New generation of Christian musicians finding commercial success
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A Mohawk-topped dancer gyrates across the stage as thousands of arms wave to the driving beat. It looks and sounds like any other concert — until the singer belts out the lyrics, “I believe in God! I believe in God!”
It certainly isn’t the Eminem show.
It’s ZOEgirl, the faith-based answer to Britney and Christina, on a recent Sunday night in Virginia. And it’s only a small piece of a growing segment of the entertainment industry: contemporary Christian music.
Christian artists are jumping into the world of modern music and landing in pop, rap, hip-hop, punk and rock. They are losing the traditional hymns and organs and finding success.
“We have discovered that our audience wants to hear music that isn’t trapped in the past,” said Chaplain (Capt.) Mark Johnston, host of American Forces Network’s contemporary Christian show, “Praise Patrol.” “There’s nothing wrong with the old hymns but our audience … is turned off by the organ music that traditionally defines chapel services and what music was in the past.”
And while most musical genres have suffered from the weak economy and Internet file-sharing, Christian artists have seen sales increase to the point where major labels and artists want a piece of the action.
“Christian music is becoming a more substantial part of the marketplace,” said Deborah Evans Price, who covers country and contemporary Christian music for Billboard magazine. It now accounts for twice as many unit sales as Latin music, which generally receives more attention from the media.
For more than a year, sales of Christian CDs have increased while sales of mainstream music have fallen. In the first six months of 2002, 23.4 million units were sold, up 18 percent from the same period last year, according to statistics from the Christian Music Trade Association. Overall, the music industry reported a 9 percent decline during the same period. Country music was the only other genre to experience growth, the association reported.
The top two Christian albums during that time were “O Brother Where Art Thou,” a movie soundtrack, and “Satellite,” by P.O.D., a band that tours with the heavy metal festival OzzFest.
Some have questioned whether the impressive sales statistics of “O Brother” should be included because the album actually represents several genres.
However, Frank Breeden, president of the Nashville-based Christian Music Trade Association, said that the genre’s sales increase reflects growth across the board. Breeden cited a 20 percent increase since Jan. 1 in sales at the big retailers Wal-Mart and Kmart, which don’t include “O Brother” or special Christmas albums. Such growth is “one of the acid tests of whether you are connecting with consumers,” he said.
Interest in the genre extends to the military community.
Gospel and contemporary Christian albums represent about 5 percent of CD sales for the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, spokeswoman Barbara Kirsch said. AAFES’ best-selling segment is rap and hip-hop, which constitutes about 40 percent of sales. Country music makes up about 9 percent, she said.
Gospel music accounts for about two-thirds of AAFES’ religious sales, Kirsch said. The service’s best-selling religious CD is “Rebirth of Kirk Franklin,” by Gospel singer Kirk Franklin, selling 18,000 copies from January through Sept. 7. P.O.D.’s “Satellite” sold 15,000. In comparison, AAFES sold 75,000 copies of rapper Eminem’s highly successful “The Eminem Show” during that same period.
Helping to feed the appetite for contemporary religious music is Johnston’s “Praise Patrol,” which he co-hosts with his wife, Julia, on AFN’s AM Power Network. The show airs 8 to 10 a.m. (CET) each Sunday.
“We have tremendous response from listeners,” said Johnston, citing the calls, e-mail and letters he receives.
And many listeners don’t fit into the Sunday-morning stereotype, either. Johnston receives a lot of response from men and women who “don’t have an identified faith but like the music.” A few weeks ago, a rabbi called. “We dedicated the Amy Grant song ‘El Shaddai’ to him,” Johnston said.
The chaplain plays a number of music styles because contemporary Christian music itself encompasses almost every kind of music imaginable. The duo Mary Mary has an urban/hip-hop sound, ZOEgirl does pop, Jaci Velasquez sings to a Latin beat, the OC Supertones belt out Ska and Audio Adrenaline rocks.
Most in the industry are seeing that variety has benefits.
“They are accepting it more,” said Tricia Brock, lead singer for the band Superchic[k]. “They are realizing that P.O.D.(and singer) Michael W. Smith are making a big impact,” Brock said. “You can have a love song on your album and it’s OK because God is love. So much more is accepted and that’s why it’s growing.”
