GRAMMY-nominated worship leader Cody Carnes shares the official live video for “Good To Be Loved” featuring Natalie Grant. He released his first-ever live recorded album, God is Good!, last week (Sept 30).
The 12-track album was captured this summer during a special two-night worship event at Belonging Co. in Nashville.
“I am so excited to be releasing my first live album,” shares Cody Carnes. “This night ended up being one of the best nights of my life.. so many of my favorite people worshipping together in one room. These moments are full of the joy and hope of Jesus.. they are a celebration of the goodness of God. I’m praying you also experience that when you listen!”’
Good To Be Loved – Cody Carnes Feat. Natalie Grant
GRAMMY-nominated band MercyMe has announced that their 11th studio project, ALWAYS ONLY JESUS, will be available everywhere on October 21, 2022. The album can be pre-ordered here.
The 10-song collection is filled with the musically inventive, lyrically substantive songs that have always been the bedrock of MercyMe’s decades-long career. You can preview the upcoming collection with this new pre-release track “To Not Worship You.”
GRAMMY® Award-winning Gospel artist Tamela Mann releases the official music video for NAACP® Image Award-winning, Billboard No. 1 Gospel Charting single Help Me (Live)ft. Tim Rogers & The Fellas, from her acclaimed Overcomer: Deluxe Edition album.
The video for the energetic track will premiere today on YouTube at 4:00pm CT and will be available to view here.
“A lot of the songs, like this one, are about what I was dealing with in my personal life. I asked Tim and The Fellas to lend their vocals to the live version of the song. Because we were doing old school, I wanted the quartet sound. They are young, contemporary guys but still have an old school flair and new sound. I thought they would give the song the grit it needed,” said Tamela Mann.
Help Me (Live) – Tamela Mann Ft. Tim Rogers & The Fellas
Marking her sixth studio offering, Overcomer: Deluxe Edition is heralded as some of the superstar’s best work. Propelling upon the original version’s themes of resilience, strength, purpose and the beauty of faith, the deluxe edition features both reimagined renditions of fan favorites and all-new music, including single, “Superheroes Prayer” featuring Yolanda Adams and the new live version of “Finished,” which is currently climbing the Billboard Gospel radio chart. The album features additional special guests including industry heavy-hitters Wyclef Jean, Kirk Franklin, Tim Rogers & The Fellas, and Todd Dulaney. Overcomer: Deluxe Edition is distributed by The Orchard and is available to stream here. The album is also available as a physical CD wherever gospel music is sold.
Tamela was recently named both the Contemporary Female Artist of the Year and the Albertina Walker Female Artist of the Year at the 37th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards. Tamela was also presented with the Crown Jewel of Excellence at the world-renowned Black Music and Entertainment Walk of Fame (BMEWOF).
Tamela and her husband, NAACP Image® Award-Winning comedian David Mann, are currently on their “Overcomer Mann Family Tour,” which kicked off this Fall. Featuring David, Tamela, son David Mann Jr, daughters La’Tia Mann and Tiffany Mann, the evening includes music, comedy, and family entertainment. David brings a laugh yourself silly comedy set, and Tamela will be performing her biggest hits and new songs from Overcomer: Deluxe Edition. Tour information, tour dates, cities and tickets, available here.
Tamela and David On Tour 9/30 New Orleans, LA 10/1 Mobile, AL 10/2 Montgomery, AL 10/7 Memphis, TN 10/14 Charlotte, NC 10/15 Columbus, GA 10/16 Macon, GA 10/21 Baton Rouge, LA 10/22 Shreveport, LA 10/28 Nashville, TN 10/29 Atlanta, GA 10/30 Birmingham, AL 11/4 Austin, TX 11/11 San Antonio, TX
Raleigh, NC-based singer / songwriter and worship leader Justin Warren releases his Radiate Music debut single, “All Things Well,” today (Sept. 30) at all major digital and streaming outlets via https://ffm.to/jwatw. The single, which precedes an EP slated to release in early 2023, began with a lot of questions for God during a difficult season for the artist that transitioned into a hopeful declaration.
“I started writing ‘All Things Well’ when one of my best friends’ father was diagnosed with cancer,” shares Warren. “We prayed and prayed for healing, but ultimately the Lord’s plan was to take him to glory. We may not understand why certain things happen on this side of eternity, but one day our faith will be made sight, and we will be able to see in full that God does do all things well.”
Finishing the rough version of the song after being inspired by a sermon his father sent him that was based on Mark 7:37, Warren took “All Things Well” into a songwriting session with labelmate JJ Weeks and veteran songwriter, producer and Radiate Music founder Ian Eskelin.
“The three of us recrafted the song into something I am so excited to share with the world,” says Warren. “In good times and hard times we can praise Him, we can trust Him. He does all things well!”
Acclaimed singer/songwriter and best-selling author Ellie Holcomb will release her new Christmas EP, Sing: Christmas Songs,on November 1st to accompany her latest children’s book, Sounding Joy, which was released earlier this month. Celebrating the recent release of her holiday book and the forthcoming album, Holcomb debuted the original song “Sounding Joy” today. Watch the live acoustic performance.
“My book and album were inspired by the song ‘Joy to the World,’ and it’s an invitation to sing about the hope we have because God put skin on and moved into the neighborhood,” shares Ellie Holcomb. “I hope these songs will invoke dancing in the kitchen while you bake Christmas cookies and storytelling of the very best kind. I hope it will help kids ponder what joy sounds like and the reason we can have joy no matter what we’re facing.”
