Chris Tomlin Becomes First Christian Artist to Reach Billion Streams Threshold on Pandora

During an exclusive album preview event in Nashville this week for loyal Pandora listeners, Chris Tomlin was recognized as the first Christian artist to reach the Billion streams threshold on Pandora and was presented with their Billionaire award. Chris is one of only a handful of artists in any genre to reach this benchmark. To date, Chris has 1.8 Billion lifetime spins and averages 4.5 million streams per week. Chris spoke with the Associated Press about the recognition, view it here.

"I'm so honored to represent this amazing genre of music that features so many incredible artists," said Chris. "What this 'billion' honor reminds me of is that every week there are billions of people who gather together in worship. Anywhere there is dirt on this earth people are worshipping God. I'm so thankful to be a part of that."

"The level of Chris Tomlin's performance on Pandora is extremely rare and exceptional in the Christian/Gospel genre, with 1.8 BILLION lifetime streams, 2.6M unique listeners and 20M+ streams each month," says Melissa Chalos, Programming Curator, Christian/Gospel Music | Pandora. "Fifteen of the Top 100 worship songs sung in churches around the globe have his name on them, and 8 of his 11 album releases have reached No. 1. We are excited to welcome worship artist Chris Tomlin to the Pandora Billionaire's Club and to acknowledge the millions of fans engaging with his music here on Pandora. It's our loyal Pandora listeners who determine which artists become Billionaires, and we honor them and their pick in Chris."

Chris Tomlin Performs on Fox and Friends

Singer/Songwriter Chris Tomlin discusses new album and performs Good Good Father.

Chris Tomlin Joins Exclusive Club with One Billion Digital Plays

Chris Tomlin joins Garth Brooks, Justin Timberlake and Pitbull as the fourth artist to have received SoundExchange's prestigious Digital Radio Award in recognition of his incredible popularity on digital radio.

 

Tomlin has amassed more than one billion performances on the more than 2,800 digital radio services from which SoundExchange collects digital performance royalties. SoundExchange President and CEO Michael Huppe presented Tomlin with the award on October 11 during the 47th Annual GMA Dove Awards, which honor performers in Christian and gospel music.

“Chris is a fantastic artist with a massive following, and we couldn’t be more proud to honor him with our SoundExchange Digital Radio Award,” Huppe said. “We were also honored to bestow this award upon Chris during the GMA's Dove Awards, which are so important to the Christian and gospel artists and fans globally.”

“I’m incredibly grateful and humbled to receive SoundExchange’s Digital Radio Award,” Tomlin said. “I’m blown away by how many people are listening to Christian music, and this award is an affirmation of the power and impact of the genre.”

Only recording artists who are registered members of SoundExchange and have at least one billion streams are eligible to receive the SoundExchange Digital Radio Award. Justin Timberlake, Garth Brooks and Pitbull are the only others to have received the award.

The Dove Awards took place on Tuesday, October 11 at Lipscomb University’s Allen Arena in Nashville at 6:30 PM/CT on TBN.

Lady Antebellum's Hillary Scott #2 on Country, #7 Overall Charts

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).

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.

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).

Dancing With the Stars Finalist Candace Cameron Bure and Matthew West to Host K-LOVE Fan Awards at Grand Ole Opry

TV star and current Dancing With the Stars finalist Candace Cameron Bure and Grammy-nominated Matthew West will host the K-LOVE Fan Awards on Sunday, June 1 at the Grand Ole Opry House.

Voting for the K-LOVE Fan Awards is open now until Midnight ET on Saturday, May 31. Partnering with World Hope to aid in revival efforts for the city of Detroit, MI., every half a million votes cast for the Fan Awards will unlock a newly remodeled home for a family in need in Detroit, with a goal of two million votes and four homes total. The first week of voting alone eclipsed 500,000 votes, unlocking the first home.

Winners will be announced live at the awards show in the categories of music, sports, books and movies.

Last week, K-LOVE announced key performers for the award show includingy Chris Tomlin, Hillsong UNITED, Steven Curtis Chapman, MercyMe, Francesca Battistelli and many more.

This year, fans will have more opportunities than ever to see and interact with their favorite Christian music artists at the K-LOVE Fan Awards Weekend. Starting Friday night, May 30, the weekend will start with a bang at the official Weekend Kickoff Concert, featuring performances by Tenth Avenue North, Switchfoot, for KING & COUNTRY, Rend Collective and a surprise headlining artist.

All weekend, fans will be able to participate in the first ever K-LOVE Fan Zone, which will feature a variety of fan-focused events including tours of Jeremy Camp's tour bus, celebrity basketball games, autograph sessions and more. Saturday night will end with the new Songwriters Spotlight, hosted by Steven Curtis Chapman. On Sunday, Michael W. Smith will start the day off with a special Worship Service at the Opryland Resort. The events of the day will lead to the official K-LOVE Fan Awards Show nearby at the Grand Ole Opry House.

