Concert Alert: Winter Wonder Slam 2010

Over the summer, I came across a video from Time’s website that states that although the economic downturn led to concert cancellations, Christian concerts have been doing relatively well. One example of this is the Awake Tonight Tour starring TobyMac and Skillet. According to Pollstar’s Concert Pulse, it was one of the 100 top-grossing North American tours of the year  so far.

            TobyMac, whose real name is Toby McKeehan, is one of the most successful Christian artists today. During the 90s, he was a member of the Grammy-winning group dcTalk, who mixed rock and hip-hop with spiritual messages. After the group disbanded in 2001, McKeehan began his solo career, which spans 4 albums, 2 remix albums, and one live album. As a solo artist, McKeehan has sold over 2 million albums and was nominated 6 times for a Grammy, winning in 2009 for best Rock or Rap Gospel Album.

            Skillet, a Christian metal rock band, is made up of John Cooper (lead vocals and bass), Korey Cooper (vocals, keys, guitar), Ben Kasica (guitar), and Jen Ledger (drums and vocals). Founded in 1996, the group was nominated twice for a Grammy (Best Rock Gospel Album in 2005 and Best Rock or Rap Gospel Album in 2007) and their 2009 album, “Awake,” was certified gold. According to the band’s website, they have toured with mainstream bands such as Breaking Benjamin and Three Days Grace, while their headlining tour was ranked as one of the Top 50 Tours of 2008 by Concert Pulse. The group has 7 albums and 2 live albums (one being a worship album).

            The idea of the tour came about after John Cooper collaborated with McKeehan on the title track of his album most recent album “Tonight.” According to an interview with Jesusfreakhideout.com, while McKeehan wrote the song, he “…heard his voice on it. I mean, I could have done it - I have a version without him - but he definitely made it better.” Later in the interview, McKeehan states that he wanted to tour with Skillet for a while, but it didn’t work out until now.

            According to McKeehan, the tour has been successful because of the combination of artists: “Completely different styles of music but at the same time, both energetic, intense, and [we] even definitely have songs about our faith and living it out in a hard world.”

The tour is set to continue as a part of TobyMac’s annual Winter Wonder Slam. This time around, they are joined by rapper/hype-man Shonlock, a member of McKeehan’s road band, the Diverse City Band. Now in its 6^th year, Winter Wonder Slam is not exactly a Christmas-themed tour, despite its timing, name (a play on the song “Winter Wonderland”) and the fact that donations for Toys for Tots are collected at each venue. While some Christmas songs will be performed, the focus will be on Jesus Christ and His message, generally.

So, if you go, expect an energetic show with an intense mix of hard rock, hip-hop, and encouragement, complete with a “dance floor,” the area right in front of the stage that is designed for fans who want to cut loose during the show.  

The 14-city tour begins on November 11 in Springfield, IL and ends on December 12 in Salem, VA. Check out the Winter Wonder Slam website for more information about the tour. 

Artist web pages:

www.tobymac.com

www.skillet.com

American (Christian) Idol

Have you heard the news?! Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez are (officially) the newest judges on American Idol! As a big fan of the show, I tuned in online to see the formal announcement live (unfortunately for me, I got most of the view, but not much of the sound). I was actually saving this post until right before season 10 starts, but since American Idol is at the forefront today, I might as well put it out there. You might not know this, but many past contenders (and a few winners) have been involved in Christian music (and been doing well). So, in honor of the new judges, I present 10 AI alumni in Christian music (in no particular order):

1. Mandisa
Season: 5th
Standing: 9th
Most known for: being a target of Simon Cowell's jokes about her weight
Contributions: 2 Gospel albums (Grammy-nominated True Beauty, Freedom), 3rd album to be released in 2011; featured speaker at the "Women of Faith" conferences in 2009; featured singer on TobyMac's "Lose My Soul"

2. George Huff
Season: 3rd
Standing: 5th
Most known for: being Simon Cowell's wildcard pick
Contributions: 2 Gospel albums (Miracles, George Huff); nominated for a 2006 Dove Award (Gospel Music Association's (GMA) answer to the Grammys)

3. Chris Sligh
Season: 6th
Standing: 10th
Most known for: embarrassing Simon Cowell about an album he was producing involving the Teletubbies (no joke!), co-writing "Here Comes Goodbye" by Rascal Flats
Contributions: 2 Christian albums (Running Back to You, The Anatomy of Broken); headlining the (now-defunct) band, Half Past Forever

