The Winter Jam Tour Spectacular—Christian music's biggest tour—has surpassed its own record to become the No. 1 tour in the world for the first quarter of the year. Playing to a total of nearly 535,000 people, the tour is celebrating this achievement for the second consecutive year.

Winter Jam outpaced attendance for all other tours, according to Pollstar’s 2012 Worldwide First Quarter Ticket Sales Charts—Top 100 Tours, bypassing such key tours as Cirque du Soleil; “Michael Jackson: The Immortal”; Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters; The Black Keys; Jason Aldean; and Brad Paisley.

Founded and hosted by GRAMMY-nominated NewSong and headlined by GRAMMY-nominated alternative rock band Skillet, the 47-city tour—which ended April 1 in Grand Rapids, Mich.—saw 32 sold-out concerts and passed last year’s record attendance by more than 10,000.

“Although we are overwhelmed by the attendance figures and sellouts, what means the most to us are the stories we heard every single night of how God moved in people’s hearts,” said Eddie Carswell, Winter Jam creator and founding member of NewSong.

“Providing a platform for the gospel message was why we began Winter Jam, and that mission remains true today.”

In addition to Skillet and NewSong, this year’s tour featured Sanctus Real, Peter Furler, Kari Jobe, Building 429, Group 1 Crew, illusionist Brock Gill and national speaker/PULSE Movement founder Nick Hall. In addition, the OneVerse Pre-Jam Party included performances from Dara Maclean, For King & Country and We As Human.

Following its Jan. 6 launch in Charleston, W. Va., the 2012 tour—promoted by Premier Productions and presented by Holt International—played to capacity audiences in top venues, including Atlanta’s Philips Arena; The Wolstein Center in Cleveland; and the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. Admission was $10 at the door, with no ticket required. 

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