UP Releases Viral Video on Bullying

Building 429 Recognized for First Gold Single

Building 429 has received their first Gold certification for their single "Where I Belong." Since its release, this BMI Song of the Year has garnered other top honors, such as Billboard's Christian Song of the Year, while also awarding Building 429 their first Billboard Music Awards nomination for Top Christian Song.

Beckah Shae's Pregnancy Announcement Goes Viral

Beckah Shae and Jack Shocklee are expecting their third child next year, and their creative way to share with the world has gone viral.

The Shocklees sang and rapped their announcement to the tune of Meghan Trainor's "Lips Are Moving" - and has been viewed more than 1 million times on YouTube. It has attracted the attention of multiple news outlets, including the Today Show, Inside Edition and Ashton Kutcher's APlus. Today declared that the family "wins the Internet."

According to Today, the video was recorded Oct. 1 while en route to a Nashville area breakfast eatery.

The Voice's Jordan Smith Says Faith Is Key

In a recent interview, The Voice's Jordan Smith shares how growing up in Harlan Kentucky impacted him as a person, his appreciation for being "surrounded by people who love God and who encourage each other" and how that impacted his faith.  And how does faith sustain him now?

Deepest Dream: Does your faith also help you through the joys and hardships that you experience in life?

Oh absolutely. My faith is the thing that gives me strength and that I find joy in. At the end of the day with my problems and concerns, I can turn to God and I can have peace in my situation. That’s been the main thing that’s carried me through this. My relationship with God has kept me grounded and has been my foundation through all of it.

Read the full article here.

Stryper's Fallen Tops Charts

With the October 16th release of their ninth studio album, Fallen, Stryper continues to dominate the hard rock/heavy metal scene. The release landed at #2 on Billboard’s Hard Music Albums chart, #2 on the Contemporary Christian Albums chart, #5 on the Current Rock Albums chart, and #44 on the Billboard Top 200.

In addition, Fallen soared to #1 on the iTunes Top Metal Albums chart and #3 on the iTunes Top Rock Albums chart immediately upon release.

"We are truly blessed to still be making music 32 years into our careers, music that relates and speaks to our fans worldwide,” says frontman and album producer, Michael Sweet. “We strive to outdo ourselves with each release and hopefully we've done that with Fallen. Here's to 32 more years!"

The Associated Press recently decreed, "If this were 1986, this album would easily sell 2 million copies. But it's not, and that's a shame, because 2 million people need to hear how good this album is."

Metal Onslaught Magazine recently raved in their first ever 10 out of 10 review, “Like a fine wine Stryper have improved over time and have become legends in the metal genre,” and CCM Magazine declared, “Arguably the most game-changing Christian rock band in history, Stryper continues to excel with a steady stream of new music that fits right alongside a ten million-album selling catalogue.”

The music video for the single, “Pride,” premiered exclusively at Billboard.com and can be seen here: http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/6730798/stryper-pride-video-premiere-fallen-album-exclusive

Stryper is one of the top Christian rock bands of all time. Rocking since 1984, the band is responsible for such '80s metal classic albums as Soldiers Under Command, To Hell With The Devil and In God We Trust. In fact, Stryper is the first band to ever have two songs in MTV’s Top 10 simultaneously with their hits “Free” and “Honestly.” After a sabbatical for much of the 1990's, Stryper returned strong in the early 21st century. To date, the Dove Award-winning and Grammy nominated band has sold over 10 million records worldwide.

Tori Kelly Praises Justin Bieber for Proclaiming Jesus in Hollywood

During a recent interview, Bieber said, "I just wanna honestly live like Jesus," and his bold statement garnered mixed reaction from fans. Tori Kelly, who shares the same manager as Bieber, applauded him for not shying away from his faith despite the pressures that often accompany fame.

"I think it's awesome the things that he said and the fact he's being so open and willing to step out and be bold and not hide what he believes in," Kelly told Digital Spy.

"I think that's really cool. He's already inspired so many people, but that just takes it to another level, so it's exciting that we're able to be open about stuff like that."

Like 21-year-old Bieber, Kelly, 22, rose to stardom as a teen after being discovered by talent manager Scooter Braun on Youtube. At age 16 she auditioned for Season 9 of American Idol and years later signed to Capitol Records before releasing her chart-topping debut album Unbreakable Smile this year.

