Christian music's largest annual tour, the Winter Jam 2011 Tour Spectacular, was the No. 1 tour in the world this year so far, according to Pollstar. The multi-artist event outpaced attendance for all other tours during the first quarter—including Bon Jovi, U2, X Factor Live, Lady Gaga, Brad Paisley and Justin Bieber, according to Pollstar's 2011 Worldwide "Top 100 Tours" chart for January-March.

The 16th annual tour broke its attendance record for the fourth year in a row, despite the current economic climate and a policy of not selling advance tickets—guests are required to pay $10 at the door.

Produced by Premier Productions and presented by Holt International, the 46-city tour, which ran through April 3 ending in Peoria, Ill., drew 524,239 people, according to organizers. Hosted by NewSong, this year's tour featured Chris Sligh, Francesca Battistelli, KJ-52, Kutless, NewSong, Red, the David Crowder Band and Newsboys, plus speaker Tony Nolan. Sidewalk Prophets, Chris August, Chris Sligh and Jason Castro also performed on select Winter Jam dates.

The tour saw nearly 100,000 receive Christ since its January kickoff in Chattanooga, Tenn., organizers said. Additionally, it facilitated more than 13,000 sponsorship commitments to adoption and the child welfare organization Holt International.

"We are grateful and humbled by the response to this year's Winter Jam that only God Himself could have orchestrated," said NewSong's Eddie Carswell. "To truly impact lives is the reason that Winter Jam was created 16 years ago."

Click here for more information on the Winter Jam 2011 Tour Spectacular.

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