44th Annual GMA Dove Awards' Nominations Announced

Top Nominees Include Chris Tomlin, Lecrae, Matt Redman, Tamela Mann and Wayne Haun

Artist of the Year Nominees are Chris Tomlin, Francesca Battistelli, Lecrae, Tamela Mann and TobyMac

New Artist of the Year Nominees are Capital Kings, Colton Dixon, for King & Country, Rhett Walker Band and Tasha Cobbs

Awards to broadcast on UP 

Top Nominees Include Chris Tomlin, Lecrae, Matt Redman, Tamela Mann and Wayne Haun

Artist of the Year Nominees are Chris Tomlin, Francesca Battistelli, Lecrae, Tamela Mann and TobyMac

New Artist of the Year Nominees are Capital Kings, Colton Dixon, for King & Country, Rhett Walker Band and Tasha Cobbs

Awards to broadcast on the UP television network

- See more at: http://www.uptv.com/news/2013/44th-annual-gma-dove-awards-nominations-announced#sthash.EqoobqNr.dpuf

Chris Tomlin Celebrates Two More Gold Albums

Chris Tomlin is celebrating the RIAA Gold certifications for his 2010 album 'And If Our God Is For Us...' and his 2009 Christmas album 'Glory In The Highest: Christmas Songs of Worship.' 'Glory In The Highest: Christmas Songs of Worship' peaked at No. 1 on Billboard’s Holiday albums chart.

The RIAA Gold certifications add to a long list of accolades for Tomlin this year, including his No. 1 Billboard debut for 'Burning Lights,' which was the biggest first-week sales numbers of his career and only the fourth time in history that a Christian music album has accomplished this feat. 'Burning Lights' is also the Best Selling Christian Album of 2013 so far (based on first six month sales). His “Burning Lights Tour” was the most successful tour of his 13 year career, showing a 53% increase in average show attendance and selling out 25 shows in major U.S. markets including New York, Los Angeles, Houston and Chicago. The final night of the spring run, also a sell out show at Denver’s famed Red Rocks Amphitheatre, was filmed before an enthusiastic crowd for what will be Tomlin’s first Live DVD project. The two-disc Burning Lights Deluxe Tour Edition, due out October 29, will include the live DVD along with the Burning Lights CD.

Kevin Pollak, James Denton, AJ Michalka and Jamie Grace Star in 'Grace Unplugged'

Lionsgate announced today that production has completed on the inspirational film Grace Unplugged and it will release in theaters October 4. The film features a cast led by AJ Michalka (Super 8, The Lovely Bones), James Denton (Desperate Housewives), Kevin Pollak (A Few Good Men,), Michael Welch (Joan of Arcadia) and Shawnee Smith (The Secret Life of the American Teenager). Lead actress Michalka is known for both her acting roles and her singing career as half of the duo Aly & AJ, more recently known as 78Violet.

The film features the acting or feature film debuts of three music stars: Jamie Grace, American Idol Season 10 Finalist Pia Toscano, and Chris Tomlin.

Grace Unplugged stars Amanda "AJ" Michalka as 18-year-old Christian singer/songwriter Grace Rose Trey, who plays guitar and leads worship with her dad Johnny (James Denton). Her dad is a former rock star who has left his secular career behind and is now a worship leader at their small-town Alabama church. Grace is restless for her own shot at pop stardom, and seizes on an opportunity to go to L.A., against the wishes of her family. Cutting off contact with her parents, Grace seems prepared to walk away from her Christian faith and music to achieve her Hollywood dream. Will the experience cause her to reject her faith or rediscover it? Grace Unplugged is a modern day prodigal-daughter story.

10,000 Reasons (Bless The Lord) Is Golden

Matt Redman has yet one more reason to celebrate another crowning achievement for his worship anthem "10,000 Reasons (Bless The Lord)." After earning two GRAMMY® awards this past February, the incredibly popular song was recently certified Digital Gold by the RIAA. As the first No. 1 single for co-writers Redman and Jonas Myrin, the song made an admirable 16-week run at No. 1 on Christian Radio and remained at No. 1 on the Billboard Christian Songs Chart for an impressive four months. 

Redman is set to record a brand new, live worship album at Passion City Church's LIFT: A Worship Leader Collective, May 31-June 1 in Atlanta. Hosted by Louie Giglio and GRAMMY® winner Chris Tomlin, the gathering will bring together worship leaders from across the country to provide space to be in the presence of God without the constraints of leading others. In addition to Redman, Nathan & Christy Nockels, Kristian Stanfill, Crowder and others from the Passion Band will lead the worship leader collective.

