After 15 non-consecutive weeks at number one, in the process establishing its singer as the dominant musical force of his generation, Whom Shall I Fear (God of Angel Armies) by Chris Tomlin drops to number two this week. Replacing it is Matthew West’s Hello My Name Is, the second single from the Christian singer/songwriter’s Grammy Award-nominated Into the Light. Hello My Name Is becomes West’s fifth number one single, and his first since his Christmas duet with Amy Grant, Give This Christmas Away, topped the chart in December 2010. Not counting this holiday release, it’s his first chart-topper since The Motions in 2008. West’s five year wait between number one’s wasn’t a lonely one, though; he’d had four Top 10 hits along the way, including two near-misses, as both Forgiveness, the carrier of Into the Lightm and The Heart of Christmas, West’s most recent holiday release, both peaked at number two.
I am so happy. Matthew is my favorite Christian singer/songwriter, and the fact that Hello My Name Is, my favorite song off Into the Light, is his latest number one makes me so giddy and happy that I almost want to cry. I won’t, though, because I’ll save that for later, when I listen to Into the Light again. Welcome to the Matthew West fanfest.
Contemporary Christian superstar Jeremy Camp has released My God as the second single off his latest album, Reckless. Now, I’ll be honest with you. Reckless didn’t grab me off the bat, but My God is an instant winner. The fact that it’s the Greatest Gainer this week on Billboard’s Christian Songs chart – 36 to 24, I think – in just its second week on the chart tells me that My God will easily be Camp’s latest Top 10, and very very possibly, latest number one hit. Great job, Jeremy.
MY GOD Lyrics
Jeremy Camp
All of who You are reaches the darkest parts
Lifting the weight and erasing the scars that had a hold on me
Here I am bearing all, tearing down every wall
So amazed by Your grace and the way You’re still holding me
Whoa whoa, whoa whoa
My God, You are the unchanging love
My God, Your heart sends hope from above
The great Creator, beautiful Savior
I’ve been redeemed
There is life now from Your victory
You are my God
You are my God
There is no other one, who’s given a greater love
Laying aside His own life on the cross
Reaching out to us
Whoa whoa, whoa whoa
My God, You are the unchanging love
My God, Your heart sends hope from above
The great Creator, beautiful Savior
I’ve been redeemed
There is life now from Your victory
You are my God
You are my God
When my hope starts fading out
You are where my strength is found
I know I won’t be alone
My God, You are a beautiful love
My God, You are a beautiful love
My God, You are a beautiful love
My God, You are a beautiful love
My God, You are the unchanging love
My God, Your heart sends hope from above
The great Creator, beautiful Savior
I’ve been redeemed
There is life now from Your victory
There is victory
You are my God
You are my God
You are my God
You are my God
Former American Idol finalist and now Contemporary Christian singer Jason Castro has released Rise to You, the second single off his debut Contemporary Christian release, Only a Mountain. Rise to You is decidedly more mature and heartfelt than the lighter-than-air Only a Mountain, and Christian AC is already warming up to the midtempo ballad. Likeable vocals and an accessible melody, plus an official video that shows how down to earth this humble young artist is, should considerably widen his increasingly solid fan base. An equally solid effort from a rising young star.
RISE TO YOU Lyrics
Jason Castro
It feels like more than I can handle
It seems so hard to be hopeful
And all I ask is for a different path
Every way I know is a struggle
Some days I feel so broken down
Just hoping I can make it out
But knowing that You’ll see me through
I’m gonna rise to You
Give me all the strength I need
Get me off these busted knees
To do the things that I can’t do
I’m gonna rise to You
Rise to You
Rise to You
I hold You closer than a secret
You give me peace when I need it
Calm my heart before I fall apart, yea
You’re the only hope I believe in, oh
Some days I feel so broken down
Just hoping I can make it out
But knowing that You’ll see me through
I’m gonna rise to You
Give me all the strength I need
Get me off these busted knees
To do the things that I can’t do
I’m gonna rise to You
You lift me up when You call my name
I hear Your voice and the world begins to change
Rise to You
Rise to You
Some days I feel so broken down
Just hoping I can make it out
But knowing that You’ll see me through
I’m gonna rise to You
Rise to You
Rise to You
I hold You closer than a secret
You’re the only hope I believe in
I was very surprised to find that Rica Peralejo posted this on her Twitter page the other day.
