52-405: " Heavenly Hosts " is a song performed by an Australian Christian pop duo For King & Country . The song impacted Christian radio in the United States on 3 November 2021, becoming the third single from A Drummer Boy Christmas (2020). The song was written by Benjamin Backus, Joel Smallbone , Luke Smallbone, Matt Hales , Tedd Tjornhom , and Tony Wood. "Heavenly Hosts" peaked at No. 16 on
104-473: A "Music" section of the then-called Android Market during a presentation. A music service was officially announced at the following year's I/O conference on May 10, 2011, under the name "Music Beta". Initially, it was only available by invitation to residents of the United States, and had limited functionality; the service featured a no-cost "music locker" for storage of up to 20,000 songs, but no music store
156-574: A dedicated Google Play Music section of the Google Play website. On smartphones and tablets, music could be listened to through the Google Play Music mobile app for the Android and iOS operating systems, while podcasts were only supported on Android. Up to five smartphones could be used to access the library in Google Play Music, and up to ten devices total. Listening was limited to one device at
208-566: A detailed shutdown timeline starting in late August and ending with complete data deletion in December. By late August the Music Manager no longer supported uploading or downloading music. By September, Google Play Music was no longer available in New Zealand and South Africa, and by October, music streaming started shutting down for some users internationally on the web and the app. The music store
260-416: A large influence on CCM. Charismatic churches have had a large influence on contemporary Christian music and are one of the largest producers of CCM. Contemporary Christian music has also expanded into many subgenres . Christian punk , Christian hardcore , Christian metal and Christian hip hop , although not normally considered CCM, can also come under the genre's umbrella. Contemporary worship music
312-446: A multimillion-dollar industry by the 1980s. Many CCM artists such as Benny Hester , Amy Grant , DC Talk , Michael W. Smith , Stryper , and Jars of Clay found crossover success with Top 40 mainstream radio play. The genre emerged and became prevalent in the 1970s and 1980s. Beginning in July 1978, CCM Magazine began covering "contemporary Christian music" artists and
364-572: A musical time signature of 4 . "Heavenly Hosts" debuted at number 48 on the US Hot Christian Songs dated 12 December 2020. The song peaked at number 16 spent a total of six non-consecutive weeks on the chart. The official lyric video of the song was released on 16 October 2020, also on For King & Country's YouTube channel. The music video of "Heavenly Hosts" was released by For King & Country via YouTube on 27 November 2020. On 17 December 2020, For King & Country released
416-695: A result, users subscribed to Google Play Music in the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Mexico are now given access to YouTube Premium—which includes YouTube Music Premium. Users outside of those four countries are still required to pay the regular YouTube Premium price to access Premium features, but are given free access to YouTube Music Premium. In June 2018, Google announced plans to shut down Play Music and offer subscribers to migrate to YouTube Music. Since May 2020, users are able to move their music collections, personal taste preferences and playlists to YouTube Music and their podcast history, subscriptions to Google Podcasts. In August 2020, Google announced
468-664: A time. In April 2017, reports surfaced that the default music player on the then-new Samsung Galaxy S8 would be Google Play Music, continuing a trend that started with the S7 in 2016. However, for the S8, Samsung partnered with Google to incorporate additional exclusive features into the app, including the ability to upload up to 100,000 tracks, an increase from the 50,000 tracks users are normally allowed to upload. Google also stated that it would develop other "special features in Google Play Music just for Samsung customers". In June, Google Play Music on
520-660: A two-download limit per track via the web, or unlimited downloads via the Music Manager app. According to a February 2012 report from CNET , Google executives were displeased with Google Music's adoption rate and revenues in its first three months. In March 2012, the company rebranded the Android Market and its digital content services as " Google Play "; the music service was renamed "Google Play Music". Google announced in October 2012 that they had signed deals with Warner Music Group that would bring "their full music catalog" to
572-482: A web-based desktop player and redesigned mobile app, more dynamic recommendations based on various factors, and use of Google artificial intelligence technology to search songs based on lyrics and descriptions. YouTube Music was provided to Google Play Music users as part of the YouTube Premium offering. In June 2018, Google announced that YouTube Red would be replaced by YouTube Premium along with YouTube Music. As