While she is a secular artist, the "Should've Been Us" singer has always been open about her Christian faith and notes Bible verse Psalm 91:4 on her Twitter bio as one of her favorite Scriptures. She once tweeted that Jesus is "first in my life."

Kelly is a big CCM music fan and counts Crystal Lewis as one of her music idols.

Woodlawn Opens in Top 10

"Woodlawn," a faith-based film that tells the true story of a 1970s Alabama high school football team that came to Christ during a time of racial injustice, raked in $4.1 million to open in 9th place during its opening weekend.

Produced by Roma Downey and Mark Burnett, the film stars Jon Voight, Caleb Castille and Sherri Shepherd.

Katy Perry - Singing Backup for P.O.D. and Dating Relient K Lead Singer?

Pop star Katy Perry wasn't always headlining stadiums - in fact, she first entered the music industry as a Christian artist.

One of her first big TV appearances was as a singer with Christian band P.O.D. on The Tonight Show in 2006.

Footage of that performance has been making the rounds online (watch below), and has been presented by some as P.O.D. with Perry as a 'back-up singer' - a description the band disputes. As guitarist Marcos Curiel said in a statement to Rolling Stone:

"This is revisionist history and disrespectful to our girl Katy who was NEVER a backup singer...We invited her to participate on our record as she was and is still is one of the few pop artists with strong musicianship roots."

The story about Katy Perry & P.O.D. has recently gone viral, but she had another notable interaction with Christian music. In the early 2000s, Katy dated Matthew Thiessen of Relient K.

Perry even made an appearance on stage with the group a few times, such as in her stage diving at a 2003 concert:



Thiessen also found his way into her music. He appears in the demo video for her song "Longshot," playing guitar.




h/t Billboard & New Release Today

Bieber's New Album 'Banned in Some Muslim Countries' Because Its Christian-themed Cover Art is Deemed 'Too Provocative'

Justin Bieber recently unveiled the artwork for his upcoming album Purpose to some controversy.

The cover art shows a shirtless Bieber looking downwards with his hands posed in prayer and the large cross tattoo on his chest clearly visible.

According to TMZ, that appears a little too provocative for mainly Muslim Indonesia and several Middle Eastern countries.

The Christian symbolism on the Purpose cover has led the album to be banned in those places where it may cause offense, the gossip website claimed.

Bieber's management is said to be trying to devise some alternative images that could be used for cover art.

Bieber has spoken recently about his strong Christian beliefs and how his faith has helped him turn around his life after a period of high-profile brushes with the law and bratty behavior.

'I, personally, love Jesus and that was my salvation,' he told Complex magazine in an interview for its October/November issue.

'I want to share what I’m going through and what I’m feeling and I think it shouldn’t be ostracized,' he added. 'My faith has brought me to a whole other level. I love talking about my faith....... I’m at a point where I’m not going to hold this in.'

Read more

New Releases on Our Radar for the remainder of 2015

New music excites us!

October 9
MercyMe - MercyMe, It's Christmas!

October 16
Capital Kings - II
Danny Gokey - Christmas Is Here
Stryper - Fallen

November 13
Kutless - Surrender
Casting Crowns - A Live Worship Experience
Natalie Grant - Be One
Phillip LaRue - You


A few bonus ones:

November 2015
DC Talk - Jesus Freak Vinyl
DC Talk - Supernatural Vinyl

February 12, 2016
The Afters - untitled new album

Band Releases Innovative 360 degree Music Video

Bread of Stone is creating lots of buzz by releasing a music video in 360 format. The groundbreaking video was created in support of their current single, "Not Alone." In the video, Bread of Stone can be seen sailing on crystal clear lakes, singing beside picturesque mountain vistas and climbing over stunning rock formations. As they sing "you are the stars above me" or "you are the sea below" viewers can actually pan to the sky or water.

YouTube only began supporting 360-degree video earlier this year. The technology allows the viewer to look in any direction, effectively controlling the perspective or point of view. To get the full effect, 360 videos need to be viewed in Google's Chrome browser or with the YouTube app on iOS or Android devices.