All posts by Jonathan Andre

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MOMENTOUS MONDAYS: INFLUENTIAL ARTISTS OF ALL TIME – WEEK 47: PENTATONIX

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I don’t know about you, but more often than not, I look at the sheer amount of musical genres out there, and realise that I’m not across a lot of them than the average joe on the street is probably…then again, I’m probably a case that is different from most. Since early childhood, I was a sheltered individual, due to my premature birth way back when I was born. Throughout primary (and high) school, I listened to a fair amount of CCM, and it was only during the later high school years and well into my university days, that I started to branch out into music that was different from what I was used to. I started to hear the veins and streams of pop, rock, more mainstream music, and the deep, dark crevices of the misunderstood country music as well. If I am to be completely and utterly honest, my blog post journey that I started to undertake last year was as unique and different and new to me as I’m sure it was to all of you. I opened up the can of worms which is mainstream music; and realised that it wasn’t as bad or as evil as what people may have said it was. I dived deep into the punk-pop of Avril Lavigne, while also taking a stab at looking at the underrated rock group Lifehouse, while I was stretched in the challenging genre of opera-pop through artist Josh Groban, while I took a trip through the ages and tried to have a handle on artists like Phil Collins and Bryan Adams. Irish group The Corrs was a curveball in the form of Irish music, in a good way, and who can’t say and smile that Michael Buble, though his albums are littered and full of covers, is as relevant now more than ever today, in this time where familiar songs from yesteryear will trump over anything that is new? As I’ve reflected upon what this year of exploring new musical genres and new artists that I haven’t listen to, well, ever; I’ve found one thing to be true, which is this: acapella music doesn’t get much credit as it should. And for me, I don’t think I’ve delved into that genre enough to say that I’m all across it as I know that I can be…until now that is. While I do acknowledge that acapella, if done right, is considered, alongside other uniquely difficult genres in opera and rap, to be one of the hardest genres of music known to man at the moment; acapella for me is all about the harmonies, and what I’ve heard over the years, from this and that, hadn’t impressed me- that was until I heard Penatonix a few years ago, with their renditions of Christmas classic (and some hymnals) songs. While I can still concede that acapella as a genre can still be hit-and-miss, this group of 5 (borne out of the third season of NBC’s The Sing Off- a singing competition purely around the form of acapella music) has completely blown everyone out of the water with stellar performances and great harmonies, as Pentatonix continues to reign supreme amongst artists and bands whose craft it is to create acapella music.

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MOMENTOUS MONDAYS: INFLUENTIAL ARTISTS OF ALL TIME – WEEK 46: HILLSONG WORSHIP, HILLSONG UNITED, HILLSONG YOUNG & FREE

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I don’t know what your stance is, on this conglomerate of a megachurch called Hillsong. Everyone would have their own opinion. Including me. People may feel like Hillsong have harmed the community and society in general more so than they have wanted, more so than the good that they profess they want to do, and so, Hillsong is a word that brings up a lot of guilt, shame, hurt, anger and disappointment in some people. Others may swear by it, declare that Hillsong in all its music and sermons, are the best they’ve heard and seen in years, and may only listen to Hillsong Music (Worship, UNITED and Y&F) and will only listen to Brian and Bobbie Houston preach, alongside their ministry team. Again others would also think of Hillsong as a decent worship band, but in the grand scheme of things, they may think of their sermons as being too structured and ‘religious’, too leaning on prosperity doctrine that they may still listen to music from Hillsong, but just listen to someone else for their sermon ‘fill’- besides there are many pastors and international speakers out there, from Louie Giglio, Andy Stanley, Francis Chan and Levi Lusko, to Ravi Zacharias, Brad Jones, Erwin McManus, Beth Moore, Christine Caine and Nick Vujicic, to name a few. And so herein, lies the point: that Hillsong in all its facets and nuances, in all its attempts to do right, and how at many times there’s been instances and occurrences where people may think they’re intentionally doing wrong; in all of that, Hillsong have continued to plough through, at least musically, to create a catalogue of musical albums across three different distinct outlets to create a worship ministry that has been delivering powerful songs and heartfelt melodies all the way from the start with songs like ‘Shout to the Lord’ and ‘The Power of Your Love’, to the most recent with ‘King of Kings’, ‘Good Grace’ and ‘Another in the Fire’. We may all have opinions as to their validity in society today, and whether they are truly as important, influential and impactful as what people also say as well. And regardless where we all stand on the ‘love for Hillsong’ spectrum, one thing cannot be denied- their songs nevertheless, have an emotion and heartfelt poignancy about them that, for me personally, rivals only that of Chris Tomlin and Casting Crowns, as they (Hillsong Worship, Hillsong UNITED and Hillsong Young & Free (Y&F)) give to us songs that can touch and move our spirits, especially in this time and place in the world today. Say all we want about Brian and his Hillsong ministry, but much of the discographies of these three incarnations of Hillsong, are touching people’s lives around the world. Just maybe, it’s only going to be a matter of time before the songs touch yours as well.

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BEST OF 2019- PART 11: TOP 50 ALBUMS OF 2019

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The time has come everyone. Even though we are more than 3 months late, I reckon Easter Sunday is the perfect time for us to reveal our 50 most inspiring albums of 2019- also especially since we all need our albums to help us get through this whole quarantine process. So… without further ado, here is our list of 50 albums which have inspired and encouraged us!

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MOMENTOUS MONDAYS: INFLUENTIAL ARTISTS OF ALL TIME – WEEK 45: CHRIS TOMLIN

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‘…the thing I’m most proud of is the songs that find their way in the church. I don’t know if any of them will last down the way, but what I do strive for is playing a song people can sing. I love that songs find their way on the radio, as well. I think it can be both. I was pushing for that years ago and I just kept being turned down when I’d sing songs to radio. They were like, “We don’t play worship songs.” I sent “Forever” and I sent “Enough,” and “Famous One,” and they just didn’t get any traction. There wasn’t this cohesion between what was happening in the church and what was happening on the radio. But now it’s completely shifted. So I’m not trying to write a pop song that lasts for three months. I really want to write things that find their way into church…’ I guess everyone has their role within the music industry- both mainstream and Christian alike. U2 have always been the go-to band to listen to if you want to hear something brutally honest, something blunt, or as a matter-of-fact. Switchfoot would be a band to check out if you love music that teeters on the edge of faith-based songs, and songs that challenge the status quo and aren’t afraid to speak about issues that may be a bit touchy in the society in which we live. Rascal Flatts and Lady Antebellum both bring that country-music flair and flavour to the table, while an artist like Skililet serves the cravings of hard rock by anyone who wants to hear songs that are just head-banging and rocking. Backstreet Boys and One Direction have this boy-band thing happening that has its appeal in the market they have inserted themselves into, while you can never forget an artist like Josh Groban, incorporating pop and opera into a fusion-of-genres, something that seems to a little bit underappreciated in a world where straight-up pop seems to be the way to go. Now here we are, in April 2020. Easter is approaching- the biggest day in the calendar for people who profess to be of the Christian faith (of which I am), and upon looking at my blog list, and glancing over the last 44 artists I have delved into thus far, one thing is common- I have yet to tackle an artist whose music is heavily focused upon the genre of music titled ‘worship music’- if ever worship is a genre to begin with.

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