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#1732848152279624-545: A wide range of spiritual themes until it launched online publications in 2009. It has certain themes and messages behind the songs and their lyrics, including praise and worship, faith, encouragement, and prayer. These songs also focus on themes of devotion, inspiration, redemption, reconciliation, and renewal. Many people listen to contemporary Christian music for comfort through tough times. The lyrics and messages conveyed in CCM songs have had varied, positive Christian messages over
676-594: Is Sparrow Records founded in 1976 in the United States by Billy Ray Hearn, a Christian music graduate from the Baylor University . The songs of Hillsong Music , founded in 1991 by Hillsong Church , in Sydney , Australia , have been translated into various languages and have had an influence considerable in evangelical churches worldwide. In Christian hip-hop , TobyMac , Todd Collins, and Joey Elwood founded
728-587: Is also incorporated in modern CCM. Contemporary worship is both recorded and performed during church services . In the 2000s, contemporary worship music with a distinctly theological focus has emerged, primarily in the Baptist , Reformed and more traditional non-denominational branches of Protestant Christianity. Artists include well-known groups such as Shane & Shane and modern hymn-writers, Keith & Kristyn Getty as well as others like Sovereign Grace Music , Matt Boswell and Aaron Keyes . The format
780-625: Is currently only available in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In April 2016, Google announced that podcasts would be coming to Google Play Music. Its first original podcast series, "City Soundtracks",
832-507: Is gaining traction in many churches and other areas in culture as well as being heard in CCM collections & musical algorithms on several Internet streaming services. According to a 2023 study by Worship Leader Research, of the top 25 most popular song licenses used by churches between 2010 and 2020, nearly 100% came from 3 megachurch music groups; Hillsong Worship ( Hillsong Church ), Bethel Music ( Bethel Church ), and Elevation Worship ( Elevation Church ). Brian Schwertley of
884-568: Is often remembered as the "father of Christian rock", because of his early contributions (before the Jesus movement ) to the developing new genre that mixed rock rhythms with the Christian messages. Though his style was not initially well received by many in the Christian community of the time, he continued throughout his career to create controversial hard-rock songs such as "Why Should the Devil Have All
936-566: The Billboard 200 . In the iTunes Store , the genre is represented as part of the Christian and gospel genre while the Google Play Music system labels it as Christian/Gospel. The growing popularity of rock and roll music in the 1950s was initially dismissed by the church because it was believed to encourage sinfulness. Yet as evangelical churches adapted to appeal to more people, the musical styles used in worship changed as well by adopting
988-536: The Google+ social network, "Artist Hub" pages for musicians to self-publish music, and song purchasing reflected on T-Mobile phone bills. At launch, Google had partnerships with three major labels – Universal Music Group , EMI , and Sony Music Entertainment – along with other, smaller labels, although no agreement had been reached with Warner Music Group ; in total, 13 million tracks were covered by these deals, 8 million of which were available for purchase on
1040-465: The Reformed Presbyterian tradition wrote in 2001 that the inclusion of CCM in a worship service violates the second commandment and the regulative principle of worship because it adds man-made inventions, lyrics, and instrumental music to the biblically appointed way of worshipping God. "The responsibility of the church is not to provide escape from reality", according to Donald Ellsworth,
1092-532: The 1960s, developing various Christian music styles , from Christian rock to Christian hip-hop passing through the Christian punk or the Christian metal . Those involved were affected by the late 1960s to early 1970s Jesus movement , whose adherents colloquially called themselves the "Jesus Freaks", as an Evangelical Christian response to the counterculture movements such as hippies and flower children who were finding widespread traction. The Calvary Chapel
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#17328481522791144-461: The All Access catalog with their own library of songs. Google Play Music was one of the first four apps compatible with Google's Chromecast digital media player that launched in July 2013. In October 2014, a new "Listen Now" feature was introduced, providing contextual and curated recommendations and playlists. The feature was adapted from technology by Songza , which Google acquired earlier in
