Mainstream Acts Head Upstream

By Andy Argyrakis, senior music editor, gmclife.com

The changing dichotomy of today’s music industry finds a number of spiritually minded artists resonating with a growing fan base. Now that we’re a decade or two removed from Amy Grant conquering the pop charts, P.O.D. ruling MTV’s “Total Request Live” or Sixpence None the Richer sharing their faith on the late night talk show circuit, today’s climate is also marked by Christian press embracing mainstream acts, as much as the other way around, creating a phenomenon we’ll call “reverse crossover.”

Enter Collin Raye, the country mega-star with an astounding 15 chart-topping tunes and 24 consecutive tracks to hit the top ten (a rarely rivaled status shared only with Alabama and George Strait). The longtime Sony artist has since signed with Time Life for his latest CD Never Going Back and continues dominating the mainstream side of the dial, with spiritual stations also taking notice now that the lifelong believer is “upping the uplifting ante.”

“I’d always wanted to have a full-on Christian album because that’s where my heart and musical soul has been for quite a few years now,” relates Raye of the natural transition. “For some reason, prior to this record, every time I would attempt to make a Christian album, the ‘powers that be’ would always pull me back to the genre where I’d had so much success before. This project with Time Life was perfect for me because they basically gave me the green light to make whatever kind of record I wanted.”

Though Raye keeps performing concerts on the country circuit and maintains strong musical ties to the style, his foray into Christian music was also met with some curious observations about both scenes.

“I don’t think I’m being naive when I say that from what I know of the Christian market, everyone from Christian radio to each listener chooses the songs they like based on how good it is and what the song actually says and how much the singer ‘speaks’ to them, so to speak,” continues Raye. “By contrast, the country music market, for quite a few years now, has been going through an identity crisis, and the market itself seems to be content in just forcing whatever the labels seem ‘sellable’ down the listener’s throat under the premise that if you play it often enough, someone’s bound to like it.”

Even with their differences, the multi-million selling hit-maker feels many fans have always listened to country and Christian music simultaneously. And if Raye has his way when it comes to the acceptance of Never Going Back, he’ll be able to hang onto his original audience, while welcoming new listeners.

“I believe that a lot of my audience has already been listening to Christian music,” he suggests. “I don’t feel that the music actually changed very much – only in the label that’s put on it. I’ve always felt that the majority of my audience are believers and would expect a record like this from me. Obviously by putting out a mainstream Christian album, the hope would be to attract new listeners from that format. It is my fondest hope that the Christian market in general has already or will embrace me as one of their own.”

Next: Understanding Owl City

Very few one-man bands ever make it out of the basement, but thanks to some heavy duty social networking (resulting in 16 million profile views and over 80 million plays), Owl City went from a homespun affair to an international phenomenon.

Singer/songwriter/keyboard player/programmer Adam Young was literally living at his parents’ house in Owatonna, Minnesota one night and on a tour bus the next, complete with a Universal Republic record deal and an impressive debut on the Billboard Top 200 for last year’s Ocean Eyes, thanks to the disc’s chart-topping single “Fireflies.” Even amidst all the accolades, the leader is fearless when it comes to talking about his faith whenever asked, though there’s also plenty of evidence in his songwriting.

“I recognize the value of faith and morality and I acknowledge the sovereignty of the Lord Jesus Christ over mankind, and thus, choose to follow Him wholeheartedly,” assures Young. “I fully believe that Christ is the way, the truth, and the life, and that no man goes unto the Father but by Him. I believe that Jesus Christ made the way to God for us by His death on the cross and that He purchased our salvation by the shedding of His blood and His death and resurrection made a new and everlasting covenant between God and humanity. I believe that the way to God is through personal faith in Jesus Christ. Intellectual acceptance of Christ is not enough. You must come to Him determined to turn from what displeases Him with a total trust in His saving power. That’s why I write music. That’s what Owl City is about.”

Blessid Union is back
To dedicated Blessid Union of Souls fans, the band’s spiritual allusions throughout its chart-topping days are no surprise. Hits like “I Believe,” “I Wanna Be There,” “Light In Your Eyes” and “Let Me Be the One” all incorporated subtle (and sometimes overt) inspirational references, even as the band became MTV staples for the monster hit “Hey Leonardo (She Likes Me for Me)” and toured alongside Bon Jovi, Goo Goo Dolls, Third Eye Blind, Sister Hazel and Vertical Horizon.

“To me personally, it’s not really a stretch in the sense of where I am personally with my faith and especially because the band is working on a Christian record as a whole right now,” ponders frontman Eliot Sloan of the group’s reverse crossover goals. “It’s exciting for us because it’s something that’s been in us as individuals and now as a group. I try not to over-think it and just put in it God’s hands. I think it’s dangerous to over-analyze, but I don’t worry about it because we’re doing what’s in our hearts, and wherever that takes us, that’s where we’re gonna go.”