Medyo nagulat lang ako, ha.
So, what can I say to all of you beautiful people na pumunta sa website ko na walang alam tungkol sa akin kundi sa sinabi lang ni Ms Rica na gusto niyang tumambay dito?
Um, hello.
*teehee*
I don’t know why Rica likes hanging out here, sa totoo lang. Pero alam naman ninyo ang puso ni Ms Rica is for God, at ang puso ko is for God too. Kaya baka yun un.
And she likes the music. Promise, maganda ang music dito. Hindi po ako ang kumakanta. (Actually, meron, pero huwag na.) And I think that’s why she likes it here; the music is cool and great for helping you live a godly life. At sana, magustuhan din po ninyo.
So if you’re here because of Ms Rica, welcome! Sana po mag-enjoy kayo dito. And don’t forget, labs kayo ni Rica. At ni Lord. At ako na rin. Chika. ;)
Wanna get to know some good music? Here you go. Do you like Lady Gaga? Try Beckah Shae. Do you like Maroon 5? Try Royal Tailor. Do you like Demi Levato? Try Britt Nicole. Meron pa, just look around. Enjoy!
I recently bought a copy of BOHSA 2012-2013: Best of High School A Capella on iTunes. It’s a fantastic collection, full of terrific covers from some of the United States’ most talented a capella and the Cypress Lake Center for the Arts’ The A Capella Group did a masterful rendition of Colbie Caillat’s Brighter Than the Sun. This live version doesn’t quite capture the rich layering of the studio version, but you can see how well it was executed, with some of the finest layering, percussive beatboxing, and vocal delivery in the entire collection. If you like a capella, I think you’ll enjoy this one very much.
Chris Tomlin’s Whom Shall I Fear (God of Angel Armies) earns a fifteenth week at number one. This moves Tomlin into a three-way tie for sixth-longest reign atop the Billboard Christian Songs chart, alongside Jeremy Camp’s Take You Back and Building 429′s Where I Belong. Meanwhile, Tenth Avenue North’s Worn finally enters the Top 10, making it the tenth Top 10 hit for the band. To date – according to Wikipedia, anyway – no Tenth Avenue North single has ever missed the Top 10. That’s a pretty awesome record.
Meanwhile, Matt Redman’s 10000 Reasons has finally left the Top 10 after like, a bazillion weeks. Seriously, 58 weeks overall, I think. Thanks, Matt. God has changed lives forever through 10000 Reasons.
Contemporary Christian singer and praise and worship leader Kari Jobe has released Find You On My Knees to Christian Soft AC/Inspo. This song is one of the standouts on Jobe’s sophomore release, Where I Find You, and its chart performance on Inspo despite the song and album’s age bodes well for Jobe’s latest stab at Inspo stardom.
FIND YOU ON MY KNEES Lyrics
Kari Jobe
Troubles chasing me again,
Breaking down my best defence,
I’m looking, God, I’m looking for you
Weary just won’t let me rest and fear is filling up my head.
I’m longing, God I’m longing for you
But I will find you in the place I’m in, find you when I’m at my end,
Find you when there’s nothing left of me to offer you except for brokenness.
You lift me up, you’ll never leave me thirsty,
When I am weak, when I am lost and searching
I’ll find you on my knees.
So what if sorrow shakes my faith,
What if heartache still remains,
I’ll trust you, my god I’ll trust you.
‘Cause You are faithful and
I will find you in the place I’m in, find you when I’m at my end,
Find you when there’s nothing left of me to offer you except for brokenness.