Passion Joins 5 Other Billboard Top 10 Debuts

Debuting at #4 on the Billboard 200 is the "Passion: Let the Future Begin" live album with 48,000 sold. Culled from the 2013 Passion Conference in January at Atlanta's Georgia Dome, the Christian album saw a significant chunk of its sales driven by pre-orders placed at the conference. The annual Passion event attracted 60,000 attendees this year and featured Passion worship leaders -- and recording stars -- Chris Tomlin, Kristian Stanfill and Matt Redman, among others. Those acts, and more, appear on the new Passion set.

It's the most top 10 debuts the chart has seen in four months. The last time there were more in a week was the Dec. 1, 2012 chart, when seven arrivals hit the region. 

Chris Tomlin Burning Light at Top of Billboard Charts

Singer/songwriter Chris Tomlin claims his first Number 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart as his "Burning Lights" opens atop the list with 73,000 sold according to Nielsen SoundScan. The Christian music veteran's new set also arrives at No. 1 on the Christian Albums chart, giving Tomlin his fourth leader on that tally.

Tomlin's debut earns the largest sales week for any Christian or gospel set since Casting Crowns' "Come to the Well" debuted at No. 2 on the Nov. 5, 2011 chart with 99,000.

It's also Tomlin's best sales frame yet, passing up the 63,000 he moved over the Thanksgiving frame of 2010 with "Glory in the Highest: Christmas Songs of Worship." While it's the best week for Tomlin, it's the smallest the No. 1 slot on the Billboard 200 has seen since the Sept. 15, 2012 tally, when fellow Christian act tobyMac bowed atop the list with "Eye On It" (69,000).

That said, "Burning Lights" is only the fourth Christian album to ever hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200. "Eye On It" became the third just last year -- and the first in 15 years.

Before that, you have to scroll back to the fall of 1997, when LeAnn Rimes' "You Light Up My Life -- Inspirational Songs" led the list for three nonconsecutive weeks. A few months earlier, our first Christian No. 1 came from Bob Carlisle's fluke hit album "Butterfly Kisses (Shades of Grace)." It spent two straight frames at No. 1 in late June and early July.

Aiding Tomlin's first-week are non-traditional sales generated at churches, this month's huge Passion Conference in Atlanta and via pre-orders. The annual Passion Christian gathering drew 60,000 college-aged attendees this year and, according to label sources, was watched by more than 100,000 viewers online.

Collectively, all sales from Passion-related purchases, church sales and the like amounted to 40% of "Burning Lights'" bow. Another 30% came from digital downloads.

Last week's No. 1 album, the "Les Miserables" soundtrack, slips to No. 3 with 52,000 (down 44%). Rounding out the top five is the "Pitch Perfect" soundtrack at a new high of No. 5 (up two slots) with 45,000 (down 13%).

This week marks the first time since 1999 that there have been two non-concert theatrical film soundtracks (that weren't born from a TV series) in the top five. The last time the feat occurred was on the July 17, 1999 chart, when "Wild Wild West" was at No. 4 and "Tarzan" was No. 5

Chris Tomlin's 'Burning Lights' to Top Billboard Chart

Well-established worship leader Chris Tomlin looks to be on his way to break into the very top of next week's Billboard 200 chart, with his new album, "Burning Lights."

If "Burning Lights" arrives atop the list, it would mark the second No. 1 debut from a Christian album in less than a year and only the fourth Christian set to ever be No. 1. Last September, tobyMac started at No. 1 with "Eye On It."

The new Billboard 200 chart's top 10 will be revealed on the morning of Wednesday, Jan. 16.

"Burning Lights," released on Jan. 8, is Tomlin's eighth studio album, but it would be his very first one to reach the top of the Billboard 200, The Associated Press reported.  His last studio album, "And If Our God Is For Us . . . " debuted and peaked at No. 17 in 2010 off a start of 45,000, according to Nielsen SoundScan. He's reached the top 10 once, when 2008's "Hello Love" bowed and peaked at No. 8. Tomlin's best sales week so far was registered when "Glory in the Highest: Christmas Songs of Worship," moved 63,000 over Thanksgiving week in 2010.
The "Les Miserables" Motion Picture soundtrack currently holds the top spot with 92,000 copies, but not many major albums are released in the first half of January, which will give "Burning Lights" the chance to take the top spot. The album's main competition next week will be "Notes From the Underground" by Hollywood Undead and "Wretched and Divine: The Story of The Wild Ones" by the Black Veil Brides.