1196-614: The Good Music?". He is remembered as the artist "who first combined rock 'n' roll with Christian lyrics" in the Gospel Music Hall of Fame . Though there were Christian albums in the 1960s that contained contemporary-sounding songs, there were two albums recorded in 1969 that are considered to be the first complete albums of "Jesus rock": Upon This Rock (1969) by Larry Norman initially released on Capitol Records , and Mylon – We Believe by Mylon LeFevre , released by Cotillion, which
1248-549: The Google Play Music catalog and in YouTube Music Premium catalog and in several territories in YouTube Premium catalog. Also, users could purchase additional tracks from the music store section of Google Play. Google Play Music mobile apps also supported offline playback of tracks stored on the device. Google Play Music offered all users storage of up to 50,000 files for free. Users could listen to songs through
1300-727: The Jesus ' hippies ' became known as 'Jesus people'". It was during the 1970s Jesus movement that Christian music started to become an industry within itself. "Jesus music" started by playing instruments and singing songs about love and peace, which then translated into love of God. Paul Wohlegemuth, who wrote the book Rethinking Church Music , said "[the] 1970s will see a marked acceptance of rock-influenced music in all levels of church music. The rock style will become more familiar to all people, its rhythmic excesses will become refined, and its earlier secular associations will be less remembered." Evangelical artists made significant contributions to CCM in
1352-509: The S8 was updated to exclusively feature "New Release Radio", a daily, personalized playlist of new music releases. In July, the playlist was made available to all users, with Google noting in a press release that the exclusivity on Samsung devices was part of an "early access program" for testing and feedback purposes. Google first hinted at releasing a cloud media player during their 2010 Google I/O developer conference, when Google's then-Senior Vice President of Social Vic Gundotra showed
1404-415: The US Hot Christian Songs chart. On 16 October 2020, For King & Country released "Heavenly Hosts" as the second and final promotional single from A Drummer Boy Christmas (2020), accompanied with a lyric video. For King & Country shared the story behind the song, saying: Writing an original Christmas song is a bit of a daunting task, but we were always very intrigued by what it looked like when
1456-578: The US and Canada. With a paid subscription to Google Play Music, users received access to on-demand streaming of 40 million songs and offline music playback on the mobile apps, with no advertisements during listening and no limit on the number of track skips. A one-time 30-day free trial for a subscription to Google Play Music was offered for new users. Paid subscribers also received access to YouTube Premium (including YouTube Music) in eligible countries. On computers, music and podcasts could be listened to from
1508-458: The US, it has since become a globally recognized style of popular music. It has representation on several music charts, including Billboard ' s Christian Albums , Christian Songs , Hot Christian AC (Adult Contemporary), Christian CHR, Soft AC/Inspirational, and Christian Digital Songs as well as the UK's Official Christian & Gospel Albums Chart . Top-selling CCM artists will also appear on
1560-592: The United States, it was formed by those affected by the 1960s Jesus movement revival who began to express themselves in other styles of popular music, beyond the church music of hymns , gospel and Southern gospel music that was prevalent in the church at the time. Initially referred to as Jesus music , today, the term is typically used to refer to pop , but also includes rock , alternative rock , hip hop , metal , contemporary worship , punk , hardcore punk , Latin , electronic dance music , R&B-influenced gospel , and country styles. After originating in
1612-418: The acoustic performance video of the song through YouTube. Contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music ( CCM ), also known as Christian pop , and occasionally inspirational music , is a genre of modern popular music , and an aspect of Christian media , which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and stylistically rooted in Christian music . Originating in
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1664-401: The angels met the shepherds. What did it look like, and what was being said? One of the beautiful storylines of the song is that the simple shepherds were the first ones to see the beautiful spectacle in the sky, and we thought it would be an appropriate story to tell through song for A Drummer Boy Christmas . "Heavenly Hosts" composed in the key of A with a tempo of 109 beats per minute and
