Category Archives: Articles

WOW HITS 2019: WHAT’S YOUR PREDICTION (PART 2)?

Like it or not, WOW Hits is pretty much the most talked about Christian album release each year. Every year around September/October, we see Capitol CMG, Word Label Group and Provident Label Group come together to release a compilation of that year’s most charted music. And thus we are into the year of 2018 (just in the first week of January) and what does this mean? That the date for WOW Hits 2019 is coming closer. And with new songs releasing as singles from artists both new and old coming out each week, we as a site thought it would be fitting to start off 2018 with a WOW Hits 2019 prediction (our first prediction of WOW Hits 2019, which we released at the end of October 2018, can be viewed here!). Below are 39 songs that are currently getting success (or some that I think could get success in the future) that I think are shoe-ins for WOW Hits 2019 if it was collated now. But who am I to think that this version is final? There’s another 6-7 months before the official list releases. And I’m sure by that time, artists like Chris Tomlin, Francesca Battistelli, for KING AND COUNTRY, Brandon Heath, Third Day, MercyMe, Matthew West and Newsboys (all of which are absent from this WOW Hits 2019 prediction) are sure to be included in the official WOW Hits 2019 track list…so I guess, this list that I’m about to unveil is far from perfect…but it’s very solid if the WOW compilation were to be made now. Thus, what I have said before still stands now- maybe not just one 2 disc compilation at the end of the year cataloging the year’s best in CCM? Maybe 2 volumes (each with 2 discs) per year? Without further ado, here below is 365 Days of Inspiring Media’s second track list prediction for WOW Hits 2019, slated to release sometime in September/October 2018!

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TOP 10 ___: 2017 Albums We Never Reviewed!

On our latest Top Tens post, we delved into 10 Christmas albums we never reviewed in 2017 (due to life setting in the way), including Christmas albums from Tenth Avenue North, Love & The Outcome and Meredith Andrews. This time, we will be listing 10 albums we didn’t review last year, which we really wanted to! A few albums may not make this list though, but that’s only because we intend to review them this upcoming January and February 2018. So…check out these 10 albums- which did you wish we reviewed?

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TOP 10 ___: (Christmas Albums We Haven’t Reviewed)

On every top 10 post we have released on 365 Days of Inspiring Media (since I can remember), we have presented to you all a collection of 10 items (be it songs, artists, albums, etc.) that are to be celebrated for that particular week in question. On this particular Top Ten’s post however, as 2018 officially begins, I will delve into 10 Christmas albums from 2017 that we never reviewed, yet really wanted to, but didn’t because of time and work constraints. While we reviewed Christmas albums/EPs from Marc Martel, Planetshakers, Mallary Hope, For King and Country, TobyMac, Hannah Kerr, Point of Grace and Casting Crowns, and compilation albums WOW Christmas 2017 and the soundtrack of The Star, not to mention singles from Lucy Hale and David Dunn; there were several other reviews of Christmas albums that never eventuated, due to simply because both Josh and I became busy with work. Which albums did we want to review, has we had ample time? Check out these 10 albums below (complete with a projected rating and our favourite song from the album/EP)! Which album were you sad that we didn’t review?

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BEST OF 2017- PART 11: TOP 20 MUSIC VIDEOS OF 2017 (JULY – DECEMBER)

It’s 2018! So happy new year everyone! I hope and pray that this upcoming year is your best yet, and that God draws each of you closer and closer to Himself. So I guess it’s that time of year when we finish off our best of lists for 2017. You can view all of them here, but the next one in the instalment is our favourite music videos from July til December 2017. While you can view our favourite music videos from the first half of the year, here are 20 music videos that have resonated with us from the back end of 2017.

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BEST OF 2017- PART 10: Top Ten Anticipated Albums/EP’s of 2018

Can you all believe it? It’s the 1st January 2018- well, it’s the 1st where I am in Australia, I’m sure other places around the world, it’s still the 31st December 2017. It’s been quite a while since we as a site have posted anything (not since mid December), but with busyness in work leading up to the Christmas season, we have since decided to take this time to rest a little. Now with this new post, I have looked forward to the year of 2018, and what it will bring. While 2017 had a lot of great albums released that we could celebrate, I have catalogued 10 album/EP releases that release between this year, that I have been excited about, and I’m sure you will be too. While this year has been quite possibly one of my favourite years when it comes to album releases, if these 10 album releases are as great as I reckon they could be, then next year will be one of the best years yet in Christian music!

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BEST OF 2017- PART 9: TOP 20 SONGS OF 2017 (OCTOBER – DECEMBER)

It’s that time of the year again. December time means that we’re due to post another best of 2017 list! Excited? This time, it’s time to reveal our favourite songs from October – December 2017. You can check out our previous ‘best of 2017 song lists’ here (Jan-March 2017), here (April-June 2017), and here (July-Sept 2017) and be sure to let us know your thoughts on your favourite songs!

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TOP 10 ___: (10 FAVOURITE TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS SONGS OF All TIME)

On our latest Top Tens post, our first Christmas themed blog post of the year, we listed our favourite 10 original Christmas songs from 2017. This time, we will be listing our all time favourite original carols, and the most impacting rendition also. Check out these 10 inspiring traditional holiday themed melodies- which is your favourite?

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TOP 10 ___: (10 ORIGINAL CHRISTMAS SONGS FROM 2017)

It’s been ages since we posted a new Top Tens post! I reckon the last one was about which 30 popular songs Cimorelli could/should cover. So here’s the next post- this time Christmas themed.

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BEST OF 2017- PART 8: TOP 15 EPs (July – December)

 So here we are, in December. You know what the time is now? Yes, seriously, another post about my favourite EPs that have been within the months of July – December 2017. I can remember back in July when I compiled my favourite EPs from January – June, and now, I have 15 more EPs that have spoken into my life since then. So, I guess when I look at the year as a whole, I can safely say that 2017 is the year of the EP. I’m sure if you take a look at my favourite 30 (15 for the first half and 15 for the latter half) EPs this year, I’m sure you can tend to agree. Anyway, enough preamble. Here’s my top 15 EPs of the last half of the year, that have made a great impact on myself both spiritually as well as enjoyableness.

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Message Mondays- Why Christian Music & Mainstream Music Do Not Have To Be At Odds, & how God can use Both to further His kingdom at the same time.

I reckon this year, the year of 2017, is the year where I have branched out the most in terms of listening to mainstream music. Just like how I think 10 years ago in 2007 was the year where I branched out in listening to Christian music (as prior to that I only listened to Carman and Delirious?…yep, call me old fashioned, or sheltered, or both!), this is the year where I have sat up, and taken notice of many of today’s current pop songs. Not that I wasn’t that much in the know before (I knew several mainstream artists, like One Republic, Katy Perry, Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift, One Direction, Justin Bieber, Adele, Kelly Clarkson, Justin Timberlake, and others, but I wasn’t following them religiously- I didn’t go out of my way to purchase an album of theirs!), but it was this year where my eyes and ears were opened to the realities of the type of music people listen to these days. Partly from exposure to Cimorelli’s covers (of which you can check out on iTunes here!)- and then  from there I wanted to see how the original sounded- and also partly because some of the neighbouring stores surrounding our café played pop music very loudly every single day; but whatever the case, I was exposed to more and more mainstream music each and every day this year, with some songs being inspiring, and others on the other end of the spectrum and quite disturbing.

Continue reading Message Mondays- Why Christian Music & Mainstream Music Do Not Have To Be At Odds, & how God can use Both to further His kingdom at the same time.