MUSIC: Christian music expands reach with high ticket sales, top honors

BY NATALIE GILLESPIE

Christian music hit some significant milestones in 2012, from eye-popping concert ticket sales to top positions on mainstream music sales charts, prompting TIME magazine writer Tim Newcomb to declare in a Sept. 17 online article titled “Christian Music’s Moment: How TobyMac and Lecrae Conquered the Countdown” that Christian music is “no longer a style, but simply a lyrical perspective.”

Winter Jam, Casting Crowns and the Rock & Worship Roadshow landed in the top 100-grossing tours for the first half of the year, with more than $14 million in tickets sold. Ticket sales have become such a hot property that a Vancouver-based Christian music promoter, LMG Concerts, filed a lawsuit against Salem Communications, alleging that Salem is running a monopoly in the Christian radio market.

Chris Tomlin, Kirk Franklin, Laura Story and Le’Andria Johnson garnered GRAMMY awards in the Gospel and Contemporary Christian Music categories.

Jason Crabb took home top honors as Artist of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year at the 43rd annual Dove Awards, held for the second year in Atlanta and broadcast on the Gospel Music Channel. Natalie Grant took home her fifth Female Artist of the Year award. Needtobreathe received three Doves, including Group of the Year. Casting Crowns and Laura Story won the Billboard Music Awards in the Christian categories.

Casting Crowns learned that its self-titled debut album had gone double-Platinum, becoming one of only eight Christian music projects ever to receive that status.

TobyMac’s latest release, Eye On It, became the first Christian album to reach No. 1 on the Billboard’s Top 200 sales chart in 15 years and only the third Christian album ever to hit the top spot.

Christian rap artist Lecrae followed right behind TobyMac in September, hitting No. 1 on the iTunes chart and No. 3 on the Billboard chart with Gravity. Lecrae also concurrently placed in the first, second and seventh slots on iTunes’ hip-hop chart for the deluxe and regular versions of Gravity and his album Church Clothes.

Before going solo, TobyMac was part of the groundbreaking act dcTalk, and his bandmates have now become part of Christian music’s musical mash-ups. In August, Audio Adrenaline announced it was coming out of its five-year retirement and naming dcTalk’s Kevin Max as its new lead singer. Max joins longtime Audio A members Mark Stuart and Will McGinnis in the new lineup. Three years ago, Newsboys frontman of 20-plus years, Peter Furler, left that band and was replaced by former dcTalk member Michael Tait.

Christian artists scored some major media appearances this year, as Third Day celebrated the release of Miracle with an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Amy Grant sat down with Katie Couric, while Mandisa appeared on Good Morning America and talked about her 120-pound weight loss on The Doctors.

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