Brock’s own band mixes so many styles — rock, pop, punk, R&B, hip-hop and others — that she says, “We just say we’re a garage band.” Of course it’s a garage band whose song “One Girl Revolution” appeared in the hit movie “Legally Blonde.”
Fans enjoy the variety, too.
“You can find every kind of music in Christian music that you can find in secular music. But the lyrics are a lot better. I don’t have to listen to all of the junk,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class John Glaser, 27, whose job is playing bass guitar for the CINCSouth’s contemporary band in Naples, Italy.
The “junk” includes the themes of drug use, violence and sex present in many mainstream songs, said Glaser, a fan of Third Day, whose music has a Southern rock flavor.
The content also draws Staff Sgt. John Brooker, a chaplain’s assistant at Heidelberg Military Hospital in Germany. He was introduced to the genre when a friend offered to replace his mainstream CDs with Christian discs.
“I listened to a lot of classic rock and I like upbeat music,” said Brooker, a fan of artists ranging from hard-edged DC Talk to the more-mellow Michael W. Smith. After the switch, “the message in the secular music was something that I didn’t want to listen to anymore.”
Chaplain Johnston believes that content is much of the reason for the sales boom.
“I really believe it’s because the message in the music is filled with hope. It’s filled with inspiration,” said Johnston, a big fan of the hard rock band 38th Parallel, among many others. “It’s not music that denigrates. You’re not going to find music that is depressing. A lot of the (mainstream) music we listen to is empty of hope.”
That message of hope is paramount for Bart Millard, lead singer for the rock/worship band MercyMe, whose song “I Can Only Imagine” won last year’s Gospel Music Association Dove Award for song of the year.
“One of the messages that we’ve been trying to get across is that we are hopeless without Christ,” he said. “… God is interested in changing your heart not your style … It’s about being who you are but still glorifying Christ.”
Millard says that he has done his job if lives are changed in any way.
MercyMe is benefiting from the rising popularity of its style of music. Crossover bands like P.O.D. and Lifehouse may draw a lot of attention but Evans Price said “the hottest genre right now is praise-and-worship music.” MercyMe began October with two CDs in the Christian top 10 — 2001’s “Almost There” and “Spoken For,” which debuted in the No. 1 spot.
While MercyMe performs worship music, others focus on earthy concerns.
“Something that I’ve really focused on there is self-image,” said Stacie Orrico, a 16-year-old singer who mixes pop with a bit of hip-hop. One of her hits, “Genuine,” advises a friend against changing herself just to fit in with the crowd.
Superchic[k] also focuses on facing life’s difficulties. The band’s new CD “Last One Picked” examines alienation, angst and broken relationships.
“We wrote about issues,” Brock said. “We wrote it from a Christian standpoint. Whether you’re a Christian or not, you can look at it and say, ‘Yeah, I have had one of those days.’ ”
And while many of the songs are aimed at teenagers, guitarist Matt Dally points out these are lifelong problems “because we hide it as we get older. The issues that we talk about are issues for everyone regardless of age.”
While religious music has always contained these themes, two trends have contributed to its recent success: increased spirituality among Americans and increased quality among the artists.
No other genre has been able to deliver the same doses of religious feeling.
“Especially lately, you see a lot of mainstream acts trying to make a spiritual connection, especially after September 11 … and they aren’t even close to the answer,” Millard said. “We strive to worship something.”
But Evans Price noted that “even before September 11, there was significant movement. People were looking for more positive entertainment. People were getting tired of the fluffy pop stuff and were looking for something with more substance. ... That has been magnified since September 11.”
This spirituality is at the very core of the contemporary Christian industry, Orrico said.
“Everyone’s mission statements and goals are based on the fact that God has called them,” the singer said. “… It changes the way everyone looks at everything.”
In addition, the music rings true because artists are writing from experience, Breeden said. “It’s gotta come from inside. Ninety-nine percent of the lyrics that are written are personal testimony.”
Many in the industry said sales also have been helped by a dramatic increase in quality. Many recall the “Jesus Movement” of the 1970s, when artistry took a back seat to religious zeal. However, Breeden said that today’s performers are good at the mechanics of putting music together.
Millard agrees: “I’ve seen more sincere musicians now than I have before. Christian music is better now than it ever has been.”
Glaser, the Navy bass-guitar player, believes that Christian music stacks up very well against secular music.
