Give Yourself Away, the 16th recording from GRAMMY-nominated NewSong, signals a new era of music and ministry for the legendary group. After 28 years together, the November release is NewSong's debut on its new imprint, His Honor Music.

The project represents a series of firsts for the band, including an innovative marketing campaign.

"We've had fantastic label partners in the past, but this gives us even more flexibility to do things on occasion that are a little more radical," said NewSong founding member Eddie Carswell.

Testing that statement, every Give Yourself Away CD sold will contain an extra copy of the album intended for giveaway.

Give Yourself Away finds NewSong partnering for the first time with one of Christian music's most acclaimed producers, Charlie Peacock, for 10 tracks that showcase the band's modern pop sensibilities and tight harmonies. Longtime fans also will be pleased to hear the soulful lead vocals of Russ Lee in the mix again.

Carswell, Lee and Peacock are among the project's key songwriters, with such names as Matthew West and Sanctus Real's Matt Hammitt also contributing. The debut single, "That's What Mercy Is," was penned by Carswell and West.

NewSong's annual Winter Jam Tour Spectacular has become one of the largest tours in all of the music industry, and this year's tour saw more than 60,000 decisions for Christ. In 2010, the tour will kick off Jan. 8 and will hit more than 40 cities.

To order, call EMI CMG at 800-877-4443 or visit www.emicmgdistribution.com.

Living with a kingdom focus is the theme of Until The Whole World Hears (6-02341-01352-9, Beach Street Records/Reunion Records/Provident-Integrity Distribution), the latest studio album from GRAMMY Award-winning group Casting Crowns.

"Our main purpose, above all else, is to know Him more," said singer-songwriter Mark Hall.

The title track comes from an e-mail signature from Roger Glidewell, Hall's mentor in student ministry, who closed his messages with the phrase, "Until the whole world hears." Hall said, "Those simple words are a challenge to be intentional with the way we live our lives."

"To Know You" centers on the apostle Paul's struggles and fears, and brings them down to a personal level, while "Always Enough" was inspired by a fellow churchgoer's death while serving in Afghanistan. "When things that are constants in our lives are stripped away, that's when we have to know He's always enough," Hall said.

Until The Whole World Hears showcases the signature sound of Casting Crowns and its members: Mark Hall, Megan Garrett, Melodee DeVevo, Hector Cervantes, Chris Huffman, Juan DeVevo and new member Brian Scoggin, who replaced drummer Andy Williams. For the first time on a Crowns' album, Cervantes and Juan DeVevo add their vocals to Hall's on the worshipful "At Your Feet."

In an effort to connect others to the powerful theology of hymns, the album includes modern re-inventions of songs Hall grew up with, including "Glorious Day (Living He Loved Me)" (from the hymn "One Day"), "Joyful, Joyful" and "Blessed Redeemer," which features violinist Melodee DeVevo as lead vocalist and includes the group's home congregation from Eagle's Landing First Baptist Church in the Atlanta suburb of McDonough, Ga.

To order, call 800-333-9000, or visit www.provident-integrity.com.

Album marks singer's return since family's loss of daughter last year

Beauty Will Rise is a collection of 12 songs from Steven Curtis Chapman, created in the 18 months since the loss of his daughter Maria in a tragic auto accident. Part lament, part praise, part grief, part hope, part wrestling and part pondering, the tracks are "personal psalms," Chapman said.

Writers including Paul Baloche, Don Poythress, Jared Anderson, Tony Wood, Chris Eaton and Joel Augé deliver songs from shepherds, kings and angels to join the voices of Mary and Joseph as they celebrate the birth of the Savior.

The 11-track project begins with a special version of "Offering" penned by Baloche, a two-time Dove Award winner for Inspirational Song of the Year. "Offering" is performed by Baloche and fellow artists, including Lincoln Brewster and Kari Jobe.

From there, the album flows into "Adore Him," penned by Poythress and Wood and delivered by Jobe, the best-selling new artist in Christian music.

Other standouts include "Glory to God," another Poythress/Wood song Brewster delivers in rocking style, and "Messiah's Song," written and sung by Anderson.

Poythress, who is known for writing hits for country stars like Tim McGraw and Clint Black, performs "Joseph," a look at the Christmas story from an unsung hero.

A companion CD-ROM digital songbook, which releases simultaneously with the CD, is fully transposable and offers printable sheet music, chord charts and lyric text files.

To order the CD (0-00768-46852-4) and digital songbook (0-00768-46850-0), call 800-333-9000, or visit www.provident-integrity.com.

Shannon Walker is Integrity Music's media relations director.

The David Crowder Band unveils its latest project, Church Music, in hopes of prompting listeners to notice the changes in music within the church from ages past through today. The self-produced fifth studio album from the Dove Award-winning group of six will release Sept. 22 from sixstepsrecords and EMI CMG Distribution.

"I hope this album serves as a reminder of music within the church, of its richness and its broadness, and the tension that exists in using elements of cultural language to express our collective experience and also still remain a transformative presence that is set apart," said band frontman David Crowder.

To add to the project's uniqueness, its 17 songs play continuously with one song blending into the next.

First single "How He Loves" is "the pronouncement that church music helps us realign ourselves to some of the more beautiful things about our existence," Crowder said.

One of his favorites is "God Almighty, None Compares," because of its guitar harmony, and "Oh, Happiness" sounds like it "has a lot of sunshine in it," he said.

For the epic "Eastern Hymn," Crowder commissioned the translation of an ancient Chinese prayer book, portions of which appear in the chorus.

Church Music is the follow-up to David Crowder Band's 2007 release, Remedy. Along with the group's six GMA Dove Awards and 17 nominations, David Crowder Band was also the first Christian artist to be named MSN.com's Artist of the Year.

To order, call 800-877-4443, or go to www.emicmgdistribution.com.

Courtney Hyder is a publicist with The M Collective in Franklin, Tenn.

"(The CD is) about stepping out, being who God has called you to be and not being afraid," Nicole said. "I believe when we look different, when we carry something different, people are going to see that, and they are going to want it too."

Among the highlights of the album are the upbeat "How We Roll" and "Headphones," written to a young girl dealing with the pressures of fitting in. Nicole penned "Feel the Light" for a friend who had been molested by her father at 14, while "Have Your Way" was inspired by a family member going through difficult times.

The album's first single and title track has already claimed the No. 1 spot on the Radio & Records CHR chart, and the singer plans to share the message of The Lost Get Found with young girls attending The Revolve Tour this fall.

"My fans want a pop record," Nicole said. "When they come to my concerts, they want to have fun, and I love it. That's in my personality to have fun, but at the heart of who I am is worship, and I want to see people's lives changed. I want to reach those who are hurting. It's what I believe God wants me to do."

To order, call 800-877-4443, or visit www.emicmgdistribution.com.