Skillet is celebrating the No. 1 debut on both the Top Rock and Christian SoundScan charts of their latest critically-acclaimed LP, VICTORIOUS. The album also entered at No. 3 on Billboard's Top Current Album chart, and Top 20 at No. 17 on the Billboard Top 200 chart. Of note, the sales for VICTORIOUS were garnered without using a concert ticket/album sale redemption offer, something quite common with many top selling albums today. Sales were achieved by traditional album sales through retailers including Walmart, as well as streaming and webstores like Spotify, Amazon and iTunes.
Marvel recently welcomed Skillet as a guest on their This Week in Marvel Podcast, and in line with such, also coming this fall, front man John Cooper recently collaborated with Z2 Comics for “Eden: A Skillet Graphic Novel” unveiling late August, which also features the bonus so ng "Dreaming of Eden" with purchase.
NF has topped the Billboard charts with The Search, now the #1 album in America and the biggest-selling week for a rap album this year. Released on NF Real Music/Caroline, The Search sold 130,000 equivalent album units, with 84,000 in full album sales, making The Search the biggest selling album for a rap set this year.
This marks the rapper’s second consecutive album to land at number one on the Billboard Top 200, following 2017’s multi-platinum certified Perception. NF surprised the industry with Perception’s success, and he proved his place atop the music industry with The Search - selling more than double his previous chart-topping album. On the streaming side The Search racks up over 60 million streams in it’s first week debut.
Operating from outside of the system and against all odds, NF quietly and unassumingly ascended to the forefront of modern hip-hop on his own terms.
NF’s independently released Perception debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 as well as No. 1 on the Top Rap Albums and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts. It was the ultimate underdog story of 2017, and as Forbes noted “NF’s success speaks to what can be done these days outside of the traditional system.”
ollowing the stratospheric viral impact of the
recently released “When I Grow Up , ” chart-topping rapper NF
shared a new single and music video entitled “Time” today. Listen HERE
. This marks the third song issued from his forthcoming album— The
Search coming July 26, 2019. Fans may
pre-order the album HERE .
Recently, NF shook the internet with “When I
Grow Up.” The video trended on YouTube at #1 for multiple days and
racked up over 20 million global video views as well as over 12 million
audio streams in less than two weeks. The first single “The
Search” has amassed upwards of 30 million global audio streams and over
20 million video views to date. Both “The Search ” and “When I Grow Up
” debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at #70 (NF’s highest debut ever)
and #78 respectively.
Following the arrival of The Search, the artist will launch the
29-date headline run, The Search Tour . It kicks off on September 12 and takes NF across North America, culminating
with his debut at Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre on October 13 and
wrapping up in California October 26.
Every online ticket order of 2 or more tickets for the 2019 U.S. NF
headline tour will include 1 physical CD copy of NF’s forthcoming album
The Search . Tickets and tour information available at nfrealmusic.com .
Operating from outside of the system and against all odds, NF
quietly and unassumingly ascended to the forefront of modern hip-hop on
his own terms. His independently released, Perception, shocked the industry by debuting at #1 on the
Billboard Top 200 and shone a light on a fervent fan-driven movement
surrounding the artist. It also bowed at #1 on the Top Rap Albums and
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart. It represented the ultimate underdog
story of 2017, as chronicled by The New York Times, Rolling Stone and
Forbes, with the latter noting, “NF’s success speaks to what can be
done these days outside of the traditional system.”
Now certified Platinum in the U.S., Perception has earned more than
two million album equivalent units worldwide while cumulative streams
have surpassed 3.5 billion. Singles like “Let You Down” – 3x Platinum
and a No. 1 Pop radio hit in the U.S., and certified Platinum or higher
in seven additional countries – “Lie” and “If You Want Love” further
expanded NF’s fanbase, paving the way for his sold-out, 87-date 2018
Perception World tour of North America and Europe, numerous festival
appearances and the direct support slot on Logic’s Bobby Tarantino Vs
Everybody arena tour.