4. Ruben Studdard
Season: 2nd
Standing: 1st
Most known for: winning Season 2 against Clay Aiken, representing his home state of Alabama
Contributions: His Gospel album, I Need an Angel, was the highest selling Gospel debut since Kirk Franklin's Nu Nation Project

5. Carrie Underwood
Season: 4th
Standing: 1st
Most known for: being the first country artist to win American Idol
Contribution: Her Gospel-inspired "Jesus Take the Wheel" won both the 2006 Grammy for Country Song of the Year (amongst other Grammy Awards) and the 2006 Dove Award for Country Song of the Year

6. Chris Daughtry
Season: 5th
Standing: 4th
Most known for: proving a rocker could make it far in American Idol
Contribution: Pre-Idol, Daughtry was a member of Christian rock band Absent Element; with his present band, Daughtry, the single "Home" reached #12 on Billboard's Hot Christian Songs; sang back-up on Third Day's "Slow Down"

7. Jordin Sparks
Season: 6th
Standing: 1st
Most known for: being the youngest American Idol winner (she was 17 at the time)
Contribution: Although she doesn't make Christian music, she has toured with Michael W. Smith and was Overall Spotlight Winner at the 2004 GMA Academy and took top prize in the Country/Southern Gospel category

8. Phil Stacey
Season: 6th
Standing: 5th/6th (I don't know...he was in a double elimination)
Most known for: missing his daughter's birth to audition
Contribution: He was already a music minister before auditioning for Idol and his second album Into the Light, returns to his Christian roots after releasing a country album in 2008.

9. Danny Gokey
Season: 8th
Standing: 3rd
Most known for: auditioning for American Idol despite losing his wife a few weeks earlier, who was a fan of the show
Contribution: Although he isn't a Christian artist, he was nominated for a Wisconsin Area Music Industry (WAMI) award in 2009 for Best Christian/Gospel Artist of the Year for his work as a worship director at his Milwaukee church. This year, he is nominated for 2 Inspirational Country Music Awards.

10. Melinda Dolittle
Season: 6th
Standing: 3rd
Most known for: being a front-runner throughout the season, despite having nerves in her audition
Contribution: Although not a Gospel singer herself, she has performed back-up for famous Gospel artists such as Kirk Franklin and BeBe & CeCe Winans. In fact, she performed with BeBe & CeCe during the season finale.

Update: I have YouTube links up to some of the songs I mentioned in the post. I might post a few more in the future.

Artist Spotlight: Francesca Battistelli

This is one of my new favorite artists at the moment. She her most recent album, My Paper Heart was released two years ago and the deluxe edition of the album (called the Dented Fender Sessions) was released earlier this month on iTunes. She was nominated for a Grammy last year for Best Gospel performance for her first single, "Free To Be Me"

Interesting facts:

• At age 15, she was a member of a pop group named Bella (Don't know them? Neither do I.)
• She wanted to be a performer ever since the age of 6 when she saw "The Secret Garden."
• After her tenure with Bella ended, she was inspired to become a Christian artist after doing youth ministry.
• Her first album, Just a Breath was released independently.
• Her single, "It's Your Life" was used on the series finale of "Jon & Kate Plus 8"
• Her inspiration includes jazz classics, John Mayer, Sarah Bareilles, and Nicole Nordeman.

My suggestion: Beautiful, Beautiful

Michael W. Smith - There She Stands (for 9/11)

An Introduction to "Joyfull Noise"

My name is Charnice Milton. I am a Magazine, Newspaper, and Online Journalism graduate student at Syracuse University. I am also a huge Christian music fan. Since I grew up in the Christian faith, I have been surrounded by this genre since childhood. As an adult, I continued listening because I was drawn to the positive messages while enjoying their beats and melodies.

Not many people know about Christian music, mostly because it isn't necessarily mainstream (although some Christian artists have crossed over at times). These days, it's not just choir music or "old time sprituals" some people think of. Christian music today spans many different genres from rock to r&b to pop.

"Joyful Noise" will be a source for some of the best/newest music and artists, as well as tour dates and other sources of Christian music. Also, "Joyful Noise" would also show how Christian music reaches its fans. Simply put, it will shine a light on a genre not too many people know about.

Hope you will enjoy this blog!