The Christmas book explores the question of what joy sounds like as the reader travels through beautiful Christmastime scenes in the board book, which is illustrated by Laura Ramos. Likewise Sing: Christmas Songs is an invitation to sing about the hope of the season and features classic and original Christmas songs. Holcomb’s sweet and lovely celebration of Christmas encourages each reader and listener, young and old, to lift up their voice and repeat the sounding joy!
Holcomb continues, “Joy sounds like the voices of my friends and family in my home while I’m preparing a meal. It sounds like my kids singing happily in their room together or like carols and bells and laughter and water running. It sounds like It’s A Wonderful Life playing in the background and Charlie Brown Christmas and Linus reading the most wonderful of stories that came true in real life… the magic of knowing we are never alone, and of hearing that message ring true over and over again in all the songs we sing at Christmas. We have a reason to sing, a reason to hope. Love gets the final word. Glad tidings of GREAT JOY!”
Click here to get the book and pre-order the upcoming Sing: Christmas Songs.
Christian rock mainstay Kutless has released a fiery statement of faith with their new single “Words of Fire,” available on all major streaming platforms as of September 30. You can find the song at https://kutless.ffm.to/fire.
“The song ‘Words of Fire’ was inspired by the story of the Two Witnesses in Revelation chapter 11,” guitarist James Mead shares. “Around the time I wrote this song, there just seemed to be so many things that were causing tension. In my home city of Portland Oregon, there was a series of riots that lasted for several months. Then the world shut down from a pandemic. We have mourned the losses of several more horrible mass shootings.”
The song was born from Mead’s convicted sense of urgency in how to respond to widespread unrest: “When I read the story of the Two Witnesses, I can just picture a world that wants to stop them from spreading the truth. It’s an anthem for those that will continue to rise up and be bold and share their faith. The dead come back to life.”
“But after the three and a half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them.” — Revelation 11:11 NIV
Sonically, “Words of Fire” blazes a path through the airwaves with an intensity that matches the message. A true return to form for a band that has always been based in rock and roll, the towering guitars and scorching melodies offer Kutless’s heaviest sound yet.
“We really took a hard look at what we wanted Kutless to look like moving forward,” lead singer Jon Micah Sumrall earnestly confesses. “We didn’t want to keep fighting the music industry ‘game.’ We just wanted to make music that we enjoyed. So we really got back to just making music, not worrying about radio or charts, and this brought us back to our rock roots.”
“Words of Fire” is the immediate follow-up to the retrospective EP Twenty, a collection of reimagined versions of three Kutless classics, released in honor of their debut album’s 20 year anniversary. That EP served to remind listeners of Kutless’s foundation, priming them for what’s to come with “Words of Fire” and the songs that will follow after.
“This first song is just a glimpse of what’s still to come,” Sumrall hints. “We are excited for this next chapter as we keep creating new music!”
The latest single from REVERE Brazil Unscripted, ‘Cantarei (Meu Salvador)/Risen Savior (Sing My Soul)’, testifies to the essence of the Christian life. Writers Dwan Hill, Ana Luiza Tristao, Lucy Grimble, and Julia Vitoria penned a song that points to God’s Holy and Righteous nature.
‘Cantarei (Meu Salvador)/Risen Savior (Sing My Soul)’ sings of God bearing our sin, taking our shame, and healing our wounds on a simple and compelling soundtrack.
With Julia’s powerful vocals, Lucy’s gentle and inviting worship leading, and Dwan’s anthemic piano playing, the sound that resonates in this recording is the worshipful unity from people of three different countries believing and proclaiming the greatness of God.
‘Therefore I Know’ is the highly anticipated new single from multi-award winning songwriters and worship leaders Luke Wareham, Sarah Téibo and Rachel Walker Mason and is available now on all digital music stores.
These three UK-based artists have come together to collaborate on writing and recording this song which seeks to remind us of the hope we have in Jesus and the freedom we find in Him. ‘Therefore I know’ which was produced by Tim and Jon Stephenson and mastered by Dan Stirling, is based on Romans 8:1 where the Apostle Paul tells us ‘Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus’.
Luke whose original idea it was to have this collaboration says, ‘it has been so great to write with Sarah and Rachel, they are both such great songwriters and encouragers and we cannot wait for everyone to hear the song. We hope that through this song people will grow closer to God and have confidence in their identity in Him’.
The song which is hoped to be a useful worship resource is available for download and streaming everywhere and can also be accessed on SongSelect CCLI and Loop Community for chords and tracks.
Celebrate Africa, an afro-dance music expression of home grown writers, composers and producers from Harare, Zimbabwe, has teamed up with Denga “Kingdmusic” Takalani, multi- award-winning artist, songwriter, worship leader and record producer, to release a new song to capture a new anthem of hope for this generation.
The song titled “Hallelujah”, is driven by a melodic fusion of Afro-beats and victorious dance music, written in two languages (Shona and English). In amongst all of the news and expressions of defeat and depression, this is a song of victory.
Tommy and Daniel Deuschle, who started the Celebrate Africa collective, say of the song: “We believe this is a call back to courage. A reminder to keep hope in their hearts and victory in their hand. We know the details of defeat and depression. This song focuses on the picture of victory that we all have. It’s closer than we think and sometimes we hear the sound of victory, before we see it.”
Denga Takalani adds: “This song is a declaration that we will not give up, no matter what the circumstances are. We will continue to praise God because He is good and His love endures forever.”
Celebrate Africa’s unique sound combines trans-african choirs, unforgettable melodies and hope-hitting beats. Drawing inspiration from the hustle, hardships and beauty of Africa, the writing and artistry carries the tension of both the “struggle” and “freedom” of life in Africa, and points to the One who gives true liberty.
“Hallelujah” is just one of the songs that Celebrate Africa has released as part of a collaborative EP project. Other popular songs include “Makanaka” and “Home”.