Josh Turner's I Serve A Savior earned debut placements across multiple charts, including No. 1 on Nielsen's Country Albums Chart and No. 2 on both Billboard's Top Country Albums Chart and Top Christian Albums Chart. The complementing live performance DVD also secured the No. 1 spot on Billboard's Music Video Chart and Christian Music Video Chart. Praise for the faith-filled project continues to pour in, with Worship Musician calling the album "musically brilliant, yet refreshingly restive" and Music Row applauding the singer's "earthen baritone."
"This project was truly a dream come true," commented Turner. "It's something I have wanted to do for a long time. God opened the door and I walked through it. When I look back, this will be one of my favorite projects of my career." I Serve A Savior marks Turner's first appearance on Billboard's Christian charts, but is the eighth top ten appearance on Billboard's Top Country Albums Chart for the multi-platinum-selling singer.
Adding a new dimension to the GRAMMY® nominee's already acclaimed career, the faith-based collection produced by Kenny Greenburg includes hand-picked hymns, alongside brand-new originals and live recordings of some of Turner's most memorable hits including "Me and God" and "Long Black Train." A portion of the 90-minute live performance DVD released in addition to the project will continue to air this fall on numerous networks throughout the U.S. and Canada. Click here for more information on networks and air times.
On the heels of his release, Turner will be returning to Nashville's historic Ryman Auditorium for back-to-back Opry performances tomorrow, Nov. 06 at 7:00PM CT, and again at 9:30PM CT. As one of the youngest members inducted into the Grand Ole Opry, Turner will be performing songs off his latest project. For tickets and more information, go to www.opry.com.
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.
Michael W. Smith will perform live on ABC-TV's Good Morning America Tuesday, March 13. The appearance was sparked by his two, back-to-back hit albums A Million Lights and Surrounded out now.
Together, the new albums have become Michael's 30th and 31st Top 10 on Billboard's Top Christian Albums chart, more than any other solo artist in history.
Released Feb. 16, Michael's USA Today, Billboard, Yahoo! Music-acclaimed studio album, A Million Lights, debuted at No. 1 on the SoundScan Christian retail chart while holding the No. 1 position most of release week on iTunes and Amazon's Christian music charts. The recording includes the lead single/video and title track along with "Love Always Wins," "Crashing Waves," "Revolution" and "Footsteps," which was recently added to Spotify's "Top Christian" and "New Music Friday Christian" playlists. Apple Music also featured the album in their "The Hottest New Music" newsletter.
One week following A Million Lights, Michael's anticipated, live worship album Surrounded released (Feb. 23) amidst 5-star acclaim and became Amazon's No. 1 "Hot New Release." The recording features the declarative "Surrounded (Fight My Battles)," "Light To You" and "Build My Life," which Michael also released as a video Feb. 23 on his Facebook and YouTube sites. Parade says the album highlights Michael's "masterful blend of uplifting messaging, brilliant song writing, solid musical talent and a desire to instill faith and hope into his listeners."
Parade will also highlight both of Michael's new albums during a live-stream "Backstory: Music and Conversation with Michael W. Smith" event to be held Monday, March 12 beginning at 7:00 pm EDT from The Cutting Room in New York, NY.
The new albums were further highlighted in an hour-long "Praise" feature on TBN that can be viewed now at TBN.org, while CBN's "The 700 Club" featured Michael and his new projects Feb. 22.
NF's breakout single, "Let You Down," earning RIAA platinum certification for total consumption in excess of 1 million singles sold-combining equivalent traditional sales and on-demand audio and video streams. The song has more than 500 million worldwide streams.
2017 saw a seven-year upward success story pay off in a big way for Michigan rapper NF, punctuating his unassuming rise to becoming one of hip-hop's household names. The rapper just surpassed one billion total streams across his career, including more than 700 worldwide streams for his latest album, Perception. "Let You Down" staked out a spot in the Top 15 of the Billboard Hot 100, signaling another first for the artist. It simultaneously hit #2 on Shazam's Top 10 as well.
