Winter Jam #4 of All World Tours

Once again ranking among the biggest first quarter tours in the world, the Winter Jam Tour Spectacular brought its 2017 Eastern U.S. run to a close earlier this month. Christian music's largest annual tour landed at #4 on Pollstar’s “1Q YTD Worldwide 2017 Ticket Sales Top 100 Tours” chart, it was recently announced, ahead of tours by such artists as Twenty One Pilots, Drake and Guns N' Roses.

Hitting a total of 46 cities from January through April, Winter Jam played to more than 27,000 people at Atlanta’s Georgia Dome, marking not only one of the tour’s largest crowds to date, but the last concert ever at the historic venue. In addition, sellouts continued at St. Louis' Scottrade Center; Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis; Verizon Arena in Little Rock, Arkansas; and the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina, among numerous leading arenas. 

Showcasing 10 Christian music artists, Winter Jam featured Crowder, Britt Nicole, Tenth Avenue North, Andy Mineo, Colton Dixon, Thousand Foot Krutch and NewSong.  The tour was also highlighted by a special appearance from “Duck Dynasty” television star Sadie Robertson, as well as a message from acclaimed author, speaker Tony Nolan.

An array of special guest artists and athletes appeared in various cities during Winter Jam’s first quarter outing, including Matthew West, Lauren Daigle; “Duck Dynasty’s” Willie & Korie Robertson; “American Idol” alum Danny Gokey, Francesca Battistelli, Jordan Feliz, Zach Williams, Atlanta Braves great Otis Nixon; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Chris Conley; and Nashville Predators captain Mike Fisher.

“This has been such a special year for Winter Jam,” said Eddie Carswell, tour creator and NewSong founding member. “The fantastic lineup, the packed arenas and the special guests who joined us made it an incredible tour, but the best part—as always—is seeing so many people come to Christ through this ministry each year.”

Tenth Avenue North Over and Underneath with Gold

Tenth Avenue North releases their fifth studio project, Followers, while their label announced that the band has also been awarded its first RIAA gold certification -- for their album Over And Underneath. This project was the group's national label debut that birthed their hit songs "Love Is Here," "By Your Side" and "Hold My Heart."

Tenth Avenue North's Cathedrals

With more than one million career albums sold, Tenth Avenue North continues to establish itself as one of Christian music's top acts, with the #1 charting of its fourth studio project, Cathedrals. The album debuted at #1 this week on both iTunes (#14 overall) and Billboard's Top Christian Albums Charts and landed at #32 on the Billboard Top 200.

Produced by John Fields, known for his work with Switchfoot, Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato and Pink, Cathedrals is a collection of well-crafted songs that inspires community, encourages accountability, and celebrates the fact we are not alone.

Christian Artist Andy Cherry Appears on The Voice

Andy Cherry appeared on Tuesday, Sept. 23, during the "blind auditions" segment of Season 7 of NBC's vocal competition The Voice.

Before his performance, Cherry shared on the show about his career in Christian music, his being dropped from his record label, and his wife that stayed close by his side. Cherry's audition song choice was the 1985 hit "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Tears for Fears.

Throughout the performance, the judges' expressions stayed focused and thoughtful, but none of them pressed their "I Want You" buttons, which would have placed Cherry on one of four teams (Team Adam Levine, Team Gwen Stefani, Team Pharrell Williams or Team Blake Shelton).

He finished the song with evidence of disappointment on his face, but seemed positive through the next few moments on screen. In the end, none of the judges turned for Cherry, but left him with critique and advice for his music-related future.

There's no doubt that remembering the names of every artist you hear on the radio is a difficult task, but remembering the uniqueness in their voice and lyrics is another story.

Cherry's most successful single, "Our God's Alive," hit the airwaves in Spring of 2012 and seemed to charm listeners' ears with its heavy, guitar-lead intro, and Cherry's one-of-a-kind tone. The song was in the top ten of two big-named Christian radio networks and became a favorite of many. The single was a follow up to his March 2012 album Nothing Left to Fear, which snagged him shows alongside artists such as Tenth Avenue North, Laura Story, Jimmy Needham, Matt Maher, and Trip Lee.

The album didn't have quite the success that was anticipated and Cherry was dropped from his record label, leaving "Our God's Alive" standing alone on national radio stations and fans disappointed. Since then, Cherry released an independent EP, City of Light, earlier this year, but it remains to be seen what the South Carolina native's next move will be.

"Thank so much for all the support!" Cherry posted to social media after the episode aired. "It was disappointing not to get a chair to turn, but I'm not done yet. God Bless you all."

Winter Jam Once Again Crowned World's Biggest Tour

For the fourth consecutive year, Winter Jam tops Pollstar's First Quarter Year To Date Worldwide Ticket Sales chart - Top 100 Tours, surpassing all other 2014 first quarter tours, including Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Beyoncé, Michael Bublé, Imagine Dragons and Justin Timberlake. Hitting major arenas around the country from January through March, Winter Jam saw 34 sellouts this year, with a combined total audience of more than 550,000 people—the tour's largest attendance in history.

Founded and hosted by NewSong and headlined by multi Grammy-nominated Newsboys and Grammy-winning hip-hop artist Lecrae, this year’s all-star line-up also featured Tenth Avenue North, Thousand Foot Krutch, Plumb and Colton Dixon.

