GRAMMY- nominated, DOVE Award-winning, and platinum-selling group Newsboys is back with new music for the first time in over 2 years. As they ready for the October 1st release of STAND, the band took to social media this week to unveil the album’s tracklisting. You can learn more about the heart behind each song with a play-by-play from the band below. You can pre-order/pre-save STAND here.

Twenty-twenty left us with a choice. In the midst of safer-at-home orders, racial and political unrest, and a virus that wreaked havoc around the world, the question remained: Where do you stand? For Platinum group Newsboys, the answer was easy. Recognizing that their season of collaboration with former bandmates Peter Furler and Phil Joel for their nostalgic run as Newsboys UNITED was coming to a close, current band members Michael Tait, Duncan Phillips, Jeff Frankenstein and Jody Davis, began to assemble an album that gave no doubt as to who they are and what they believe. The result is STAND, one of the most thoughtfully-crafted releases of their career and a project that marks the band’s return to their original label home, Capitol CMG.

1. Magnetic
“Coming out of COVID, we wanted to lead with a happy, fun, summertime song. But it still has a message, which is important. We were sitting in the studio one day; and once you get together, you never know what’s going to come out. And we just started talking about Maroon 5 and how I love their grooves. When the chorus hit, we knew it was special. The song is about the relentless chase God has for His creation. He loves you so much that He lets you assert your free will. He puts it all out there
and says, ‘What are you going to choose?’ But at the same time, He will pull you back into Himself. You can’t escape at the end of the day.” —Michael Tait

2. Ain’t It Like Jesus
“I grew up on a lot of reggae music. I like reggae. And it’s not a reggae song, but it definitely has reggae influences. The concept of the song is that God will do the unexpected. It talks about our Dad, our Father in heaven, our Papa. He is the kind of God that will change water into wine. It’s like Him to shift the paradigm. Ain’t it like Him to do the unexpected? It’s like Him to take every situation that Satan meant for bad and flip it, and that’s the beauty of the God we serve.” —Michael Tait

3. I Still Believe You’re Good
“One of my faves. When we started writing this song, it became so clear that this is really the whole COVID-19 story wrapped up in melody. Is God not good because you got sick? Is God not good because your dad died? Is God not good because you’re having a bad day? I still believe He’s good. As Paul said, ‘I’ m still going to be content in every situation.’ It’s easier said than done. But at the end of the day, we asked ourselves, can we find the rainbow in the COVID cloud? And we did.” —Michael Tait

4. Stand
“We tried to write a song that speaks to the very purpose and mission of every human. We finished the song and were like ‘This feels like an album theme.’ And especially nowadays in the face of so much hate. I mean, lets face it, I’m a man of color, and people are trying to tell me black and white can’t get along; we don’t like each other. When people ask you, ‘Where do you stand? Tell me the hope that lies within you,’ believers in Christ should stand. The Bible says God would rather you be cold or hot, not lukewarm. You’re not standing if you’re standing in the middle. You have to choose a side. If you’re going to be a bad boy, be a bad boy. If you’re going to be a God follower, then be a Jesus freak, do it.” —Michael Tait

5. Clean
“This song is a real man’s struggle with the thought of how people perceive you—how they may pass judgment on you—and how you want to be perceived. The verses are pretty direct. I can’t be your god. I can’t be your savior. I’m commanded to love you, but I’m also fallible. I’m not clean. I’m unclean, at best. Even my best is still filthy rags. So it says, ‘Here’s what I’m not. Here’s what I want to be, and here’s what I’m striving to be.’” —Michael Tait

6. Won’t Be Afraid
“God tells us in the Word a million times, ‘Do not fear.’ Fear’s a weird thing because fear can paralyze you. Fear can rob you of years of peace and joy. Fear can keep you from living, truly living. So ‘Won’t Be Afraid’ is an anthem, I think; another song just to say, ‘Hey, you either believe this thing or you don’t.’ This God we serve is real. He’s the real deal. There’s nothing to fear but fear itself.” —Michael Tait
“God’s not the author of fear. The other guy is. So I think at the end of the day, a song like that says to me that if we ever experience fear, and we absolutely can, to know that that’s not coming from our Maker. It’s coming from somewhere else. That’s empowering because then you can turn around and start walking the other way.” —Duncan Phillips