1716-543: The author of Christian Music in Contemporary Witness , "but to give answers to contemporary problems through legitimate, biblical means". According to Vice magazine, CCM "has often functioned as a propaganda wing of the Christian right ", presenting views on topics such as the war on drugs , Christian nationalism , mission trips , school prayer , and the LGBT community . Several high-profile bands have rejected
1768-401: The decades. For instance, some of the songs have been aimed to evangelize and some of the lyrics are meant to praise and worship Jesus. One of the earliest goals of CCM was to spread the news of Jesus to non-Christians. In addition, contemporary Christian music also strengthens the faith of Christians. Various evangelical record labels have supported the movement. In Christian rock , there
1820-413: The first specialized label Gotee Records in 1994. The founding of the label Reach Records in 2004 by Lecrae and Ben Washer also had a significant impact in the development of Christian hip-hop. Contemporary Christian musicians and listeners have sought to extend their music into settings where religious music traditionally might not be heard. For instance, MercyMe 's song " I Can Only Imagine "
1872-408: The label "Christian music", such as Needtobreathe and Mutemath , with the latter suing their record label over being marketed as such. Of the categorization, Needtobreathe said to Rolling Stone: "Any label is limiting. That one in particular is especially limiting. To me, I think people pass over the band all the time because they read that....I hate the idea that they somehow feel like I didn't make
1924-489: The launch date. To promote the launch, several artists released free songs and exclusive albums through the store; The Rolling Stones debuted the live recording Brussels Affair (Live 1973) , and Pearl Jam released a live concert recorded in Toronto as 9.11.2011 Toronto, Canada . In January 2012, a feature was added to Google Music that allows users to download 320 kbit/s MP3 copies of any file in their library, with
1976-477: The mobile apps for offline playback, and on computers through the Music Manager app. Standard users located in the United States, Canada, and India could also listen to curated radio stations, supported by video and banner advertisements . Stations were based on "an activity, your mood, or your favorite popular music". Up to six songs per hour could be skipped when listening to curated radio. Podcasts were also available for free to listen to for standard users in
2028-639: The music for them, that we didn't play music for everyone. Christian record deals came and we said no to all of them. Waited a couple years until the right record deal came, which was Atlantic, which we've been on ever since. But we just said to them in passing when we first started, we want the records to be available to everyone." Contemporary Christian album sales had increased from 31 million in 1996 to 44 million sales in 2000. Since EMI 's purchase of Sparrow Records in 1996, sales had increased 100 percent. Overall, CCM sales in 2014 had dropped to 17 million in sales. Google Play Music Google Play Music
2080-1150: The same countries as Standard accounts. Availability of music was introduced in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain in October 2012, Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Liechtenstein, Netherlands, Russia, and Switzerland in September 2013, Mexico in October 2013, Germany in December 2013, Greece, Norway, Sweden, and Slovakia in March 2014, Canada, Poland and Denmark in May 2014, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru, and Ukraine in July 2014, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, El Salvador, and Venezuela in August 2014, Brazil and Uruguay in September 2014, 13 new countries in November 2014, Brazil in November 2014, Argentina in June 2015, Japan in September 2015, South Africa and Serbia in December 2015, and India in September 2016, where only purchasing of music
2132-747: The service's web player and mobile apps . The service scanned the user's collection and matched the files to tracks in Google's catalog, which could then be streamed or downloaded in up to 320 kbit/s quality. Any files that were not matched were uploaded to Google's servers for streaming or re-download. Songs purchased through the Google Play Store did not count against the 50,000-song upload limit. Supported file formats for upload included: MP3 , AAC , WMA , FLAC , Ogg , or ALAC . Non-MP3 uploads would be converted to MP3. Files could be up to 300 MB after conversion. Songs could be downloaded on