Next up, NF takes Perception on the road with the 2018 Perception World Tour beginning January 23. 36 of the 44 dates have already sold out, with remaining tickets going fast. Fans can visit nfrealmusic.com for the Perception World Tour tickets.
"Let You Down" has served as a gateway for countless new fans to experience NF's third full-length album, Perception, which bowed at #1 on the Billboard Top 200. Upon arrival, it sent shockwaves throughout the culture at large as chronicled by Forbes, Billboard, New York Times, Rolling Stone, and many more. The song has reached platinum status in the United States, Sweden (3x Platinum), The Netherlands (2x Platinum), New Zealand (2x Platinum), Ireland (2x Platinum), Canada, Australia and Italy.
In addition, five album tracks have already exceeded 7 million Spotify streams each as he regularly averages over 20 million monthly listeners and emerges among the "Top 60 Most Listened To Artists in the World" currently on the platform.
As part of his quiet culture infiltration, NF (a.k.a. Nathan Feuerstein) has fast become a streaming phenomenon due to overwhelming fan support. Thanks in part to that same fan movement, NF's third studio album, Perception, exceeded expectations to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200, marking not only the rapper's first chart topping release, but also his first release to debut in the Top 10 and cementing Perception's accomplishment as a genuine underdog victory. With more than 35 career syncs to date, including looks on ESPN, FOX, Monday Night Football, VH1 and more, NF and his Real Music movement are here to stay.
MercyMe's LIFER debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard Top 200 and No. 1 on Billboard Christian Album Charts. Throughout its release week it reached as high as No. 2 on the overall iTunes and Amazon Music Charts. LIFER also pulled in No. 1s internationally, garnering the highest chart placement on the iTunes Christian & Gospel Albums Chart in India, Singapore, Switzerland, United Kingdom and Italy. The GRAMMY nominees latest chart topper follows a string of top releases for the band, including the RIAA Gold Certified Welcome To The New.
MercyMe appeared on FOX & Friends to perform their hit single 'Even If' the day after the album dropped.
Casting Crowns has been awarded RIAA Platinum certification for their Christmas album "Peace On Earth." This marks their fifth career Platinum certification in addition to their 2x multi-Platinum album, two RIAA Platinum DVDs, seven RIAA Gold albums, four Gold DVDs, one RIAA Platinum single and five RIAA Gold certified digital singles. The group continues to hold the position as Billboard's top-selling act in Christian music since 2007 with more than 10 million album sales.
Multi-platinum selling rockers Skillet are celebrating their first #1 single on the Mainstream Rock Chart with their hit “Feel Invincible” off their latest project, Unleashed. The track marks the band’s sixth Top 10 single at mainstream rock radio, and sets them apart as the first act from the Christian genre to top the chart.
Previously, "Awake and Alive" from 2009's AWAKE climbed to #1 on Billboard's Active Rock chart, along with “Monster,” “Not Gonna Die,” “Sick of It” and “It’s Not Me It’s You” all reaching top 10 or higher there as well.
“Feel Invincible” has also been a hit in the sports world, having been used by the NFL's Monday Night Football, Major League Baseball (MLB), National Hockey League (NHL), WWE during their Battleground Pay-Per-View, TBS’ E-League and Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Sports Awards. The No. 1 song was also chosen by the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) for use throughout the entire 2016 football season. The song has been the soundtrack for the opening video montage leading into each week’s syndicated game reaching over 90 million TV households. This is the second time that Skillet and the ACC Network have teamed up. "Feel Invincible" has also been featured in Rock Band, while the video for the single has already been viewed over 17 million times and can be seen here.
Additionally, another track from Unleashed, “Back from the Dead” was featured in WWE’s 2017 launch trailer for the WWE2K17 video game, which released on October 11th.
