An extension of River Valley Worship, AGES is the sound of the young people of River Valley Church. AGES came to life in many separate hearts. You could sit down with any given member of the band to listen to their piece of the story, and you’ll see God’s hand in its making.
AGES is a band, but their dream is for it to be so much more than that. They believe that God is doing something special in the next generation and desire to be a part of it. The heart behind their music is to inspire and empower young people to create.
Mexican-American rapper, writer, and producer WHATUPRG amplifies his presence in the Latin music scene with “CIEN DOCENAS,” the second preview of his upcoming and eagerly anticipated album.
Following the success of his first single, “RIO,” featuring Nesk Only, “CIEN DOCENAS” dives deeper into his roots. This high-energy, modern record, sung in both English and Spanish, further cements him as a bridge between modern rap and Latin music in the faith-based space.
Everyone’s personal experiences shape their path and influence how they connect with the world. This is especially true for WHATUPRG, whose new song powerfully portrays resilience, capturing the journey from hardship to hope and trauma to healing with authentic lyrics about family, self-belief, and perseverance.
“As long as I can remember, my mom’s tamales have held us down. On any given day, I knew I could expect my dining room table to be turned into a workstation for her. As a kid, I thought she just loved to cook and serve those around her, but as I got older, I realized this was a means for her to provide when money was tight,” WHATUPRG reflects.
This story became a powerful source of inspiration for him, drawn from his mom’s unwavering drive to serve others with love and intention, all while determined to make things happen. Her resilience in the face of challenges instilled in him a similar determination. This year, the Reach Records artist aims to move forward with that same sense of purpose.
Blending hard-hitting 808-heavy beats with introspective verses, the fresh track motivates anyone fighting to overcome challenges and pursue their calling and dreams while guarding their heart and protecting their vision.
Curb Records band Sidewalk Prophets finds purpose in the pain on new song, “Father, Let It Be,” The anthemic original swells with the hope that suffering isn’t in vain and offers another glimpse into the award-winning group’s fifth studio album, Looking Up, set for release Feb. 14, 2025.
“The more I live, the more I realize that asking for help, relying on loved ones, surrendering my will to the God that made the stars, and yet, somehow knows my name — that’s true strength,” shares Sidewalk Prophets frontman Dave Frey of the message behind the track. “When we can’t understand the path we’re walking, when we want to hold on so tight it makes us feel comfortable, but only wastes us away; in those moments, we can declare, ‘Not my will, but Yours be done.’ Trusting God with everything is a place of surrender and sacrifice, but it’s the place I long to be.”
The outfit’s latest original offering comes on the heels of their annual “Great Big Family Christmas” tour, which saw the band bring their beloved holiday show to a dozen cities throughout December. The festive outing capped an exciting year for Sidewalk Prophets marked by numerous milestones, including their Grand Ole Opry debut, multiple RIAA certifications, countless miles logged on the road, fresh collaborations with Ben Fuller and Megan Danielle and plenty of new music.
With their next record dropping next month, on Valentine’s Day, 2025 is poised to be another landmark year for Sidewalk Prophets.
Bethel Music releases their brand-new album, “WE MUST RESPOND.” Available worldwide today, the album drops with its focus track, “The Church,” a powerful anthem celebrating the beauty and unity of the global body of believers. Along with the song, a live music video for “The Church” is also available today.
Recorded live at the Cascade Theatre in Redding, Calif., “WE MUST RESPOND” features 18 tracks led by the Bethel Music collective, with guest vocalists Brooke Ligertwood, Abbie Gamboa, and Aodhán King. The album is a call to action, inviting believers into a sacred space of worship and surrender. It captures the deep connection between God’s Spirit and the hearts of those who seek Him.
We Must Respond – Bethel Music
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More than an album title; “WE MUST RESPOND” is a declaration – the believer’s commitment to live active, surrendered lives that reflect the glory of God. This relationship of response is breathtakingly beautiful. We bring everything to the Lord—our joy and our pain, our victories and our struggles.
Ezra 3:11 reminds us of the sacred rhythm of response: “And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, ‘For He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever […].’” In moments of joy and triumph, our response is praise. But even in moments of brokenness, we are invited to draw near. This is who we are, and this is the privilege of responding.
