TobyMac's 'The Elements' Charms Critics and Debuts Top 5

TobyMac has once again taken the top spot on Billboard's Top Christian Albums chart and debuted Top 5 on Billboard's Top Albums Chart with his latest studio recording, The Elements. Being described as "brave," "compelling" and "fresh," media has taken notice of the latest from the 7X Grammy winner.

"It's electronic arena rock sounds right in step with the millennials in Twenty One Pilots or Imagine Dragons." -- USA Today & The Tennessean

"The Elements is a true work of musical art. It is raw, authentic and powerful." -- Digital Journal

"The new record features his signature catchy hooks, but adds a reflective and slightly somber tone, the result of his experience the past few years."- Guideposts

Among the most talked about tracks on the record is "Starts With Me" centered around racial unity. Tennessean called it "overt," Music Row notes it as "the most arresting on the album" and CBN called it a "powerful one." "Scars" which he shared with Billboard upon the announcement of The Elements was "closest" to him, has also been one of the most asked about on the project -- including from CCM which noted him as the innovative music man.

TobyMac Celebrates Sixth Consecutive RIAA Gold Certification

Two weeks before TobyMac's The Elements hits, the 7X GRAMMY® winner is unveiling the newest single "Scars," a track that is admittedly close to the artist. Processing life as a believer, husband, father and artist fueled the cultivation of his upcoming album, available Oct. 12. 

TobyMac was honored with the RIAA certification for his sixth solo gold record - the Grammy winning THIS IS NOT A TEST - in his hometown of Nashville. The honor comes two weeks before the multi-platinum selling artist drops The Elements, his first new album in three years. 

The Elements boasts TobyMac's biggest song in six years, "I just need U." along with the current radio favorite "Everything" which is currently No. 3 at Hot AC, No. 9 at AC Indicator, No. 8 at Christian Airplay and No. 12 at AC Monitored. 

Mandisa Featured in American Idol Reboot

American Idol made its return to TVs, premiering on ABC after its long home on FOX. Correlating with the start of the season, the show launched its Icon Series, highlighting Grammy winner Mandisa. The beloved season 5 finalist discussed her journey after American Idol, both her musical career as well as her personal life. The series will continue to air throughout this season of American Idol, highlighting select Idol alumni and their achievements since appearing on the show.

Mandisa is currently on the “HITS DEEP Tour,” featuring a blockbuster lineup including TobyMac, Danny Gokey, Ryan Stevenson and Finding Favour. The 2018 "HITS DEEP Tour" is a partnership with K-LOVE, Air1 and Food for the Hungry.

dc Talk Attends U2 Show With OneRepublic

TobyMac, Michael Tait and Kevin Max attend ed U2's Joshua Tree Tour in Tampa, FL and also spent part of the night hanging out with the members of OneRepublic.

The Joshua Tree Tour commemorates the 30 year anniversary of the release of U2's career-defining album The Joshua Tree, a project which deeply influenced countless contemporary musicians--including dc Talk.  OneRepublic's lead singer Ryan Tedder was influenced by the album, but his influences also included dc Talk. Ryan Tedder grew up on Christian music through the 90s.

All of the artists shared photos to Instagram throughout the night, including capturing Ryan Tedder's spot-on impression of Kevin Max singing "What If I Stumble."

A post shared by Kevin Max (@sirkevinmax) on Jun 14, 2017 at 7:58pm PDT

A post shared by Michael Tait (@michaeltait) on Jun 14, 2017 at 9:07pm PDT

A post shared by TobyMac (@officialtobymac) on Jun 14, 2017 at 5:33pm PDT

dcTalk Reunites for Surprise Performance

For the first time in more than a decade, TobyMac, Michael Tait (currently of Newsboys) and Kevin Max reunited as dcTalk, performing TobyMac's "Love Feels Like" live in front of the Dove Awards crowd.

TobyMac's set began with a shortened version of his current single "Til The Day I Die" before the lights went down. A video played, with Toby talking about dcTalk and his song "Love Feels Like,"  from his This Is Not A Test.

Toby began performing the song, and was gradually joined onstage by his dcTalk bandmates. The crowd at Lipscomb University's Allen Arena rose to their feet and responded loudly and enthusiastically.