7. Blessings On Blessings
“We’ve all got stuff we can whine about. Every one of us. It doesn’t matter how blessed we are, we’ve all got something we could complain about, especially after this past year. But I think we have to make that conscious decision. When we wake up, every day we have the opportunity to be grumpy or to be happy. And if you choose happiness and you choose light, that’s where that gratefulness, that thankfulness starts oozing up, and its like, Today’s a great day. It’s gonna be awesome!” —Duncan Phillips
“Count your blessings. The joy of the Lord is your strength. It’s a blessing to be alive and breathing. Find the little blessings in every little thing—a kid’s smile, a sunny day, whatever.” —Michael Tait

8. Come Through
“I kind of indulged a bit on the style, because I’m a big fan of Coldplay. I’m a big fan of English arena rock, if you will. This song is, lyrically, kind of like a cousin to ‘Ain’t It Like Jesus,’ because I’ve never seen God not come through in my life. I think about all the times I was in a pickle or something happened, and I go, You know what, God, You were there. Sometimes I was just too busy or too in my mode, in my zone, to even recognize the blessing that He had for me in that moment. I look back, and I’ve got to admit that God came through every single time.” —Michael Tait

9. No Doubt
“This is probably the best example of Newsboys’ quirky pop. Literally, the song talks about how Jesus is the only One. Why would I settle for counterfeit? A guy in a car pulls up to a light in a Chrysler 300. Everything’s going great until he sees a Bentley pull-up. It’s like, I have the best. There’s no doubt about it. God puts us in the Bentley of life, so to speak.” —Michael Tait

10. “Never Too Far Away
“That song was written about three years ago. The second verse is about my brother. He’s been in jail most of his life. The lyric goes, ‘It’s hard to believe you’re forgiven, free from mistakes that built the walls in your heart like a prison.’ For every believer, and even for non-believers, it’s hard to believe that we’ve been forgiven for that 80th time of sinning. It’s hard to believe that God’s going, ‘OK, this is a pattern. It’s gone on for years. When are you going to change? But yes, you’re forgiven.’ Paul killed Christians for a living. He could’ve been a part of ISIS. The guy was a murderer, but God changed him. That’s beauty about who our God is. It’s easy to forget what God has done and can do when you’re under pressure. Well, you know what, if you chill out and relax, that same God will get you out of that mess you got yourself into. You’re never too far away from the arms of God. You’re never too far to be rescued. Stop where you are, turn—God’sright there.” —Michael Tait
“I think the biggest lie that we believe is that we’re too far gone; there’s no way God could take us back, that we’re doomed. You hear people talk like that sometimes, like, ‘God, there’s no hope for me. I’ve done too many bad things.’ Have you murdered people recently? Have you done the worst of the worst things recently? You probably haven’t. So yes, there’s always hope for you. There’s always a chance for you. God is always looking for an opportunity to forgive you and wrap His arms around you.” —Duncan Phillips

On Saturday, September 4th Riley Clemmons will make her long awaited national television debut on Fox & Friends. The star on the rise has had an incredible few months and quickly became one of the hottest developing acts of the summer. She performed at the MusiCARES x Amy Winehouse Foundation “Back To Amy” benefit, was tapped as one of People Magazine’s “Artists to Watch,” and Rolling Stone singled out one of her songs as a pick of the week. She will be performing a very special stripped-down version of the title track from her new album, “Godsend.” This marks the first in-person performance for Fox & Friends since they returned to studio earlier this summer. Fox & Friends airs at 6:00 a.m. local time on FOX with Clemmons’ performance slated for 9:50 a.m.

This fall Riley will embark on a 23-date tour throughout the US with 8x GRAMMY Nominee Tauren Wells. The tour kicks off on October 21st in Grand Rapids and make stops in Charlotte, Orlando, Houston, Denver, and Sacramento among others before wrapping on November 21st in Redding, CA. Tickets are available now at www.rileyclemmons.com/tour.