Top Selling Christian Albums of 2012

Year-end Top 10 selling Christian albums, ranked by sales data as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan for Billboard:

1. "Come to the Well" Casting Crowns
2. "Wow Hits 2012" Various Artists
3. "How Great Is Our God: The Essential Collection" Chris Tomlin
4. "God's Not Dead" newsboys
5. "Eye On It" TobyMac
6. "Blessings" Laura Story
7. "Gravity" Lecrae
8. "What If We Were Real" Mandisa
9. "One Song at a Time" Jamie Grace
10. "The Hurt & The Healer" MercyMe

Disney's Night of Joy Turns 30

"Disney cares about the family like we care about the family," says Brandon Heath, one of the Christian artists who performed this weekend at Walt Disney World's 30th annual Night of Joy. "It's a common goal that we have to enrich families. They can come enjoy the rides and attractions, and they can enjoy great music."

Third Day, Chris Tomlin, Casting Crowns, Francesca Battistelli, MercyMe, Chris August, Royal Tailor, Red, Disciple, Thousand Foot Crutch, NEEDTOBREATHE, Lecrae, Kutless, Dara Maclean and Yolanda Adams were among the acts performing at three different stages Friday and Saturday nights (Sept. 7-8) at Disney' Magic Kingdom.

It's been three decades since Disney launched the first Night of Joy with a line up that included Scott Wesley Brown, David Meece, Shirley Caesar, Leon Patillo, Benny Hester, Petra, Phil Keaggy and Sheila Walsh. Since then the festival has become one of Christian music's premiere events drawing fans from all over the world with an audience heavily populated by church youth groups. During the event, Disney hosts a special lounge for youth pastors where they can interact with artists.

Casting Crowns frontman Mark Hall and fellow Casting Crowns members Juan DeVevo and Hector Cervantes were surprised with a huge Stars Wars cake recognizing their birthdays. Third Day's Mark Lee and Mac Powell, Moriah Peters, and members of Red and Royal Tailor were on hand to sing and celebrate.

Hall, who has long been known as a big Star Wars fan, recently auctioned off his collection to benefit charity. "We raised about $20,000 selling my collection," he told Billboard. "We sold the Han Solo desk, the emperor's chair, helmets and paintings and all sort of stuff I accumulated over the years. My son and I started a collection several years back. I'm trying to teach my son: 'Stuff is cool, but ultimately people are more important than stuff.' To prove that to him I said, 'hey man, I really felt like God is wanting us to do this.' So it was something we did together and he got to see that you can have your hobbies, but it needs to lead to something bigger. The money went to World Vision and we supported water efforts in Rwanda."

Read entire article

Tomlin is Golden

With a platinum and two gold albums to his credit, Chris Tomlin is among the best-selling and influential artists in contemporary Christian music. On November 16th, on the heels of celebrating the RIAA Gold Status of 2008s HELLO LOVE, Tomlin will deliver his seventh recording, "AND IF OUR GOD IS FOR US... ".

MercyMe Most Played Artist on Christian Radio in 2008

Here are the most played artists on Christian radio in 2008 according to Radio & Records. MercyMe is the most played artist and the rest of the top 10 contain no real surprises except for Robbie Seay Band.

Top 10 Christian AC artists:
1. MercyMe
2. Matthew West
3. Chris Tomlin
4. Casting Crowns
5. Jeremy Camp
6. Third Day
7. Natalie Grant
8. Brandon Heath
9. Steven Curtis Chapman
10. Robbie Seay Band

No surprises in the CHR list except for Skillet at #1.

Top 10 Christian CHR artists:
1. Skillet
2. Addison Road
3. The Afters
4. Needtobreathe
5. Sanctus Real
6. Hawk Nelson
7. Jeremy Camp
8. TobyMac
9. Relient K
10. Brandon Heath

No real surprises in the Top 10 except for The Wedding and Ivoryline.

Top 10 Christian Rock artists:
1. Pillar
2. The Wedding
3. Skillet
4. Family Force 5
5. Fireflight
6. Relient K
7. Wavorly
8. Ivoryline
9. Project 86
10. The Almost

SixStepsRecords Defies Gravity

While SixSteps forges ahead with consistency in staff, artists, and record sales, the question is how has the label stayed successful? Its small size is important, but so are the label's focus and unconventional management structure.

Read a compelling profile here.

A major upcoming change is the planting of a church in Atlanta involving Louie Giglio, Tomlin, and Redman.

The latter two have already moved there, though the timeline for development is uncertain, as is the impact on the label. "I see songs coming out of the church," says Tomlin of the new plant. "I see Chris Tomlin still making records, but I also see Passion Church CDs , and that kind of thing. The reason I'm excited about that is we've never been in the same place: me and Redman and Louie."

Chris Tomlin & Louie Giglio forming new church

I finally became aware that Chris Tomlin and Louie Giglio (of Passion fame) are forming a new church in Atlanta. As this blogger notes, it was likely began an instant Mega-church.

A local guitar-slinger/Worship leader shared the news with my wife today.