FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Multi-Platinum, GRAMMY® Nominees MercyMe Celebrate Today's Release of
Always Only Jesus,
5x RIAA Platinum Certification of
"I Can Only Imagine"
Band launches fall tour, plays to sold out crowd at Red Rocks, SIRIUSXM The Message gives fans first chance to hear full album
Nashville, Tenn. (October 21, 2022) — GRAMMY®-nominated band MercyMe has a lot to celebrate. Their 11th studio project, ALWAYS ONLY JESUS is available today, and their massive multi-format hit "I Can Only Imagine" has just received 5x RIAA Platinum Certification.
“It’s pretty crazy to be launching our tour this week, release our 11th studio album, and then find out about 'Imagine’s’ 5x platinum certification," said lead vocalist Bart Millard. "When it released over 20 years ago we never knew the impact it would have. We are just so grateful we have the opportunity to still make music that we hope will draw people ultimately closer to Jesus.“
It's been a busy week leading up to the release, kicking off with a sold out crowd at Red Rocks and then launching their fall tour last night in Sagninaw, MI, followed by Millard presenting at the GMA Dove Awards with friend and 2x Super Bowl Champion Ben Roethlisberger.
Additionally, MercyMe teamed up with SiriusXM The Message, Channel 63 to allow fans be the FIRST to hear the album in its entirety yesterday. The band spoke about the album and shared stories on every song and even play an acoustic version of “Then Christ Came” from their studio cabin where the album was made. SiriusXM subscribers can listen anytime https://siriusxm.us/MercyMeAlbum
& non subscribers can listen with a 3 month free trial siriusxm.com/mercymetrial
The 10-song collection on ALWAYS ONLY JESUS is filled with the musically inventive, lyrically substantive songs that have always been the bedrock of MercyMe’s decades long career, including the project's first single, “Then Christ Came," currently playing on close to 95 stations, rising to No.5 on Billboard's AC Indicator chart and No.10 on the Billboard AC Monitored chart this week. The song follows an impressive streak of 48 No. 1 radio singles that have not only fueled MercyMe’s 28-year career, but also helped define the landscape of contemporary Christian music.
On ALWAYS ONLY JESUS, the band has created a poignant album that is perfect for this time and for all time. “I feel like that’s what we need right now is an anthem that we can all agree on,” guitarist Mike Scheuchzer says. “We may not agree on anything else, but we all agree that it’s 'Always Only Jesus.' That’s why the album feels like anthem after anthem after anthem because they are all definitive statements about Jesus.”
As MercyMe wraps their fall tour dates, they'll join Chris Tomlin for the one-of-a-kind co-headline tour this December 1-13, “Chris Tomlin X MercyMe: A Winter Tour.” Tickets for the tour are on sale now at tomlinmercyme.com.
About MercyMe: It continues to be a landmark time for the multi-platinum selling, GRAMMY® nominated, multiple American Music Award, Billboard Music Award and Dove Award winners MercyMe. They were recently named Billboard’s Top Christian Artist of the 2010 decade, and in 2020 received their eighth American Music Award nomination. A major motion picture based on the life of frontman Bart Millard who wrote the mega-hit song “I Can Only Imagine” after the loss of his father, opened at a remarkable No. 3 at the box office on Mar. 16, 2018 (Lionsgate, Roadside Attractions). In conjunction with the movie release, Millard penned a memoir and the band released a collection of hits titled I Can Only Imagine – The Very Best Of MercyMe. In 2018 MercyMe was named Top Christian Artist at the Billboard Music Awards, was the top winner at the fan-fueled K-LOVE Fan Awards including a win for Artist of the Year, and was the GMA Dove Award Winner for Artist Of The Year. Since their debut in 2001, the band has sold more than 9 million units in CD, single and DVD sales, garnered more than 48 No. 1 multi-format radio singles, and had four consecutive mainstream radio hits. MercyMe made history in 2014 as “I Can Only Imagine” surpassed 2 million digital downloads, making it the first song in Christian music to go platinum and double-platinum in the digital domain. The song has now gone 5x platinum. In 2009, Billboard named MercyMe’s “Word Of God Speak” the No. 1 Song of The Decade and the group the No. 1 Artist of the Decade in both the Christian Songs and Christian AC Songs categories, recognizing them as one of the industry’s most notable talents. They have sold out venues throughout the US and Canada, including Radio City Music Hall, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, and have appeared on the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Good Morning America, GMA3, The Today Show, CBS This Morning, FOX New Channel’s FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC News and in the pages of Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, USA Today and more. Their eleventh album, ALWAYS ONLY JESUS, is available now.
Get Connected with MercyMe:
Website // www.mercyme.org
Twitter // www.twitter.com/mercyme
Instagram // www.instagram.com/themercyme
Facebook // www.facebook.com/mercyme
YouTube // www.youtube.com/user/mercymevideo
Media Collective Contact:
Velvet Kelm
the media collective
velvet@themcollective.com
(615) 591-7989
www.themcollective.com