“Since I work with musicians, most of them are pretty impressed,” Glaser said. “I guess there’s a stereotype with Christian musicians that it’s all ‘Jesus Loves Me.’ … It shocks them that it would actually be from a Christian artist.”
One of the factors driving the increased quality is the acquisition of many Christian labels by huge music conglomerates over the last few years. When the big corporations saw money to be made in Christian music, they swept in, bringing along deep pockets, marketing savvy and experience in developing young artists.
“It’s been good for us,” Breeden said. “It hasn’t changed who we are and there was some concern about that on the front end.” Initially, some feared that big music would try to water down the religious message, he said.
Overall, the genre’s future looks bright to Chaplain Johnston.
“It will continue to grow because it speaks to people where they are, with a positive message of hope,” he said.
Breeden, too, expects interest and sales to keep increasing. He looks at the statistics that indicate that 80 million to 100 million Americans attend church each week and 90 percent of population believes in God.
“We known that we aren’t reaching all of them,” he said. “We’ve got some room to grow.”
Reviews of new and upcoming releases
By Brian Bowers, Stars and Stripes
Jeremy Camp
“Stay” (BEC Recordings)
Style: Rock and progressive pop
The disc: Camp’s throaty vocals and assertive style have been compared to Matchbox 20 and Creed. His lyrics are deep and reflective, something that comes from Camp’s experience. The 24-year-old was married to a courageously faithful woman who died of cancer. The song that is getting early exposure is “Understand,” but the slow and soulful “Right Here” and “I Still Believe” — written after his wife Melissa’s death — are far stronger.
Bottom line: Camp could find himself in contention for the title of Christian music’s best new rocker.
Charmaine
“All About Jesus” (Elevate Records/inpop)
Style: Pop/worship
The disc: Charmaine used to sing backup for Christian pop star Rebecca St. James, and her edgy influence is apparent on this debut disc. The 17-year-old mixes standard praise songs, such as a very standard “All in All,” with new work, such as the very pleasant “I Love You Lord.” Other tracks offer a pop/dance beat that is solid, but not adventuresome.
Bottom line: While there is some room for growth, Charmaine provides a very enjoyable, modern take on worship.
Sara Groves
“All Right Here” (INO)
Style: Folk/country
The disc: Emotion is the key to Groves’ music, and her lyrics about hope, struggle and love open doors into her life. In “Fly,” Groves sings of her love for her husband. “Less Like Scars” examines how difficulties have made her stronger. And one of the most interesting songs is the haunting “Maybe There’s a Loving God,” which is sung from the viewpoint of a despondent person searching for answers. While Groves leans toward a folksy style, she adds a bit of rock and country to effectively communicate a range of emotions and experiences.
Bottom line: This is a heartfelt self-portrait of a woman in love with her family and God.
MercyMe
“Spoken For” (INO)
Style: Rock/worship
The disc: Riding the coattails of last year’s “Almost There,” this CD debuted last month at No. 1 on the Christian charts. I suspect few fans were disappointed. The new disc is more squarely in the realm of rock, but still contains occasional grace notes from violins. And Bart Millard still provides soaring vocals. The highlight may be the title track, a slow and moving account of a man’s relationship with God. However, those looking for a faster tempo will be pleased with such songs as “The Change Inside of Me” and “Come One, Come All.”
Bottom line: MercyMe takes a step forward, while listeners still get what they liked on last year’s disc.
OC Supertones
“Hi-Fi Revival” (Tooth & Nail Records)
Style: Rock
The disc: The Supertones are the premiere Christian ska band. However, that brassy sound isn’t quite as popular as it once was, so Mojo and the guys have decided to de-emphasize blasting horns — a bit — and boost their guitar amps. The results are strong and energetic. The CD opens with the driving funk sound of “Superfly,” rolls through the melodic “Hold On To Jesus” and rocks to “Go Go Go.”
Bottom line: “We don’t want it soft. We don’t like it slow. So go go go.” Check it out.
ZOEgirl
“Mix of Life” (Sparrow Records)
Style: Pop
The disc: This three-woman answer to Britney Spears has joined the remix craze — with mixed results. ZOEgirl is known for lyrics that counter mainstream pop’s oversexed image. However, most of them are swallowed by the new effects. Despite this, the disc drew raves when tested by the target audience — a 12-year-old girl.
Bottom line: If you aren’t a preteen, pick up the originals on “ZOEgirl” and “Life.”
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