"Did that just happen? Did we really just witness the dcTalk reunion at the Dove Awards?" asked the ecstatic presenter, Tye Tribbett, following the performance at the awards.

TobyMac Announces 2017 “HITS DEEP Tour” After 2016 Tour Finishes in Top 35 Worldwide

Announced on K-LOVE/AIR1, TobyMac shared the diverse line-up for his 2017 "HITS DEEP Tour" including Mac Powell from Third Day, Matt Maher, Mandisa, Capital Kings, Ryan Stevenson and Hollyn who will join him in over 30 arenas across the U.S.

The first venture of this unique partnership with TobyMac, K-LOVE/Air1 and Awakening Events was Spring of 2016-resulting in sold-out shows in 26 out of 29 markets. TobyMac's 2016 "HITS DEEP TOUR" visited arenas nationwide, including stops at Los Angeles' The Forum, Charlotte's Time Warner Cable Arena, Phoenix's Talking Stick Resort Arena, San Diego's Viejas Arena, Portland's Moda Center, Seattle's KeyArena, Denver's Coliseum and Kansas City's Sprint Center, which garnered 12,229 ticketed attendees alone.

According to Pollstar, the 2016 "HITS DEEP Tour" was the biggest tour in Christian music and ranked in the top 35 tours in the world.

Through a partnership with Food for the Hungry, concertgoers sponsored over 15,000 children, providing food, a better education, clean water and medical treatment.

"It's an amazing partnership that we have with K-LOVE/Air1, Awakening Events and Food for the Hungry, it takes us where I think our music should be-in the heart of our cities in the biggest arenas in town," explains TobyMac. "I always get excited when it's time to create the 'HITS DEEP Tour' line-up. We come together backstage - which leads us to a beautiful night on stage. A night deep in hits, that aims to hit you deep. A night where everybody is invited to the party!"

Known for his dynamic live show, the HITS DEEP LIVE CD/DVD (Nov. 18) will feature a full live album and concert video of 16 songs recorded on his highly acclaimed and sold-out "HITS DEEP Tour." This will be his first live album in eight years. THIS IS NOT A TEST, the American Music Award's winner latest LP, continues to have an unstoppable year earning a Grammy Award, a Billboard Music Award nod, three upcoming GMA Dove Award nominations and two back-to-back No. 1 hits at Christian radio, "Backseat Driver" and "Move (Keep Walkin')" with tour dates across Europe, Canada and the U.S..

dc Talk Reunites... And the Announcement Sparks Controversy

To the excitement of fans, iconic band dc Talk announced a reunion and performance by group members TobyMac, Michael Tait and Kevin Max.   However, the announcement received backlash as it became clear that it may only be for a performance aboard the Jesus Freak Cruise, departing from Miami on July 11, 2017. Marking the first time in 16 years fans will be able to see the band perform, the cruise will travel to the ports of Nassau, Bahamas and Half Moon Cay (Private Island). TobyMac and the Diverse City Band, Newsboys, Kevin Max, Finding Favour, Capital Kings, Ryan Stevenson and Hollyn will perform alongside dc Talk on the Jesus Freak Cruise line-up. Tickets will be available for purchase on May 16, 2016 by visiting JesusFreakCruise.com.

The band demonstrated their sense of humor with the following tweet:

PR team's response after reading your tweets. #dctalk #jesusfreakcruise pic.twitter.com/RL6uspKY64

— dc Talk (@dctalkofficial) May 11, 2016

TobyMac Song Featured in NBC Promo

TobyMac's This Is Not a Test is currently being featured in NBC's commercials for Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris

TobyMac Performs on Fox & Friends

Watch performance

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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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."

Christian Event Takes Over New York City for the Day

Evangelist Luis Palau told Fox News Latino that it had been his dream from a young age to share the Gospel in New York City, and last weekend, that dream came true.

Palau’s NY CityFest drew an estimated 60,000 people to iconic locations in the Big Apple, including Central Park, Times Square and Madison Square Garden featuring performances by tobyMac, Mandisa, Matt Redman, Third Day, Chris Tomlin, Hezekiah Walker, Israel Houghton and Marcos Whitt.