Riley Clemmons is a 21-year-old artist from Nashville, TN who has accumulated nearly 250 million global streams and 50 million YouTube video views in her young career. After spending years honing her craft in writers’ rooms, Riley sky-rocketed onto the scene with her 2017 Capitol CMG debut single “Broken Prayers,” which has generated over 30 million global streams to date. Her 2018 self-titled album debut quickly entered the Billboard Heatseekers chart, entering at No. 13. Her latest album, Godsend, has received wide critical acclaim and has quickly established Riley as an artist to watch. The album’s single, “Keep On Hoping,” has become the fastest growing single of her young career, breaking Top 20 on Billboard and MediaBase Radio charts while garnering millions of streams worldwide. An accomplished composer, performer, producer, and recording artist, Riley draws inspiration from life experiences, blending musical influences ranging from pop to classic rock to create music that is as catchy as it is relatable.

It’s certainly an exciting time for GRAMMY Award-winning CCM artist Francesca Battistelli. This week, she took to social media to announce a new baby AND new music are on the way.

Francesca and husband Matthew Goodwin are expecting their sixth child, due in February 2022. “We are so honored and thrilled that God would bless us with another precious baby,” Battistelli posted. “Psalm 127:3 says children are blessing from the Lord, and we are incredibly thankful for this little baby!” The couple publicly shared the baby news on their 12 year wedding anniversary!

Fans can also expect a new single from the Grammy winner in less than two weeks. “God Is Good” will be available everywhere on September 10th. “I wrote this song several years ago for a friend who went through a devastating loss. It’s a song of hope,” Battistelli explained. “Through all the ups and downs of life, one thing remains constant…that our God is GOOD!”

“God Is Good” will be featured in her upcoming Pinnacle Peak Pictures feature film, God’s Not Dead: We the People, premiering in theaters nationwide in Fall 2021. God’s Not Dead: We the People is the next chapter in the popular franchise that started with God’s Not Dead in 2014. The inspirational drama centers around a riveting fight for freedom that starts in the heart of the country, and runs to the corridors of our nation’s Capital Washington, DC. It prompts audiences to ask the compelling question: if your individual liberties are threatened . What Would You Do? The plot parallels current news headlines regarding the challenge against the freedom of speech and religious liberties as the fundamental right to educate children.

Earlier this summer, the Care It Forward program by Cracker Barrel was launched to help amplify care and connection. As part of this initiative, Cracker Barrel also partnered with musical artists to help lead by example with small and large acts of care. We were able to talk with CeCe Winans, and her mentee, Tauren Wells, about their participation in the program.

Singer and Care It Forward partner Tauren Wells helped one special fan create the ultimate proposal moment. Josh Rivera and his girlfriend, Rebekah Facciuto, met at Cracker Barrel on Sept. 21, 2020, in a chance encounter. After meeting on the restaurant’s front porch, the pair decided to have lunch together and the rest, as they say, is history. The video of the proposal can be found HERE, on Josh’s Facebook page along with the cover photo of Tauren and the happy couple.

Since music is a major shared interest for the couple, Josh’s dream proposal was to have the couple’s favorite singer, Tauren Wells, perform their favorite song at Cracker Barrel where they met, and he reached out to the restaurant on a whim. Cracker Barrel jumped at the chance to care it forward and worked with Tauren to make this couple’s dream come true.

US Based Ghanaian Captivating Vocal Gospel Entrant Maureen Biniyam over the weekend was crowned US Based Discovery Of The Year at the just ended Ghana Music Awards USA.

Maureen Biniyam who’s known for her vocal dexterity and great song writing abilities added to her laurels a well deserved plaque of honor.

“Hello Friends,Family and Fans We Made It Together And I’m Here To Say Thank You Soo Much For Your Emerse support since inception of my ministry.” Maureen Said.

The Love Is Kind Crooner Found Herself in the same category with Sarah Sings ayeley jane dj wise und xray whitney dee jay U reyner kwame fredrickpicgh efua to which she emerged the winner.

Maureen who is blessed with the Gift of songwriting has lots of records to her credit.

