Skillet First Christian Band To Hit No. 1 On Mainstream Rock Chart As "Feel Invincible"

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.

World Series Champ Ben Zobrist: 'Victory Belongs to the Lord'

With the Kansas City Royals winning the World Series Sunday night, Royals second baseman Ben Zobrist explained who the real winner was when asked about his emotions on winning his first World Series.

The veteran, who made it to the World Series in 2008 as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays, knows what it's like to make it to the big game, only to walk away empty-handed.

Zobrist, the son of an Illinois pastor, asserted that no matter the amount of preparation the players put in, God is the one who emerges as the true victor.

"This is incredible, a very prepared team, everybody is prepared but, you know, you prepare the horse for battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord," Zobrist stated. "I am so thankful to be a part of this. I am just thankful."

The two-time All-Star, who is married to Christian singer Julianna Zobrist, has been vocal about his Christian faith all throughout his playing career.

In an interview with Baptist Press, the Zobrists' pastor, Byron Yawn of the Community Bible Church in Nashville, said that Zobrist has such an influence on his teammates that he is like a "missionary" working in the MLB mission field.

"The consistency of the godliness of his life is a natural attraction to a diversity of personalities on the team," Yawn added.



In an interview with the Florida Baptist Witness, Zobrist explained that, even as a baseball player, he holds a responsibility to represent Christ as best he can.

"Like anybody else that goes and does their job, there's a way to do your job with excellence," Zobrist said. "You want to represent Christ well with doing you job, first and foremost, because that's what you're there to do."

The Zobrists have authored a book titled Double Play, which offers insight into the couple's devotion to God, family, music and baseball.

According to Breitbart, the couple's devotion to each other is so great that they have made a pact to never be apart for more than six days at a time, even though Zobrist spends more than half of the year traveling in and out of baseball stadiums throughout the country.

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7eventh Time Down in World Series

7eventh Time Down's Just Say Jesus was overheard during the World Series as Daniel Murphy used it as his walk-up music.

TFK Continues Its Climb Up Rock Charts

TFK continues its rise into mainstream arenas with sales as an independent artist that the major labels aspire to ascertain. With well over one-million albums sold, more than one-million likes on Facebook, featured performances on major rock festivals internationally, numerous sports programming placements and hundreds of millions of streams online (300,000+ weekly at Spotify alone), Thousand Foot Krutch has also scored two back-to-back Billboard Hard Rock No. 1 albums (OXYGEN:INHALE,The End Is Where We Begin), and nine Active Rock radio hits.

The most recent hit single from OXYGEN:INHALE, "Untraveled Road," has not only topped SiriusXM Octane's Big Uns Countdown for two non-consecutive weeks, but for the first time in seven years, launches TFK this week into the Top 20 at both BDS Mainstream Rock (at No. 20) and Mediabase Active Rock (at No. 19) charts as the song continues to climb. "Untraveled Road" follows the album's No. 1 hit "Born This Way."

Having already hit No. 2 on the iTunes Rock Song sales chart and racking up more than 1.2 million views and 10,800 likes on YouTube, "Untraveled Road" has further been embraced by the sports entertainment world to fire-up faithful fans. Adopted by the NHL's Ottawa Senators as their 2014-15 anthem and used as the "pump-up" video for the Montreal Canadiens' 2014-15 season, the song was also played for the crowd April 13 at PNC Park after the Pittsburgh Pirates' Corey Hart hit a home run, helping lead his team to a home opener win against the Detroit Tigers.

"'Untraveled Road' is about not being afraid to take the first step, or be the first voice," says McNevan. "It's about having the courage to be unashamed, and the faith you need to take a step before you can see the ground. The 'untraveled road' is symbolism for being at a crossroads, and having to decide which path you're going to take. Sometimes it takes everything."

MLB Will Move You with Audio Adrenaline

'Move,' the album-opener from Audio Adrenaline’s May 4 release, Sound of the Saints, has been selected as the opening theme for “MLB Now,” which airs daily on the MLB Network.

A one-hour panel discussion hosted by Brian Kenny, covering breaking news and the game's most recent trends, “MLB Now” features perspectives from baseball journalists, current and former players, managers, sabermetricians and broadcasters. The MLB Network reaches nearly 70 million television households in the United States.

Written by Audio Adrenaline’s Adam Agee along with Seth Mosley, “Move”—an audience favorite in concert—was also featured during the NFL Network’s coverage of the Scouting Combine earlier this year.