“We must respond when we think about His presence, His goodness, love, mercy, salvation, and the simple fact that we’re breathing, our hearts are filled with gratitude,” says Bethel Music’s Jenn Johnson, “He is our everything, and we can’t help but respond to Him and give Him our worship.”
The album’s focus track, “The Church (Live),” led by Jenn Johnson, celebrates the beauty and power of the Church and calls for unity among believers. The song serves as a reminder of our identity as children of God, urging the body of Christ to set aside pride and work together for His glory.
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Adds Johnson, “This is one of those songs I feel like I was born to write. My heart has always been for the global Church. It was so special for me and our team to get to write this with dear friends from Passion City & Upper Room, who are such faithful leaders in their local churches. My prayer is that people would be reminded of the beauty and power that comes when we are unified together, Christ as the head, us as the body, all for the glory of His name.”
With a global reach that spans over 200 million listeners, thousands of churches using their music, and sold-out events like the Bethel Music Conference and Worship Nights, Bethel Music is one of the largest and most influential worship collectives in the world.
Since its inception in 2001 (co-founded by Brian and Jenn Johnson), the collective has released 18 albums, produced multiple Gold and Platinum-certified albums, and consistently reached the top of the Billboard Christian Music charts with powerful songs like“Reckless Love,” “It Is Well,” and “Goodness of God.”
Hitting a new stride over the last few years, the collective recently garnered a GRAMMY-nomination for “Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song” with “Holy Forever” feat. Bethel’s Jenn Johnson and gospel legend CeCe Winans. Bethel Music has continually ranked #6 in the top 10 radio market share and their impactful music continues to resonate across the globe.
Joel Vaughn releases his new radio single titled, “Need To Know” available everywhere music is digitally streamed and sold. The song was produced by Coby James with co-writing contributions from Joel Vaughn, Ross King and Coby James. The song was also recently sent to Christian radio and will be going for adds on January 31st.
Need To Know – Joel Vaughn
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“’Need To Know’ explores the delicate balance between faith, hope, doubt and uncertainty. I was going through a really difficult time when I wrote this song. I was questioning everything. I was trying to make the right choices but I felt lost and confused. I was yearning for a certain direction and a clear path to follow. The chorus is the heart of the song. It’s a plea for clarity.
The longing to know the future even if it’s just a glimpse. I wanted to convey the feeling of being a drift, but also the hope that comes from trusting in something greater than oneself. Trust in Jesus Christ. I hope this song resonates with anyone who has felt lost or uncertain. It’s a reminder that it’s okay to question, to doubt and to seek answers but ultimately it’s about trusting in something bigger than ourselves and finding piece in the unknown.” – Joel Vaughn
Gather Worship – a collective of artists spearheaded by executive producers Matt Redman and Jason Ingram – introduces their debut single, “Revival Generation.” The new song teases Gather Worship’s full album, “Hear The World That You So Love Sing Back To You,” releasing on February 21, 2025.
As the sonic expression of Gather25, Gather Worship seeks to represent God’s heart for the world through global worship, releasing this song in three different languages. “Revival Generation” is released in collaboration with Lindy Cofer and Josh Aaron (English version), Sandra Kouame and Jean Jean (French version – “Le Réveil Dans Cette Génération”), and Akshay Mathews and Prakruthi Angelina (Hindi version – “Bedaar Peedhi”). It also features choir vocals from Circuit Riders’ Black Voices Movement.
“It felt important that the first music release from Gather Worship reflected some of the ‘every tribe and tongue’ dynamic that we long for in worship,” said Matt Redman. “Music is such a great way of conveying the beauty, breadth, and depth of the global singing, worshipping Church.”
“Revival Generation” encapsulates the heart cry of Gather25, empowering people of all ages and from all around the world to share the hope of the Gospel. It revolves around the conviction that God will revive His Church, that the gospel will continue going forth, and that salvation will keep on following.
This is a song of zeal which puts Henry Blackaby’s definition of revival into an anthem for the Church to sing: “Revival is when God’s people return to God and God returns to them, and everyone sees the difference.” Gather Worship hopes that “Revival Generation” will be a helpful anthem of faith for the worldwide Church to sing.
