Avril Lavigne Ends Hiatus with Worship Song

Pop star Avril Lavigne has made her musical comeback after taking several years off to focus on healing from her battle with Lyme Disease. Last week, she released the first single from her upcoming sixth studio album, L6-- a powerful worship ballad titled "Head Above Water." At the time of release, the song has stayed at #2 on the US iTunes chart for 6 days.

After starting to feel the effects while on the road in support of her self titled album and seeing many doctors during that time, Avril was diagnosed with Lyme Disease in December of 2014. Although Lavigne has released two singles in the time since her diagnosis, her music career has largely been paused in order to fight the disease. 

In a statement on her website, Avril shares the inspiration from the song: "I'm in a battle," she sighs. "One night, I thought I was dying, and I had accepted that I was going to die. My mom laid with me in bed and held me. I felt like I was drowning. Under my breath, I prayed 'God, please help to keep my head above the water.' In that moment, the song writing of this album began. It was like I tapped into something. It was a very spiritual experience. Lyrics flooded through me from that point on." The music video for "Head Above Water" released today, in celebration of Avril's birthday, and can be viewed below.
  


Throughout the rest of her coming album, Avril says we can expect songs detailing her trials from a perspective of triumph: "This is me and my fight," she affirms. "This album tells my story." 

Lavigne concludes her statements: "I went through a lot to get here. The positive side is I didn't stop living my life. Having music while I was healing and in recovery definitely pulled me out of my darkness. I had a goal to work towards and a purpose. I hope the album touches people. We all go through challenges in life. Some unfortunately are more serious than others. Having gone through the battle of my lifetime, I'm stronger than ever and looking forward to sharing my renewed voice and energy for my life with my fans through this new music."

Michael Ketterer Places Fifth on America's Got Talent

Influence Music's Michael Ketterer began his journey on the 13th season of America's Got Talent with a shower of confetti unleashed by Simon Cowell's push of the golden buzzer. This week, in the season's live finale, Ketterer finished the competition with fifth place.

​Earlier in the finale show, Ketterer was revealed as the fifth act in the top five, edging out Courtney Hadwin. In the next set of results, it was revealed that Ketterer had finished in fifth place. Cowell spoke to Ketterer over a backdrop of surprised murmurs from the crowd, reassuring him, "You and I are going to continue this relationship, you have been an absolute star." Ketterer walked off the stage with a smile on his face and his arms raised in celebration.

In the package before his final performance in the competition, Ketterer walked into a room where a video was waiting for him. When the video started, he was met with a montage of family, friends, patients, and the family of former patients describing how he has impacted their lives, ending with a heartfelt message from his son. An emotional Ketterer finished the competition with a soulful performance of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough."

In the semifinal round, Cowell urged Garth Brooks to write a song for Ketterer. The result was the song "The Courage to Love," which Ketterer performed on the season finale. After he was eliminated, Ketterer announced that he would perform the song with Brooks during a sold-out show at Notre Dame on October 20.                       

Switchfoot Ends Hiatus; Teases New Music

Much to the excitement of fans, today Switchfoot announced that they are officially ending their hiatus. Through a series of social media teaser posts over the past few days and a video first unveiled to their email list today, it seems that the band is gearing up for their 11th studio album.

"I've loved every minute of my time off, but the music is chasing us down. I've heard it said that beauty is a battlefield for God and the devil. For us, music is how we throw punches. And it's time to step back into the ring," frontman Jon Foreman shares in the video. Though we don't have any details yet about exactly what's to come, we're left with a promise to close the video: "to be continued...10/19/2018."

Lauren Daigle's 'Look Up Child' Debuts at #3 on Billboard Top 200

Lauren Daigle's new album Look Up Child debuted this past week at #3 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart, behind only Eminem and Paul McCartney, setting personal and industry chart highs for the Grammy nominated, platinum selling vocalist. The story was different on the digital charts though, as Look Up Child debuted at No. 1 on the iTunes digital sales chart. A new making of video from Lauren's time in the studio is now available here: https://youtu.be/4Rwie0iDLXc.

In a week of firsts for her genre, Lauren teamed up with music streaming services such as Amazon, Apple Music and Spotify, to promote Look Up Child with billboards in Times Square and Nashville and even a special Second Line parade in her hometown of New Orleans.

Lauren, who also received a nomination for an American Music Award this past week, has also seen her first single debut on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at #53, No. 5 on Billboard's all-genre Digital Song Sales List, and No. 2 on the all genre iTunes Chart. The official video has received over 20 million views in the first few weeks of its release and continues to climb the Billboard charts.