"It's been 19 years of continued growth for Winter Jam," says Roy Morgan, Winter Jam promoter. "It's amazing to look back and see how God has orchestrated the smallest of details to grow and use this tour to deliver His message of love and Hope to literally millions of people."

NewSong’s Winter Jam 2014 Tour Spectacular was highlighted by multiple industry-leading innovations and Christian music firsts including the Winter Jam 2014 Dome Spectacular

More than 30,000 people attended the tour’s February stop at Atlanta’s Georgia Dome, marking the biggest single event in Winter Jam’s 19-year history. Featuring Guinness World Record-holding high wire artist Nik Wallenda’s tightrope walk across the Dome, the event also included appearances from Reed Robertson of "Duck Dynasty," Grammy-nominated David Crowder and University of Georgia head football coach Mark Richt.

Despite record-breaking inclement weather around the country, causing the cancellation of one of the tour’s 48 slated shows, Winter Jam played to capacity crowds at Chicago’s Sears Centre Arena; Houston’s Toyota Center; Scottrade Center in St. Louis; Cincinnati’s U.S. Bank Arena; and Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, among numerous other sold-out events.  

UP to Host Star Studded Christmas Special on Monday with Host Cameron Cameron Bure

UP and national Christian radio powerhouse, K-LOVE, present the original Christmas special "K-LOVE Music City Christmas," hosted by Candace Cameron Bure (Finding Normal, "Full House").

The hour-long special will include performances of beloved Christmas standards and original songs by leading Christian music artists, including TobyMac, Newsboys with for KING & COUNTRY, Mandisa, Colton Dixon, Kari Jobe, Matthew West, Brandon Heath, Crowder, Big Daddy Weave and Tenth Avenue North, as well as heartfelt and lively holiday memories with the stars.

The special was taped before a live audience in Nashville, TN. It will premiere on Monday, December 9 at 8 p.m. ET.

Building 429 Has Top Song of 2012

Building 429's breakout single "Where I Belong" is Christian Song of the Year, according to the Billboard 2012 year-end charts.  Earlier this year, "Where I Belong" set precedent as the first song to maintain No. 1 on the Billboard National Christian Audience chart for 15 consecutive weeks. "Where I Belong" surpassed singles by tobyMac as well as Phillips, Craig & Dean, who each held the top spot on the Billboard NCA chart for 11 straight weeks. Furthermore, the song also peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard CHR chart.

Complete Top 10 is as follows:

1. "Where I Belong" Building 429

2. "Overcome" Jeremy Camp

3. "God's Not Dead (Like a Lion)" newsboys

4. "10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord)" Matt Redman

5. "The Hurt & The Healer" MercyMe

6. "Live Like That" Sidewalk Prophets

7. "Me Without You" TobyMac

8. "My Hope Is In You" Aaron Shust

9. "Losing" Tenth Avenue North

10. "When the Stars Burn Down" Phillips, Craig & Dean

Owl City, Tenth Avenue North Fly Into Top 10

Owl City's "The Midsummer Station" premieres at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 chart, marking the act's third top 10 set. The album's current single, "Good Time" (with Carly Rae Jepsen), has been percolating in the top 15 of the Billboard Hot 100 for the past month.

Owl City's last full-length set, 2011's "All Things Bright and Beautiful," debuted and peaked at No. 6. However, the album only spent nine weeks on the charts - a meager total compared to the 56 frames the act's debut album "Ocean Eyes," spent on the list. ("Ocean" was fueled by the No. 1 Hot 100 single "Fireflies.") It's probably safe to suspect that the new album could have a longer shelf life than "All Things" on the chart, thanks to the popularity of his Jepsen collaboration.

Downloads made up 72% of Owl City's first week, as compared to the 38% they accounted for the #1 title. That's not terribly surprising, as digital sales amounted to 48% of the total sales of Owl City's last album.

Tenth Avenue North also debuted in the top 10 this week, as the group's "The Struggle" arrives at a career-high No. 9 and with a weekly sales peak for the act. Over on the Top Christian Albums chart, the set bows at No. 1 -- the group's second leader on that tally.

TobyMac's New Release #1 and #8 on iTunes Charts

TobyMac's latest release, Eye On It, is sitting at both the #1 (Deluxe Edition) and #8 positions on the iTunes Top Albums chart.  It's also the #2 on the Movers and Shakers chart on Amazon.com.

Tenth Avenue North's new release, sits at #33 on iTunes Top Albums chart.

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.

Tenth Avenue North Debuts at #15

On the heels of its hit single “By Your Side” receiving the prestigious Song of the Year honor at this year’s GMA Dove Awards, headliners Tenth Avenue North’s The Light Meets The Dark debuted at No. 15 on the Billboard Top 200 with first week scans of 21,583.

Winter Jam Tour Sets Attendance Records

Christian music’s annual tour, the Winter Jam Tour, has concluded its 15th year with record-breaking attendance. The 44-city Winter Jam 2010 Tour Spectacular played to a total of more than 403,000 people, setting a new record for the tour.

Hosted by NewSong, Winter Jam featured multi-platinum Third Day, Newsboys, Tenth Avenue North, Fireflight, and guest speaker Tony Nolan.