Drew & Ellie Holcomb are counting down until the January 24th release of their new full-length studio album Memory Bank. Today (Jan 10), the duo performed the title track on The Kelly Clarkson Show.
The couple, who have pursued their separate and equally successful career paths over the last decade-plus, dedicated time to writing together last year when out on one of their annual You & Me tours. The result is an album that finds these creative partners sharing the spotlight equally.
In addition, Drew & Ellie are announcing their biggest US headline tour to date kicking off on February 5th at the Saenger Theatre in Mobile, AL, and culminating in Nashville, TN at the Ryman Auditoriumon May 3rd.
Tamela Mann and TillyMann Music received two nominations for the 56thNAACP Image Awards including Outstanding Gospel/Christian Album for her latest collection of songs Live Breathe Fight and Outstanding Gospel/Christian Song for her No. 1, multi-week, chart-topping hit “Working For Me.”
“It’s an honor to be nominated by the NAACP Image Awards,” said Tamela. “To bring recognition to the producers and songwriters on Live Breathe Fight is amazing. Thank you for sharing my music. My hope is that people will hear the songs and realize we have to do the will of Him who sent us, who made us, who created us.”
Produced by Tamela, David Mann, Phillip Bryant, and Jevon Hill, Live Breathe Fight is a collection of many of the most compelling and deeply vulnerable songs of her decorated career. Penned by Tamela, Bryant and Tameka Mintze aka “Tia Sharee,” the debut single “Working for Me” dominated gospel radio as her fastest climbing single to date and earned Tamela a place in Billboard history with her 11th No. 1 hit, more than any other gospel artist.
The winners of the 56th NAACP Image Awards will be announced on February 22 during the two-hour live broadcast from the Pasadena Civic Center, airing on BET and CBS.
This week the NAACP Image Awards announced Karen Clark Sheard’s Still Karen as a nominee for “Best Gospel Album” while her hit song ‘Send it Down’ has now maintained its #1 Billboard status for the second week in a row! This is Sheard’s first solo #1 song as a solo artist in the lead role and a further affirmation of her legacy in music history.
“Send it Down” is the first single from her latest body of work entitled, Still Karen, and was co-written by Kierra Sheard, Marc J., and J. Drew Sheard II, who also produced it. The full album, executive produced by Pharrell Williams and Sheard II is currently nominated for a Grammy in the “Best Gospel Album” category at the upcoming 67th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony.
When asked about this incredible victory, Clark Sheard says, “What what an honor this is to be receive so much love from the radio DJs and the fans that have supported this song. It was birthed during a Watch Night Service under the leadership of my husband, Bishop J. Drew Sheard.
Now to see how far it’s gone and hear how many lives it’s touch is nothing short of amazing.” She continues, “I would also like to send a special thank you to my Radio Promotions Director Tracey Artis with I Hear Music, who has worked especially hard to make this Billboard victory possible. Thank you Tracey!”
When asked about the single’s success, Karew Records CEO J. Drew Sheard II says, “I’m really proud to see how people have responded to this song. When we went into the studio I knew we wanted to give the fans a bit of the churchy sound that could only be delivered by the First Lady of The Church of God in Christ. We are ecstatic to see how well it’s done and can’t wait to show the world all of the other things we have in store!”
Renowned Nigerian gospel singer and pastor, Monique, has released a brand-new single, “Oluwashindara”, accompanied by a captivating live performance video.
Get ready to experience the uplifting spirit of Monique’s latest single, “Oluwashindara”. Taken from her critically acclaimed album “Arise”, this inspiring track is a testament to Monique’s gift for crafting songs that uplift and inspire.
Recorded live at the phenomenal “Monique Live in Concert”, “Oluwashindara” is a heartfelt song of faith and hope, celebrating God’s miraculous power and unwavering presence in our lives. This anthem is sure to boost your confidence in God’s goodness and restore your strength to wait on Him.
The audio was expertly mixed and mastered by Joshua David of Ideal Concept Media Ltd., while the video was directed by Natuke Tuoyo of ALL3 Media.
Monique’s “Oluwashindara” video is now available on YouTube and other major music streaming platforms.