You lift me up, you’ll never leave me thirsty,
When I am weak, when I am lost and searching
I’ll find you on my knees, my knees.
When my hope is gone, when the fear is strong
When the pain is real, when it’s hard to heal
When my faith is shaken and my heart is broken and my joy is stolen, God I know that
You lift me up, you’ll never leave me searching,
Find you in the place I’m in, find you when I’m at my end,
Find you when there’s nothing left of me to offer you except for brokenness.
You lift me up, you’ll never leave me thirsty,
When I am weak, when I am lost and searching
I’ll find you on my knees.
Nichole Nordeman’s Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus (Look Up) is now going for adds at Christian Soft AC/Inspo. After the phenomenal success of Beautiful For Me, it makes sense that Nichole would release another ballad to Inspo, and this track from Jesus Firm Foundation fits the bill nicely. A combination of original track and classic hymn, Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus (Look Up) is the follow-up to the title track from Jesus Firm Foundation, which peaked at number three on Soft AC/Inspo. Methinks it may perform just as well.
TURN YOUR EYES UPON JESUS (LOOK UP) Lyrics
Nichole Nordeman
Oh weary mind, oh troubled soul
All the broken pieces that You hold
Turn them over, give them up
And then watch what Jesus does
Oh heavy heart, oh heavy load
Lay it down and let it go
Leave your broken yesterdays
In the open arms of grace
Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in his wonderful face
And watch the world grow dim
Standing next to Him
In the light of His glory and grace
Oh frozen hope, oh broken dreams
Just like a boat tossed on the raging seas
You will walk on waves again
When you have set your gaze on Him
So look up, look up
This is a song about the morning
After a long night
So look up, look up
This is a song about believing
It’s gonna be alright, when you
Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in his wonderful face
I want to grow dim
Standing next to Him
In the light of His glory and grace
Contemporary Christian singer/songwriter Aaron Shust has released God of Brilliant Lights, the carrier single off Morning Rises, Shust’s second release for Centricity Music, out July 16th on digital and CD formats. Ed Cash, best known for his work with Chris Tomlin, produced God of Brilliant Lights, which tells us three things: singable melodies, clearly Biblical yet accessible lyrics, and heartfelt delivery. Check on all three items. I’m pretty confident that God of Brilliant Lights will be Shust’s latest Top 10 hit. Terrific work here, which is expected of Centricity and Shust.
Listen to Aaron Shust tell us the story behind God of Brilliant Lights.
Chris Tomlin’s Whom Shall I Fear (God of Angel Armies) earns a fourteenth week at number one, placing Tomlin into a four-way tie for seventh-longest reign atop the Billboard Christian Songs chart, alongside Voice of Truth by Casting Crowns, City on Our Knees by tobyMac, and The Motions by Matthew West. West and tobyMac, incidentally, are the two most likely to dethrone Tomlin from the top. West’s Hello My Name Is continues its swift rise to the top, skipping 4-2 this week, while Steal My Show by tobyMac reverses direction again and skyrockets 8-3. (My money’s on Matthew; the song has risen to number after just three weeks in the Top 10, which is lightning-fast for the Christian AC chart. Meanwhile, Steal My Show, while easily the best track off Eye On It, has had flashes of chart brilliance, but has been largely inconsistent.) Should Tomlin hold on for a 15th week, he will tie Jeremy Camp (Take You Back) and Building 429 (Where I Belong).
Contemporary Christian singer/songwriter/journeyman Bebo Norman has released Sing of Your Glory from his Lights of Distant Cities opus. Sing of Your Glory is a fitting end to Norman’s more than 20-year career, as he recently announced his retirement from music at the end of 2013.
Norman may not have received the commercial and critical accolades that he deserves, but his wide discography is testament to the quality of his work. An acoustic ballad that pretty much captures the essence of Norman’s career, Sing of Your Glory is moving and particularly poignant as Bebo’s swan song. With nine studio releases, four Top 10 hits, and countless lives changed by Jesus through his music, I would say, job well done.
