Marc Martel Performs on American Idol with Queen Extravaganza

On a recent afternoon in Toronto, Queen's Roger Taylor was checking out rehearsals for Queen Extravaganza – a 25-date tribute tour with a lineup hand-selected by him and his bandmate, guitarist Brian May – when singer Marc Martel belted out a few notes from "Bohemian Rhapsody," stopping the 62-year-old drummer in his tracks. "It was as if Freddie (Mercury) was in the room," Taylor said today during a conference call with journalists. "It was uncanny."

Martel is just one of four singers selected to join the Queen Extravaganza lineup after a lengthy online audition process. The nine lucky musicians will kick off their trek on May 26th in Quebec City after making their live debut last week on American Idol, where they were joined by Taylor and May. "We had such a fantastic response," said Taylor. "We weren't just looking for copies of us. We were looking for great musicianship, great charisma and the right people, the right sort of personalities that fit into the band. What we weren't looking for were lookalikes." Martel first discovered Queen's music while watching the 1992 film Wayne's World. The 36-year-old singer, who is also in the Nashville-based band Downhere, was later encouraged by his bassist to study Mercury's singing. "I realized, 'Wow, this guy did so many amazing things with his voice,' especially in the studio," Martel explained. "He really pushed himself."

Thousand Foot Krutch Charts at #14 With Indie Release

Thousand Foot Krutch's biggest debut ever hits No. 14 on Billboard Top 200, No. 1 on multiple Retail Charts and sales tracking 72% ahead of last CD.

Announcing their independence from label life last year, TFK raised money through Kickstarter, then released  its seventh studio album, The End Is Where We Begin, to not only wide critical acclaim, but also its biggest sales debut ever. Since its release last week, the album reached #6 on the iTunes® Top 10 Albums chart, climbed to #2 on the iTunes Rock chart (No. 1 in Canada) and earned the #8 spot on the Rock Singles Chart while capping the week with it highest ever chart position on the Billboard Top 200 at No. 14 with 23,659 albums sold, marking a 72% sales jump over the band's previous best-selling album, Welcome to the Masquerade. The album also landed at No. 1 on the Hard Rock Billboard charts.

The new CD has already had song placements on ESPN (NASCAR, NCAA basketball), WWE and EA Sports NHL 2013 releasing this fall.

The new album is a testament to the bond the band has with its fans. Thanks to the TFK armies across the globe, who helped fund the album through Kickstarter and allowed the band to self-release, TFK has achieved their greatest successes to date.

"Since day one we've actually been uncomfortable with the term 'fans' because these people mean so much more to us," says TFK front man Trevor McNevan. "They're the friends and family of the band, so to speak, and I think they've grown to trust us over the years, which is something that's been built between us and not manufactured."

Fired ESPN Editor Talks Jeremy Lin & The Power of Christ

Life has been a roller-coaster these past two months for 28-year-old Anthony Federico. The former ESPN editor was fired back in February after writing a headline entitled, “Chink in the Armor” for an article about Asian NBA star Jeremy Lin. Federico, who has been open and honest about the fact that the terminology was merely an unintended mistake, promptly apologized. But the damage was already done, as the young journalist quickly became what he calls “public enemy number one.”

On Tuesday, he opened up to The Blaze about how the scenario has impacted his life. He also spoke about how the power of his Christian faith has restored him, while teaching him valuable life lessons.

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Phil Keaggy Released From Hospital

It was announced today that Phil Keaggy was released from the hospital.  Keaggy was hospitalized for hemorrhaging after experiencing complications from surgery. 


Canceling an anticipated show on April 16th, news spread of Keaggy's hospitalization. With many fans concerned about Keaggy's illness, an update about his condition in a statement via his Facebook account was released. 

"Thank you everyone for your concern about Phil. He had some issues after a colonoscopy and had some bleeding which required medical attention. He is doing fine and will most likely be able to fly home to his family tomorrow. We appreciate everyone's thoughts and prayers and would request that you respect Phil's privacy at this time."

Today, his Facebook page announced:

"Thanks to all you folks out there who have been praying for Phil. I am happy to report that he has been released from the hospital and is on a flight back home to Nashville with his wife by his side."

Tenth Avenue North is Golden And Joins The Fray With TobyMac

RIAA Gold download certifications, representing more than 500,000 in digital song sales, were awarded to seven first-time recipients in March including Tenth Avenue North’s “By Your Side.”  3x multi-Platinums were awarded to The Fray for “You Found Me.”

A variety of certifiably popular musicians upped their Gold album award ante in March including TobyMac who earned his fourth for Tonight.