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

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.

Lecrae To Battle Eminem and Drake for Best Rap Grammy

Three Grammy nominations cap a break-out year for critically-acclaimed rapper Lecrae. He joins his contemporaries Drake, Childish Gambino, Kendrick Lamar and Eminem as a nominee in the hip-hop category Best Rap Performance ("All I Need Is You"). He's also nominated for Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song ("Messengers") and as a featured artist on Erica Campbell's hit record "Help" for Best Gospel Performance/Song.

On Sept. 9th, Grammy-award winning Lecrae released his seventh studio album, Anomaly to critical praise. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 Album Chart as well as several other Billboard charts.

The album features guest artists Andy Mineo, Kari Jobe, for King and Country and Crystal Nicole.

Lecrae, known for his music message that is often at odds with his hip-hop peers, speaks of monogamy, contentment, and faith. While remaining true to his beliefs, Lecrae has previously managed to garner critical media buzz, release chart-topping albums and mixtapes, headline the highest ticketed tour in the country, draw a Grammy nomination and win a Grammy award for Best Gospel Album. These additional three nominations now gives Lecrae the distinction of four total Grammy nominations spanning his career.

Lecrae has been praised by mainstream and hip-hop press alike with features in Time Magazine, The Atlantic, Entertainment Weekly, XXL, Essence Magazine, Billboard and Vibe Magazine, among others. Radio personality and MTV News Executive Producer Sway Calloway recently proclaimed Lecrae's music as the "Evolution of Hip-Hop."

Lecrae recently completed the U.S. portion of his self-titled "Anomaly" tour, performed with The Roots on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and appeared live on ESPN's nationally televised program SportsNation. He will be releasing his next music video for the fan favorite song "Say I Won't," featuring Andy Mineo, this Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014 in a one-of-a-kind fan event during halftime of the Brooklyn Nets/Miami Heat game at the Barclay's Arena in Brooklyn, N.Y. Lecrae and featured guest artist Andy Mineo will be on hand at the game to deliver the premiere. T-shirts and free song download cards will be distributed to fans. One lucky contest winner will join Lecrae and Andy Mineo in the Sony Suite to enjoy the game and the video premiere. This event is sponsored by Sony Action Cam.