Produced by Seth Mosley (Jeremy Camp, for KING & COUNTRY) and Joshua Silverberg (Newsboys, Michael W. Smith), Sound of the Saints builds on the pop/rock foundation and lyrical themes which have hallmarked Audio Adrenaline’s iconic repertoire for nearly three decades.

Christian Music Overheard in MLB Telecasts

We've written in the past about Christian music being used promotionally by Major League Baseball, as 'at bat' songs in the Playoffs and World Series, and stars promoting Christian music, but it's still refreshing to hear during the season.  It was noted last night that Milwaukee Brewers' players Jonathan Lucroy (Red's "Let Go"), Travis Ishikawa (TobyMac's "Ignition") and Jeff Bianchi (Jeremy Camp's "Tonight") had Christian songs as their 'at bat'/'walk up' songs.  According to the Brewers' site, Corey Hart has Newsboys' "Born Again" and Mark Rogers' pitching entrance music is P.O.D.' "Lights Out."

Albert Pujol Says Listen Locally and Listen to Jesus

Albert Pujols's 2011 walk up song is "Five Seconds" by Canton Jones, a Christian hip-hop artist.  You can often hear it during this year's World Series.

Albert Pujols, of course, doesn't mess around when it comes to his at-bat appearances, or his faith. So how does the greatest baseball player of our generation choose a song to inspire him?

Pujols takes a divine approach.

Albert Pujols's 2011 walk up song is "Five Seconds" by Canton Jones, a Christian hip-hop artist

"Albert is very serious about his faith and wants to provide a positive message with his bat music," Oliver says.  (Damon Oliver currently assists the PA announcer with music.)

In fact, Oliver has been called down to the clubhouse to discuss music decisions with Pujols in person. The music in question is usually Christian rap ― St. Louis-based Christian rap, to be more precise.

"It's his preference and, within the past few years, he's been trying to support the local guys," Oliver says.

Josh Hamilton's Showstopper Music

Josh Hamilton, outfielders for the Texas Rangers and 2010 ALCS MVP and 2010 AL MVP, has rotated between "This Life" (Mercy Me)," I Used To Do It" (LeCrae), "Sing A Song" (Third Day) and "Showstopper" (Toby Mac) for his at bat music. This can often be heard on-air during the Playoffs.

Hamilton says he likes for his songs "to have a little message in them about faith." He admits to not being very tech-savvy, so his wife helps him pick the best 10-second clip and send it to the team.

"If I can get just Jesus' name in there," Hamilton said, "that's the important thing."

Early last year he used a Casting Crowns song called "Until the Whole World Hears" and picked these lyrics from the chorus:
Ready yourselves
Ready yourselves
Let us shine the light of Jesus in the darkest night
Oh, Ready yourselves
Oh, ready yourselves

At other times he used Toby Mac's "Showstopper" with its line of
It's automatic
Don't mind the static
Jesus fanatic

And Toby Mac's "Get Back Up."

In 2009, he used "Saved the Day" by Phillips, Craig & Dean sharing that "The part I (have asked to be) played says, 'You saved the day/ the day you rolled the stone away/ the empty grave was there to say you reign.' I got on our PA announcer a little bit because he'd cut in and say my name right in the middle of it. I told him that I'm not one of these guys that are playing the song for myself. I'm playing it so everybody else can hear it. I said, 'I'm not telling you how to do your job, but if you could, just announce my name, and then play it.' That's just the way I feel about the whole situation."

When Corey Hart's Milwaukee Brewers were still in the Play-offs that was at least 3 opportunities to hear Christian music (albeit short and soft) during the Playoffs.

Casting Crowns Heard Throughout MLB Playoffs

Viewers of the National League Playoffs may have recognized the at bat song for Milwaukee Brewers' Corey Hart.  Hart has chosen Casting Crowns' "Until the Whole World Hears."

Major League Baseball Plays Ball with TobyMac

The title track from TobyMac's latest CD, Tonight, has been chosen as the theme song for Major League Baseball Network's "30 Clubs in 30 Days" spring training series. The song will be featured throughout each episode.

The "30 Clubs in 30 Days" series provides extensive coverage of each MLB team with field reports, interviews, predictions and inside access to every club's training camp as Opening Day approaches.

To find out when the show airs, visit the Major League Baseball Network site.

Natural Fit: MLB Uses Pillar's "For the Love of the Game"

MLB.com is currently using Pillar’s “For the Love of the Game” to help showcase some of baseball’s biggest and best highlights. The video can be viewed here.

On a related note, longtime bassist Kalel Wittig and drummer Lester Estelle are leaving the band.