Wait... shhh! Do you hear that? Yeah, that's the ticker, clicking you into the news from the Christian music and entertainment world from the past week.
That's a Wrap for WELOVE
In a special online-only Google Hangout, NewReleaseTuesday's own Kevin McNeese and Marcus Hathcock
announced the final three winners of the first-annual WE LOVE CHRISTIAN MUSIC AWARDS, which includes Group of the Year, which Tenth Avenue North won; Album of the Year, won by tobyMac's
Eye On It; and The 2012 Fan Impact Award--a completely fan-voted award (no nominees), also won by tobyMac. If you've missed any of the awards, or want a recap of all the winners, check out theweloveawards.com to find out who took home the teardrop trophy!
Shine Bright Baby Burglarized
The nice folks in up-and-coming BEC Recordings rock band Shine Bright Baby had a horrible surprise in San Diego on St. Patrick's Day. Their tour van was broken into and the band lost several laptops and electronic devices that were important both for the band and their personal lives. Lead singer Emily Irene appealed to the fans for prayer, and also asked people to prayerfully consider donating to the band to offset the cost of replacing these items by giving to shinebrightbaby@hotmail.com on PayPal.
PS22 Chorus Covers Hillsong UNITED
Just a week after releasing their latest album, Zion, the team from Hillsong UNITED was honored to hear that the world-famous Public School 22 Chorus from Staten Island, N.Y. chose to
cover the new single, "Oceans." The group of 60-70 fifth graders has a major following, and has covered bands such as Rihanna, Katy Perry, Gym Class Heroes, and Carrie Underwood, among many others. They also recently sang with Britt Nicole.
With more than 50 milllion views on their YouTube page, the PS22 Chorus has international acclaim. UNITED frontman Joel Houston was elated to hear of the cover treatment, saying, "This made [my] day... my favorite group in the world covering ‘Oceans (Where Feet May Fail).'"
Winter Jam Announces Banner Year
Concluding its record-breaking 18th year of 44 shows, the internationally top-ranked Winter Jam Tour Spectacular announced 32 sellouts to date. Winter Jam has been the No. 1 tour in the world (first quarter) for the last two consecutive years, based on attendance, according to Pollstar's 2012 Worldwide First Quarter Ticket Sales Charts.
Created by NewSong in 1995, the tour has consistently featured the genre's biggest names, introducing Christian music to new audiences across the country while providing a powerful platform for the Gospel message. To celebrate the banner year, Winter Jam is offering a "free pass" for online viewers to live-stream the tour's season finale at
www.stagehop.com.
Zondervan to Release Olympian Gabby Douglas' Book
U.S. gymnast and two-time Olympic gold medalist Gabrielle "Gabby" Douglas is gearing up for the April 30, 2013 release of her second book, Raising the Bar. The follow-up to her New York Times Bestseller memoir release, Grace, Gold & Glory: My Leap of Faith (published on Dec. 4, 2012 through Zondervan, a division of HarperCollins), Raising the Bar offers fans a behind-the-scenes, all-access insider look into Gabrielle's life, complete with full-color photos, personal stories, and information on what it's like to be Gabrielle today.
Raising the Bar explores what it's like to be an everyday teen with a not-so-everyday life. Her writing paired with candid photos and comments sprinkled throughout will give readers a personal glimpse at the Olympic champion and her fun personality, while also providing tips on how to keep strong under pressure and raise the bar to accomplish their own dreams. Learn more at
www.gabrielledouglas.com.
A ‘Sequel' to The Passion
The forces behind the forthcoming major motion picture The Resurrection of Jesus Christ aim to assemble the largest worldwide film-viewing audience in history. Celebrating the burial and resurrection of Jesus, and the following 40 days when Jesus walked the Earth, the Resurrection Project's producers are committed to uniting the global church, using modern technology to simultaneously release the film to all corners of the world in Easter 2015.
"The real power of Christianity is in the risen Jesus," explains Executive Producer David Wood. "Even though most people know that Christ went to the cross as a sacrifice for our sins, it's really the power in His resurrection that is the core of who we truly are as Christians. The filmmakers who made the Passion of the Christ did an excellent job telling about Jesus' death and sacrifice. Now, this second film completes the picture, the full story of faith, hope and love. This is the complete, positive story with eternal significance."