Former New York Yankee Mariano Rivera was among the speakers.

"I used to play here on the corner in the Bronx for the New York Yankees for many years," he said, "But that’s over. But moving forward, moving to what The Lord wants us to do. Preach the gospel of Jesus Christ."

According to The Christian Post, more than 1,700 churches in the greater New York City metro area worked together to pull off the events, as well as massive service projects that took place that weekend. There also were free events in Times Square and Madison Square Garden.

The artists who participated were humbled and energized by the opportunity, and were grateful to have been a part.

“[I] loved proclaiming that Jesus overcame the world and calls God's children overcomers too!” Mandisa posted on Facebook following her Times Square performance.

“So thankful for all the blood, sweat, tears and prayers of the saints that made this happen here in the City,” tweeted tobyMac.

The experience of playing for Palau's events was especially powerful for Matt Redman, who credited Palau with introducing him to Jesus years ago.

All 5 of TobyMac's Solo Releases are Golden

TobyMac today posted a photo on Instagram showing how all 5 his releases have gone GOLD.

Honored by my label @capitolcmg for all 5 releases going GOLD. Wow, thankful to everyone involved...better together than apart! #BeyondMe

A photo posted by TobyMac (@officialtobymac) on Jan 28, 2015 at 11:54am PST

Albums on Our Radar

Upcoming releases the first half of the year that are currently on our radar.

January 13
Blanca Who I Am EP

February 3
Jeremy Camp I Will Follow
Aaron Gillespie Grace Through The Wandering

February 10
Brandon Heath No Turning Back
The Vespers Sisters & Brothers

February 24
Mat Kearney JUST KIDS
RED Of Beauty and Rage

February ??
Pillar One Love Revolution

March 3
Third Day Lead Us Back: Songs of Worship

March 10
Kevin Max Broken Temples

March 17
Hawk Nelson Diamonds

April 7
1 Girl Nation Cinema
Chris August The Maker
Point of Grace Directions Home (Songs We Love, Songs You Know)

May 2015
Decyfer Down untitled new album
TobyMac untitled new album

May 5
Fireflight Innova

Lecrae Earns First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200

Rapper Lecrae collects his first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 as his new Anomaly opens atop the list. It sold 88,000 copies in the week ending Sept. 14. It's also the first chart-topper for Lecrae's label, Reach Records.

Anomaly's launch is Lecrae's best sales week, trumping the 72,000-unit start of 2012's Gravity, which debuted and peaked at No. 3. (Gravity was also Lecrae's highest-charting album — and only top 10 — until Anomaly's arrival.)

Anomaly is the Grammy winner's sixth No. 1 on the Gospel Albums chart and his fifth leader on Christian Albums. (Most Christian hip-hop releases are eligible to appear on both sales charts.)

Thus, Anomaly is the first title to crown both Gospel Albums and the Billboard 200, and just the fifth set to lead both Christian Albums and the Billboard 200. In terms of the latter achievement, it follows Chris Tomlin's Burning Lights (in 2013), TobyMac's Eye on It (2012), LeAnn Rimes' You Light Up My Life — Inspirational Songs (1997) and Bob Carlisle's Butterfly Kisses (Shades of Grace) (1997).

While Lecrae, 34, might not quite be a household name — he's yet to chart a single on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 — he has sold 1.4 million albums and 2.9 million track downloads. He has released seven studio albums, and made his chart debut in 2005 with Real Talk (No. 39, Gospel Albums). He reached the all-genre Billboard 200 for the first time in 2008 with Rebel, which peaked at No. 88.

Lecrae leads a parade of new entries in the top 10 of the Billboard 200, where six more titles arrive. The seven debuts are the most the top 10 has seen since Oct. 26, 2013, when seven titles also stepped in (led by Miley Cyrus' Bangerz).

Grits' Golden Ooh Ahh

Grits’ “Ooh Ahh” featuring TobyMac recently received RIAA Gold certification for surpassing the 500,000 thresholds with downloads and on-demand streams. Grits is the only Christian hip-hop/rap artist to earn Gold single certification.