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2184-524: The service. At the Google I/O developer conference in May 2013, Google announced that Google Play Music would be expanded to include a paid on-demand music streaming service called "All Access", allowing users to stream any song in the Google Play catalog. It debuted immediately in the United States for $ 9.99 per month ($ 7.99 per month if the users signed up before June 30). The service allows users to combine
2236-416: The sounds of this popular style. The genre became known as contemporary Christian music as a result of the Jesus movement revival in the latter 1960s and early 1970s, and was originally called Jesus music . "About that time, many young people from the sixties' counterculture professed to believe in Jesus. Convinced of the "bareness" of a lifestyle based on drugs, free sex and "radical politics", some of
2288-428: The year. On November 12, 2014, Google subsidiary YouTube announced "Music Key", a new premium service succeeding All Access that included the Google Play Music streaming service, along with advertising-free access to streaming music videos on YouTube. Additionally, aspects of the two platforms were integrated; Google Play Music recommendations and YouTube music videos are available across both services. The service
2340-607: Was LeFevre's attempt at blending gospel music with southern rock . Unlike traditional or southern gospel music, this new Jesus music was birthed out of rock and folk music . Pioneers of this movement also included Andraé Crouch and the Disciples , the Imperials , Michael Omartian , 2nd Chapter of Acts , Phil Keaggy , Love Song , Barry McGuire , Evie , Paul Clark , Randy Matthews , Randy Stonehill and Keith Green among others. The small Jesus music culture had expanded into
2392-504: Was a music and podcast streaming service and an online music locker operated by Google as part of its Google Play line of services. The service was announced on May 10, 2011; after a six-month, invitation-only beta period, it was publicly launched on November 16, 2011, and shut down in December 2020. Users with standard accounts could store up to 50,000 songs from their personal libraries at no cost. A paid Google Play Music subscription allowed users to on-demand stream any song in
2444-505: Was a crossover success in 1999 despite having a clear Christian message. In 2018, Lauren Daigle 's ' You Say ' was a similar hit. According to a 2009 study published by Faith Communities Today, 64% of churches that adopted contemporary Christian music in the past five years saw an increase in service attendance of 2% or more. Contemporary Christian music has influences from folk, gospel, pop and rock music. Genres of music such as soft rock, folk rock, alternative, hip-hop, etc. have played
2496-512: Was announced in March 2017, and would "feature interviews with various musicians about how their hometowns influenced their work, including the people and the moments that had an impact". In November 2016, Google introduced the Google Home smart speaker system, with built-in support for Google Play Music. In May 2018, YouTube announced a new version of the YouTube Music service, including
2548-994: Was made unavailable in October 2020 and finally all usage of the service was discontinued in December 2020 and was replaced by YouTube Music and Google Podcasts. Standard accounts on Google Play Music was available in 63 countries before the discontinuation of the service. The full list included: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, North Macedonia, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Premium subscriptions are available in
2600-615: Was one such response, which launched Maranatha Music in 1971. They soon began to express themselves in alternative styles of popular music and worship music. The Dove Awards , an annual ceremony which rewards Christian music, was created in Memphis, Tennessee in October 1969 by the Gospel Music Association . There was some internal critique of CCM at its advent. The Christian college Bob Jones University discourages its dormitory students from listening to CCM. Larry Norman
2652-434: Was present during the beta period, as Google was not yet able to reach licensing deals with major record labels . After a six-month beta period, Google publicly launched the service in the US on November 16, 2011, as "Google Music" with its " These Go to Eleven " announcement event. The event introduced several features of the service, including a music store integrated into the then-named Android Market, music sharing via
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#17328481522792704-471: Was re-launched in a revised form as YouTube Red (now YouTube Premium ) on October 28, 2015, expanding its scope to offer ad-free access to all YouTube videos, as opposed to just music videos, as well as premium content produced in collaboration with notable YouTube producers and personalities. In December 2015, Google started offering a Google Play Music family plan, that allows unlimited access for up to six family members for US$ 14.99/month. The family plan
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