Praise and worship legend Darlene Zschech’s new CD, Revealing Jesus, is now available in the Philippines via House of Praise. Victor’s Crown is going for adds at Christian Soft AC/Inspo, and with its impressive pedigree – the song is written by Zschech with fellow praise and worship luminaries Israel Houghton and Kari Jobe – it should do well. With its theme of Christ’s victory over death and sin, its poetic lyrics, and its beautiful melody, Victor’s Crown should be a staple at churches all over the world soon enough.
Chris Tomlin’s Whom Shall I Fear (God of Angel Armies) makes it 13 weeks atop Billboard’s Christian Songs chart. That moves Christ into a That’s twelve weeks, friends, and with no likely challengers in sight, Chris definitely has the monster hit on his hands that I was predicting when he first released the carrier single of Burning Lights. In terms of most weeks at number one on the Billboard Christian Songs chart, Whom Shall I Fear is tied for 10th-longest reign atop the Christian charts. Of all time. Good job, Chris.
Meanwhile, Matthew West’s Hello My Name Is establishes itself as the most likely contender for number one, rising up another three notches from 7-4 after rising up 11-7 the previous week. (I told you this song was great. It might do better than Forgiveness; I think it will.)
Contemporary Christian pop-rock band Sanctus Real has released Pray, a new single, in observation and support of the National Day of Prayer, an annual observance created in 1952 by a joint resolution of the United States Congress, and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman, held on the first Thursday of May, inviting people of all faiths to pray for the United States. Pray was written by Matt Hammitt, the band’s lead vocalist and primary songwriter, out of a concern for these troubled times, both nationally and personally, as a challenge to pray without ceasing, and to stand firm on truth, righteousness, salvation and the word of God. In this sense, Pray is a timely, moving, appropriate song that should move believers across the world to pray for their nations, and for the United States in particular.
Korean girl group SECRET has returned with “YooHoo,” a summery tune that is the K-Pop version of soda: delicious, full of empty calories, and ridiculously addictive. Hyosung, Jieun, Sunhwa and Hana – that’s right, Zinger dumped her old name and is now going by her real name, Jung Jana – return to their aegyo roots with a vengeance. Considering that their bestselling tracks were the Triple Crown-winning Shy Boy and the chart-topping Starlight Moonlight, it seems natural to release another cutesy anthem, and YooHoo! fits the bill perfectly.
SECRET’s YooHoo! MV is also, in itself, an aegyo showcase of unparalleled proportions. Unlike T-ARA N4′s Countryside Life, whose MV is an unusual Gangnam Style-styled display of bumpkin nonsense that doesn’t seem to fit with the song’s pointed response to the scandal-prone girl group’s detractors, YooHoo! is clearly designed to showcase the girls’ cute expressions in a picturesque setting that is quite literally paradise. (The MV was shot in Saipan.)
So how does YooHoo! fare? The song isn’t a tip of the hat to any previous musical genre, something on which Shy Boy and Starlight Moonlight clearly capitalized. In this sense, it’s probably the most original aegyo release we’ll hear from SECRET. The dance itself is also cute, with a lot of clear-cut moves that people will definitely be able to copy – there’s a Hawaiian-type hula during the chorus, another part where they flap their arms like wings, and another baby gorilla type movement at the bridge, that are the cutest moves of the set – and use to their advantage.
Will it be a hit? If I had my way, naturally, yes. SECRET is long overdue for a music show win, especially since promotions for the underrated Talk That, their best shot at a win in a long time, ended prematurely because of the girls’ traffic accident at the end of 2012. Their primary girl group competition consists of T-ARA N4 and 4minute, both of whom I think they could take on and win. However, they are also up against Psy, who released Gentleman, the follow-up to the massive Gangnam Style, and idol group 2PM, staging its first Korean release in two years. Also, G-DRAGON of Hallyu superstar group Big Bang, may promote Michigo. So I’m not too optimistic, but if any song – and MV – could help bring SECRET back to the top, YooHoo! has as good a chance as any.
