Chris Tomlin to Deliver a New Album
Top Worship Artist in Christian Music Set to Release Hello Love
Aug 7, 2008
Contemporary Worship music remains one of the most popular sub-genres within Christian music and, as an artist and a songwriter, Chris Tomlin, who started as a worship leader for college outreach organization Passion, is at its forefront. Lyrically speaking, Worship music is “vertical” in perspective, directly praising God while aiming to engage the listener to do the same. It is performed in various styles although the basis is usually simple, repetitive, Scripture-based Pop/Rock songs that soar at the chorus. Many churches utilize these Worship songs during Sunday services and more often than not Chris Tomlin is a particular song's writer and/or original performer.
Chris Tomlin - Acclaimed Songwriter for the Church
Christian Copyright Licensing International, more commonly known as CCLI, is a licensing organization that provides churches with access to over 200,000 Worship songs for congregational singing. It also ranks the top tunes being sung at participating churches and among its most recent Top 500 listing there are 28 entries from Chris Tomlin. Seven of those are in the Top 50 and his "How Great Is Our God" is #1 song. As Time magazine stated back in 2006, Chris Tomlin is probably the most sung artist anywhere.
Record sales and radio airplay indicate that Chris Tomlin songs are being sung outside of church quite a bit as well. Hello Love is his fifth studio release since 2001 and it follows the Platinum certified Arriving from 2004 and the Gold certified See The Morning from 2006, which notably debuted at #15 on the Billboard Top 200 album chart. At radio he has hit #1 more than once with, among others, "How Great Is Our God," “Indescribable,” and “Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone).”
Along the way Chris Tomlin has also earned critical support and industry recognition. He has so far won 14 Dove Awards from the Gospel Music Association including three for Male Vocalist of the Year, two for Artist of the Year and one for Song of the Year for “How Great Is Our God.” He has also received two Grammy Award nominations.
A New Set of Chris Tomlin Songs
Upon this backdrop Hello Love is a highly anticipated new set of songs for the church. And, Chris Tomlin sees it as more than just an album for the pipeline. He believes it to be a continued calling to create music that serves the church. “God’s given me a gift to connect people with God,” he says. “So I try to write songs with those people in mind. I try to open worship up to everything it can be, not just my personal preference, but what can it be for a person sitting in an office, or a mom driving her kids to school, or a teenager in high school? How can I bridge all those generations and try to grab something that can help them worship and communicate with God?”
Lofty goals that are once again successfully fulfilled by Chris Tomlin an unassuming manner on Hello Love. Many tracks on Hello Love are destined to populate CCLI lists and encourage listeners toward worship. His clean, lean Pop/Rock sound is again married to direct, humble lyrics of praise creating simple yet strikingly powerful anthems with engaging choruses. Along with first single “Sing, Sing, Sing,” “Praise The Father, Praise The Son,” “Jesus Messiah” and the title based track “Love,” are among the standout tracks on Hello Love.
