Christian Radio Network

sixstepsrecords and Passion worship leader/artist, Charlie Hall will release his fourth studio album, The Bright Sadness, on August 19th. The record conveys life amidst sorrow and brokenness, reminding listeners that the aching in this world is not detached from the bright, resurrecting hope in God.

The debut single from The Bright Sadness, “My Brightness,” will go for adds at all Christian radio formats on July 25, 2008. For more information on Charlie Hall, visit: www.charliehall.com or www.268generation.com.

Source: CMSpin.com

 Following the critical and commercial success of its 2007 debut, Even Heroes Need a Parachute, Ohio rock band This Beautiful Republic returns August 19 with Perceptions, a new ForeFront Records/EMI album that clearly showcases the act’s increasing creative and spiritual strengths.
 
Lead singer Ben Olin explains, “The title deals with the idea that there are at least two sides to every story. Things inevitably appear different to each individual based on their experiences, predispositions, prejudices, or vantage point. When we understand this—that what we see may not be the whole truth—we arrive where grace and love prevail.”

A sneak preview of Perceptions begins with the July 8 release “Learning to Fall,” a three-track digital-only single for just ninety-nine cents that also includes two previous live tracks.

Perceptions is an effort that decidedly goes to the extremes of modern rock and timeless worship. It was produced by Allen Salmon (Mute Math) and comes in the storied wake of This Beautiful Republic’s first two years of touring together as a major label act. The band shared stages with headliners Sanctus Real and Family Force 5 among others and traveled overseas for shows in the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, and Sweden.

“I think the overall toll that being in a band takes was underestimated by us. Until you’re doing it and seeing how it affects your friendships, relationships, your bank account, your physical health, and your mental health, you can’t really get a true grasp on it,” says Olin. “Yet at the same time, we never knew it would be so good. We’re so proud that we’re being allowed to do what we are doing right now. Perceptions is a huge step for us and a better representation of where we’re at as musicians.”

This Beautiful Republic first made headlines when pioneering EMI-owned Christian rock label ForeFront Records (dc Talk, tobyMac) chose the act as its first new signing in five years. The band’s debut album, Even Heroes Need a Parachute, charted the singles “Jesus to the World” and “Casting Off” and earned glowing reviews. MusicFaith.com called TBR “my vote for New Artist of 2007” while Christianity Today compared the band to Foo Fighters and estimated it was “capable of improving from good to great.”

Perceptions makes good on that prediction. Learn more at ThisBeautifulRepublic.com or www.myspace.com/thisbeautifulrepublic

About EMI CMG Label Group:
Brentwood, Tennessee-based EMI CMG Label Group is comprised of Sparrow Records, Forefront Records, and Credential Recordings, in addition to providing A&R and marketing support for sixstepsrecords via a joint venture and licensing partnership. Balancing freedom, discipline, creativity, profitability and ministry, EMI CMG Label Group strives for excellence in artist development. The Label Group is a division of EMI Christian Music Group. For further information, please visit www.emicmg.com

Source: CMSpin.com

Starting fresh with a new label behind him, singer/songwriter Bebo Norman is set to release his seventh project on September 16, 2008. Following the 2007 holiday Dove-nominated album, Christmas From The Realms of Glory, Bebo will release this self-titled, full-length project as a BEC Recordings artist. The forthcoming CD is co-produced by Norman, Jason Ingram and Rusty Varenkamp.

Bebo Norman is rooted in the tuneful sensibilities of comparable artists like James Taylor and John Mayer; all the while, he is confidently stretching the musical arrangements to his worshipful melodies.

“I ended up making a record that I’m really proud of because it is melodically simple in a refreshing way, with space, depth and pop-sensibility that makes it feel current and in line with what inspires me these days musically,” shares Bebo Norman of the upcoming album.  “I like that we took the core of where I come from as a writer and made it feel new again.”

Thematically the new project communicates fresh beginnings.  Each song is tied with the common thread of rebuilding from brokenness and realizing that faith is not about what is accumulated or accomplished spiritually, but rather a desperate clinging to Christ.  The debut radio singles for AC (“Britney”) and CHR (“Pull Me Out”) tell the tales of such rebuilding.

“‘Britney’ is a song about what our culture says and does to young women these days,” explains Norman of the August 1st AC single. “It’s about the lies we tell them about fame and money and what’s beautiful and what will give them life.  It’s an apology for those lies.  But more than that, it’s an invitation to the truth about a God who is bigger than the pain this world so often leaves them in.”

Radio stations are already being impacted by “Britney” weeks before the official add date. Bob Sloane of KVMV shared this after listening to the single, “I wasn’t sure what to expect, but by the end of the song, my wife and I were both moved to tears. (That happens to her all the time, but not me!) I told her that if that song wasn’t God inspired, nothing is and she agreed. “Britney” is exactly what Christian radio needs…songs that compassionately peer into our culture, address problems, and offer a Christ-centered solution. Definitely the most powerful and moving song of the year!”

Talking about the CHR single that was the most added song this week, “Pull Me Out,” Norman shares the background behind the lyrics, “I have silently walked the last four years or so with a building and recently diagnosed struggle with anxiety. The irony is that the struggle has been with the one thing I have always found comfort and consistency in – singing the songs that I so dearly love to sing. This song is about letting go of the earthly things that drag me down and holding tightly to the things of heaven that pull me out.”?

To support the new record, Bebo Norman will head out this fall as a special guest with MercyMe, in addition to various headline dates throughout the fall followed by a Christmas tour. 

About Bebo Norman:
The beginning of Bebo Norman kicked off when he took a year between college and medical school to try his hand as a performing artist and had soon enough sold fifty thousand self-made copies of The Fabric of Verse (1996) at coffeehouse shows, out of the trunk, and online. Norman’s 1999’s national debut, Ten Thousand Days, landed Norman on the cover of CCM–a rare honor for a new artist. The follow-up, Big Blue Sky, was voted No. 1 Christian album of 2001 by the editors at Amazon.com. Myself When I Am Real (2002) earned seven Dove Award nods and charted the defining hit, “Great Light of the World.” Recent projects Try (2004) and Between the Dreaming and the Coming True (2006) continued the steady climb, the latter gaining a near-perfect score at ChristianMusicToday.com, which called it “his best.” In 2007, Norman partnered with Seattle’s BEC Recordings to release his first Christmas project that garnered another Dove.  Norman resides in Tennessee with his wife and one-year-old son.
Source: CMSpin.com