN.com premiered TobyMac's Feel It music video.



TobyMac is no stranger to the world of sports. Not only have you heard his music throughout SportsCenter, X Games, and ESPY Awards programming, Toby shared:

"Sports were very important to me growing up. It played a huge role in my life. I love sports. I did not take piano lessons or guitar lessons or try to write music until I was 17. It was sports for me and my family. It toughened me up, made me focus and compete." Toby went on to tell ESPN Music "Since I was a kid sports have always played a huge role in my life. From high school hoops to college golf, to hearing my songs as a backdrop to the pros, I owe a lot to athletics."

"This Is Not A Test reminds us that there are no practice runs in life – this is it. It is a reminder to use the time we’ve been given wisely. Let’s use this time to love people well, and to be there for people when they need it. What hits me now more than ever is that you really don’t get a practice run at life,” explains Toby. “This is it. In my friendships, raising my children, loving my wife, loving people, performing with my band and stepping on stage at arenas, I want to make every moment count. I want them to walk away saying 'I feel good. I feel like I can love my spouse well. I can love my friends.' I want them to know love is worth everything you put in. If that happens, then I’ve done what I wanted to do. This Is Not A Test falls in line with trying to pursue God in this crazy world."

Stryper to Release 9th Studio Album October 16

Stryper is set to release their 9th studio album, Fallen, October 16. The title track “Fallen” can be heard via YouTube. The original lineup comprised of Michael Sweet (vocals/guitars), Oz Fox (guitars), Tim Gaines (bass) and Robert Sweet (drums) returns with an album of all new material showcasing the musicianship that garnered them a huge fan base in the mainstream world and the Christian market. From the opening choral refrains of “Yahweh” to the signature vocal scream at the end of “King Of Kings,” it is apparent that Stryper is back with their heaviest and most inspired work to date.  Fallen was produced by Michael Sweet.



“Fallen is about Lucifer before he became Satan. It’s the story of how he got kicked out of Heaven. He tried to overthrow God and take over,” describes Michael Sweet. “The song talks about how beautiful he was. When he walked, there was music. He was the angel of worship and this incredibly powerful and beautiful being.”

The latest song comes on the heels of the album teaser track, “Yahweh,” that was released last month and has been listened to over 135K times since it went live. “Yahweh” was a musical writing collaboration between Michael Sweet and Sevendust’s Clint Lowery. Tracks like “Pride,” “Big Screen Lies” and “Til I Get What I Need” show that Stryper is back and better than ever. Stryper offers their unique interpretation of the Black Sabbath classic “After Forever.” The band flexes their softer side on the instantly memorable “All Over Again” which continues the journey Stryper fans began almost 30 years ago when “Honestly” was released to mainstream success.