Grammy-nominated singer Crowder had a nice opening run on the Billboard charts, with his latest project, American Prodigal, landing at No. 1 on the Christian chart, No. 3 on the digital albums chart, and No. 5 on the top albums Billboard charts. All the while his single, "Run Devil Run," continues to gain mainstream attention.
American Prodigal reached No. 12 on the overall Billboard top 200 chart. Crowder kicked off the album via a Twitter Music Q&A, exclusive Snapchat content with Spotify, and a performance on "Fox & Friends" on which he performed, "Run Devil Run".
NBC's Sunday Night Football also used "Run Devil Run" during the Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers televised NFL match-up.
The video was also showcased by country networks as well, such as GAC, AXS, and the Country Network, among others.
Casting Crowns' latest The Very Next Thing lands at #9 on the Billboard 200.
Casting Crowns has dominated Billboard’s Christian charts for the last 10 years and their latest release The Very Next Thing is no exception. This is their sixth album to debut in the Top 10 on the Billboard charts.
Casting Crowns has joined a very small but elite group of Christian artists as they surpass 10 million albums sold to date since their label debut in 2003. With these sales numbers, Casting Crowns has held the position as Billboard's top-selling act in Christian music since 2007.
This significant milestone comes on the heels of the upcoming new studio album, The Very Next Thing, releasing on September 16. This marks the group's 15th release and eighth studio album since the label debut release.
Even with the outstanding sales, Casting Crowns remains rooted in the local church where they began and continue to serve. It is at the local level that they are walking along with people in ministry and where the inspiration for albums are formed.
Skillet premieres at #3 on the Billboard 200 with Unleashed (62,000 units; 58,000 in pure album sales) — scoring the group its third top 10 album. The act has previously visited the top 10 with two more top five-charting releases: Rise in 2013 (No. 4) and Awake in 2009 (No. 2).
The new set also enters at #2 on the Top Albums Chart, #2 on the Digital Albums Chart, #3 on the Physical Albums Chart, and #7 in Australia. It's #1 on the Top Christian Albums chart, giving Skillet its third chart-topper.
Skillet's performance on FOX & Friends All American Summer Concert Series will be the broadcast debut of "Feel Invincible." The single has been used by the WWE during their Battleground Pay-Per-View, TBS' E-League and Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Sports Awards. The song has also been featured in Rock Band. Also, "Feel Invincible" was recently chosen by the ACC for use throughout the entire 2016-football season. The song will be the soundtrack for the opening video montage to lead into each week's syndicated game reaching over 90 million TV households. This is the second time that Skillet and the ACC Network have teamed up. The video for the single has already been viewed over 7.8 million times.
Love Remains, the debut album from Hillary Scott & The Scott Family, bows at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Christian Albums chart (dated Aug. 20), No. 2 on Top Country Albums and No. 7 on the Billboard 200.
The album was produced by Ricky Skaggs.
MercyMe made history by scoring its 22nd Hot Christian Songs top 10, as "Dear Younger Me," the fourth single from the group's album Welcome to the New, moves into #9. MercyMe moves into a tie with Casting Crowns for the most top 10s among groups, dating to the chart's June 2003 inception. Among all acts, only Chris Tomlin has earned more (24).
The top-selling album of the week is NeedToBreathe’s H A R D L O V E, which debuts at No. 1 on the Top Album Sales chart and at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. The set earned 50,000 units, of which 46,000 were in traditional album sales.
H A R D L O V E is the band’s highest-charting album on the Billboard 200, surpassing the No. 3 debut and peak of its 2014 album Rivers in the Wasteland. That set bowed with the group’s best sales week: 49,000.
The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption, which includes traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). The new Aug. 6-dated chart (where Views is No. 1) will be posted in full to Billboard’s websites on Tuesday, July 26.
Switchfoot's 10th studio album Where The Light Shines Through debuts at #3 on the Rock, Alternative and Overall Digital Albums charts and #10 on the Billboard Top 200, with more than 29,000 albums sold in the first week. Where The Light Shines Through was produced in collaboration with John Fields, who helmed the multi-platinum breakthrough The Beautiful Letdown.