Her recent single Your Name (Remix) is out and blessing lives.

Click Link Below to Be Blessed By Maureen’s Songs;

Apostle H. Daniel Wilson, Pastor of Valley Kingdom Ministries International (VKMI) in Chicago, and founder of the platinum-selling  group, Shekinah Glory Ministry, has launched a year-long transition that will welcome Ray Bady as the 5,000-member church’s new leader in 2022.  “I am not retiring,” says Apostle Wilson who has been the church’s pastor for 37 years. “So many only see two paths for pastors, either dying or retiring. Neither of these are on my radar just now. I will not take these gifts of God to the grave. This is not my end.  I’m just getting started.  Through Kingdom Entertainment Group, I’ll be creating film and  entertainment projects. There are more books to write,  more nations to minister in, and more revelations to release to the world.”

“Over the next year, I will talk, teach and impart everything that God has blessed me with over the  years,” Wilson says of  Pastor Bady, who began his career as a recording artist, and as a drummer for gospel stars such as Yolanda Adams and Marvin Sapp. “The first four months will be observational as Ray watches what we do,” Wilson says of what he calls #TheBluePrint which  can serve as a succession template for other ministries. “Then, the following four months will be participatory as he joins in, and the final months will be implementation as he takes the reins.” 

“Most of my life, I’ve been on assignment to help build the Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven,” says Bady, a Windy City native who’s currently a Youth Pastor at Windsor Village Church in Houston, Texas. ” I left Chicago, 16 years ago,” he recalls. “Apostle Wilson laid hands on me, to give me the apostolic go ahead to do the work I’ve been blessed to do for these past years in Texas. It is now time for my `next’ assignment, and that assignment is to come back to the city that raised me and live out what Jesus told Peter in the book of Luke, `Help strengthen my brothers.’” 

VKMI is known throughout Chicagoland not only for its teaching and music ministry, but also for its community work. Its Hattie B. Williams Food Pantry has served over a million people over the last three decades. The church also has programs that raise money for educational scholarships and to help ex-offenders reacclimate to life after incarceration. The Cook County Department of Public Health has been hosting vaccination drives at the church on the weekends. “At the beginning of this pandemic, our team bought 50,000 masks and gave them out at police stations, fire stations, hospitals, and nursing homes,” Apostle Wilson says. “We donated other essentials such as gloves, sanitizer, and food too, to help people get through this rough time.” 

VKMI is also known  throughout the world as the birthplace of the worship music ensemble, Shekinah Glory Ministry. For the last 20 years, they have been  hailed as pioneers of urban worship music with five R.I.A.A.  gold and platinum certifications for projects featuring signature songs such as “Praise is What I Do,” “Jesus,” and “Yes.

Gospel crooner, Jason Nelson‘s first album in three years, Close (Jaelyn Song Music /Tyscot / FairTrade), has debuted at No. 5 on the Music Connect Current Gospel Albums sales chart for the week ending August 20^th.  The twelve-track set features a mix of soulful, up-tempo tracks, as well as the solid worship ballads for which he’s known. The album’s first radio single, “Residue,” is currently No. 8 with a bullet on the Billboard Gospel Airplay chart. 

Close is Nelson’s most adventurous music collection yet. It boasts up-tempo R&B-styled tracks such as “Close” and “Show Me the Meaning.” Then, there are also poignant worship ballads like “Holy,” “What A Name,” and “Breathe.” Osby Berry, known for his collaborations with Cross Worship, shows up for the anthem-styled praise and worship track, “You Are.”

Grammy® winning R&B star, Chrisette Michelle’s velvet-like vocals blend seamlessly with Nelson’s golden tone on the wispy track, “Absent Minded.” It could easily fit into a playlist of R&B ballads such as “Best Part” by Daniel Caesar and H.E.R. or “Say So” by PJ Morton and Jojo. As a bonus, the album closes with a stripped-down acoustic rendition of the song.    

Another gem on the album is a cameo by one of Nelson’s musical heroes, Grammy® winning bassist , John Patitucci. He and Nelson trade bass notes on the ethereal, “Absent Minded Outro.”