Jamie Grace Holds Gold

Jamie Grace’s “Hold Me” featuring TobyMac recently received RIAA Gold certification for surpassing the 500,000 thresholds with downloads and on-demand streams.  She becomes one of four female Christian artists to receive this status.

 Gotee has fostered over the last 20 years five RIAA Gold certified albums and launched numerous successful artist careers in R&B, rap, reggae and rock such as Out of Eden, GRITS, Jennifer Knapp, Relient K, Jamie Grace, Capital Kings, Finding Favour and more.

Beckah Shae Aims To Raise Generation Of "Champions"

Beckah Shae is preparing to raise a generation of champions with her brand new electronic dance album Champion, available nationwide on May 6. The dance/pop release features award-winning and multi-platinum selling artists such as Israel Houghton, Crystal Lewis, Eric Dawkins, Canon and T-Bone.

In addition to collaborating with chart toppers, on her eighth studio album the singer/songwriter co-wrote with mainstream heavy hitters Crystal Nicole (Mariah Carey, Beyonce, Rihanna) and Eric Dawkins (Justin Bieber, Janet Jackson, Christina Aguilera). With the help of Shae's husband and constant production collaborator Jack Shocklee, the 15-track record is sure to appeal to fans of music favorites tobyMac, Group 1 Crew or Capital Kings.

"I am a worshipper at heart and ultimately my desire is for my music to sow seeds into others and have them bear fruit sometime down the road." says the urban artist. "But with this record, we took a different approach. We got so much feedback from the Destiny album, saying how much everyone loved the dance tracks and were looking for more upbeat music, so the fans asked and we listened ... Champion was born!"

Inspired by Hebrews 12:2 to remind believers to keep their eyes firmly planted on Jesus, the one and only Champion of our faith, Shae wanted to encourage listeners to be a Champion for God, for others and themselves. Having personally battled with eating disorders, poverty and a broken family, Shae has overcome her war with low self- esteem and has embraced the person God created her to be and is determined to see others to join her in this triumph.

"My family was so poor growing up, we were always moving around, so I had to start over every time," says Shae, mother of two. "With each adjustment period, I've always felt misunderstood and misjudged, something that has carried on into my adult life and even career. Rising above the past rejection and false perceptions of industry folks and peers, God has always remained persistent and consistent in being faithful and secure in my life. Progress has been slow, but now we are seeing the fruition of my rooted trust in Him.

Now, I'm extremely passionate about helping others see themselves the way God sees them, no matter what season of difficulty they're going through, 'when God is for you, who can be against you?' and that is what I want listeners to walk away with after listening to Champion."

Earlier this year, music lovers were teased with the release of two singles, "Turbo Style" and "Incorruptible." Eager to please and share more music, Shae asked her fans to join her in the album making process and in just two weeks raised more than $40,000 on Kickstarter to help launch Champion.

ESPN Taps Shonlock's "I Like To Win" For ESPN's Championship Week

ESPN selected Shonlock's "I Like To Win" as one of the official soundtracks for ESPN's Championship Week, which kicks off March 7. "I Like To Win" is a featured track on Shonlock's new CD 'A Night to Remember'.

"ESPN, NCAA Basketball and March Madness are all massive in the world of sports, so to have my song "I Like to Win" picked to be the theme music for this year's Championship Week is amazing," said Shonlock. "God is good!"

'A Night to Remember' spotlights the emotion and power behind the intersection where life and faith meet. With the collaboration between Shonlock and his production partners, Joshua Crosby (Owl City, Matt Kearney) and Solomon "Soul Glow Activatur" Olds (TobyMac, Family Force 5), the 10-song set features guest vocals from Ryan Clark of Demon Hunter, Olds, and longtime friend TobyMac.

Fox & Friends to Premiere TobyMac's "Speak Life" Music Video

Today cable's top-rated morning show, Fox & Friends, will world premiere the music video for "Speak Life" and TobyMac, along with his DiverseCity band, will perform the Grammy-nominated song live. VEVO is supporting the online premiere of the video tomorrow. "Speak Life" is off his Grammy-award winning and No. 1 Billboard 200 record, Eye On It. Catch a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the video here.