Where The Light Shines Through marks an important milestone in Switchfoot's successful career. The band’s journey began in 1997 with the first of three indie releases before signing with a major label in 2003. Since then, the San Diego, CA based outfit have sold 5.7 million copies worldwide of their nine studio album. Where The Light Shines Through marks the band's return to the indie world.
Switchfoot will embark on a fall co-headline “Looking for America” Tour with Grammy-nominated alternative rock band Relient
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NF's Therapy Session vaults onto the Billboard 200 (dated May 14) at No. 12 with 29,000 copies sold in its first week (ending April 28), according to Nielsen Music.
Therapy Session is the second full-length from the 25-year-old NF (aka, Nate Feuerstein), and second No. 1 on Top Christian Albums, after 2015's Mansion debuted on top with 9,000 in pure sales.
Also on Top Christian Albums, Jordan Feliz's second studio set, The River, arrives at No. 4 (8,000).
After The Voice contestant Paxton Ingram covered Tasha Cobbs' 2013 hit "Break Every Chain" on the show's April 25 episode, his version starts at Nos. 1 and 2 Christian Digital Songs (23,000) and Hot Christian Songs, respectively.
On his second LP, Christian rapper NF addresses coping with fame. After his debut album, Mansion, reached the top 10 of Billboard’s Rap chart in 2015, NF (born Nate Feuerstein) felt intense pressure to keep his stride.
He seems to be off to a good start as on release day he sits at #2 on iTunes Rap chart and #8 overall. The charts are currently dominated by Prince post-death.
NF opens Therapy Session with an earnest question: "I’m back, did anyone miss me? They said the second record could be tricky.” NF is known for his raw honesty and powerful pacing, and uses this album to weigh the dark sides of celebrity (including gruesome death threats) against his gratitude.
Christian artist, Jordan Feliz, currently sits at #34.
Upon RIAA 2x platinum certification and accumulating over 2.6 million in sales and streams, multi-platinum rock band Skillet's hit single "Monster" continues to live up to its name, now recognized as the biggest digital single in Christian music history. Even six years after its release, the song continues to dominate, touted by Billboard at the close of 2015 as both the No. 1 Christian, and No. 8 Rock streaming song of the year. The band was also recognized as the No. 1 Christian and No. 9 Rock streaming artist of 2015 on Billboard's year-end charts.
"2016 marks Skillet's 20th anniversary, and the band has been with the Atlantic family for a dozen years now," noted Atlantic Chairman & CEO Craig Kallman. "They have accomplished what few bands ever attain - true career longevity alongside constant creative growth. This fantastic achievement for 'Monster' is not only a milestone in Christian music, but a landmark in the history of rock. All of us at Atlantic are deeply proud to play our part in the amazing Skillet story."
Also commenting on the significance of this accomplishment, Word Entertainment President and CEO Rod Riley remarked, "Skillet is firmly among an exclusive and elite group of game-changing artists spanning the course of Contemporary Christian music history. With the achievement represented by 'Monster' becoming the biggest digital single in the history of the genre, the band has only further cemented their position as trail-blazing leaders."
Casting Crowns has been awarded RIAA Platinum certification for their Christmas album "Peace On Earth." This marks their fifth career Platinum certification in addition to their 2x multi-Platinum album, two RIAA Platinum DVDs, seven RIAA Gold albums, four Gold DVDs, one RIAA Platinum single and five RIAA Gold certified digital singles. The group continues to hold the position as Billboard's top-selling act in Christian music since 2007 with more than 10 million album sales.
Switchfoot's 10th studio album Where The Light Shines Through debuts at #3 on the Rock, Alternative and Overall Digital Albums charts and #10 on the Billboard Top 200, with more than 29,000 albums sold in the first week. Where The Light Shines Through was produced in collaboration with John Fields, who helmed the multi-platinum breakthrough The Beautiful Letdown.