Over the years, Nelson (who is the  pastor at  The Tab in Windsor Mills, MD) has enjoyed a string of gospel radio hits such as “Shifting the Atmosphere,” “Nothing Without You,” “I Am” and “Forever” that have earned him over 100 million digital streams.

Get the “Close” album here: https://smarturl.it/JNClose

Award-winning artist and songwriter Ryan Stevenson has announced a new fall tour. His ‘Weathering The Storm Tour’ will feature special guests Tasha Layton and RICHLIN. The tour is set to kick off on September 23rd in Ivanhoe, TX and run through October 30th with a stop in Hagerstown, MD. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit ryanstevensonmusic.com.

Last month, Stevenson released his new Weathering The Storm – The Music EP via Gotee Records. The six-song project is available now and includes new songs (“Mosaic,” “Take Me Back”), along with reimagined acoustic takes from a few of his well-known hits, such as “Eye of the Storm” and “When We Fall Apart,” which now features Vince Gill and Amy Grant.

Stevenson was inspired to release Weathering The Storm – The Music while on the road this past year with his “Home Concert Experience.” As a way to provide a unique concert experience during the many unknowns from the pandemic season, Stevenson ended up performing more than 75 concerts around the country, bringing an acoustic live show to fans’ living rooms or backyards. The “Home Concert Experience” allowed him to connect more personally with fans while also sharing moments from his recent book release, Eye of the Storm: Experiencing God When You Can’t See Him (Harvest House).

Singer-songwriter and author Ellie Holcomb announces the upcoming release of her first devotional book: Fighting Words – 100 Days of Speaking Truth into the Darkness (B&H Publishing), on October 15, 2021. Named after one of her hit songs, “Fighting Words,” Holcomb has penned a journaling devotional book filled with encouraging, honest reflections and questions to help you process scripture. Fighting Words is a place where you can wrestle, respond to, and take hold of precious truths in God’s Word to help you push back the lies that so often consume, distract, and destroy us.

“Fighting Words is more like an invitation than a book,” explains Ellie Holcomb. “It’s an invitation to come as you are and lie down in the green pastures of God’s Word. It’s an invitation to bury some treasure in your heart as we memorize God’s Word together, and my hope is that this book will feel like a companion who will meet you where you are, come alongside you, and help you know that you’re not alone. I think the main content of this book is God’s Word and your heart!”

Nearly a decade ago, Holcomb began memorizing Scripture with a friend of hers that was battling depression. They started committing God’s Word to memory and called these verses their “Fighting Words.” She has continued to do this with her music that is scripture-based and on her socials, she has shared regularly #FightingWords of encouragement for her community.

“As we memorized Scripture together, it started changing us,” Holcomb shares. “It didn’t change our circumstances, but it gave us some solid ground to stand on when the shame storms started rolling in, and it ultimately gave us a shelter and a hope that no matter what we were facing, we were never alone. It’s been one of the most transformative practices of my life, and it felt too powerful to not invite others to join me! I started sharing different scriptures that have grounded me and guided me and whispered hope in the darkest nights of my soul on Instagram over three years ago almost every Friday, and the comments and community that has gathered around the warmth and light of these promises from God’s Word has been so beautiful. This is what inspired this book!”

This devotional marks her first book for adults as she has previously released two best-selling children’s books through B&H Publishing Group (Don’t Forget to Remember, 2020 and Who Sang the First Song, 2018). With these books, she spent several months on the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) juvenile bestseller list and was a finalist for Christian Book of the Year in the children’s category (for Who Sang the First Song). She also released accompanying EPs with each picture book and was nominated for both for the GMA Dove Award for Children’s Project of the Year, which she won in 2020 for Sing: Remembering Songs.

Multi-award-winning artist and songwriter Zach Williams is getting into the holiday spirit this week, announcing his upcoming Christmas tour!

The ‘I Don’t Want Christmas To End’ tour will feature special guest Anne Wilson and speaker Blake Neesmith of Food for the Hungry. The tour is set to kick off on December 2nd in Troy, OH and run through December 18th with a stop in Springfield, MO.

Tickets go on sale Friday, August 20th. For more information, click here.