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JFH Music Review




Bebo Norman
Big Blue Sky



Artist Info: Discography
Album length: 11 tracks: 46 minutes, 13 seconds
Street Date: May 15, 2001


This 27-year-old boy from Georgia released his successful national debut project Ten Thousand Days in 1999 on new label Watershed Records. The album did surprisingly well, debuting at number 3 on the Internet Sales Chart ahead of Backstreet Boys and Sarah MacLachlan. It sold more than 125,000 copies in the U.S. and became the top-selling new artist release in Europe for the year 2000. This May, Bebo Norman releases his sophomore national release which is bound to do just as well or better than its predecessor.

A little less folk and rootsy-oriented, Big Blue Sky, although still prominently just Bebo and his guitar (with some accompaniments), is more layered and more of a pop-oriented nature. It is evident that Bebo's lyrical and musical compositioning has changed. "The way I look at what a song should be has definitely changed," Bebo states in his official bio. "Even though I still enjoy a mysterious nature of very lyrical songs, I've begun to appreciate how profound a simple and repetitive pop song can be."

Big Blue Sky opens with the upbeat "I Am," which indeed is repetitive, but from the opening of the song, it's clear the album will be much easier listening. Songs like "Perhaps She'll Wait for Me" and "Where You Are" are more signature of Norman's earlier work. Primarily and often solely just himself and his guitar, these ballads are intimate and soothing. "Tip of My Heart" and "Underneath" are more up-beat acoustic pop tunes reminiscent of Steven Curtis Chapman's earlier work and Eli's current. However, one of the best, if not the best track on the record is "Break Me Through." Probably the most different sounding song on the album, Bebo's vocals float over a poppy bass beat with a soft synth creating a beautifully peaceful ballad. Slightly reminiscent of something that one might hear on the Newsboys' Not Ashamed record, the listener will likely be addicted after a couple listens. Bebo proves his versatility and makes it clear he has a lot to offer musically.

With each song and each album, Norman is continually reaching into the depths of the listener's soul lyrically, and musically further securing himself as a talented pop figure in the Christian music scene.

- Review date: 4/29/01, written by John DiBiase



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. Artist Info: Discography
. Record Label: Watershed Records
. Album length: 11 tracks, 46 minutes and 13 seconds
. Street Date: May 15, 2001
. Buy It: Amazon.com

  1. I Am
  2. Cover Me
  3. You Surround Me
  4. Sons and Daughters
  5. Perhaps She'll Wait for Me
  6. Tip of My Heart
  7. Underneath
  8. Break Me Through
  9. Big Blue Sky
  10. All That I Have Sown
  11. Where You Are
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Click For Audio Sample   Click For Song Lyrics
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Click For Audio Sample   Click For Song Lyrics
Click For Audio Sample   Click For Song Lyrics
Click For Audio Sample   Click For Song Lyrics
Click For Audio Sample   Click For Song Lyrics
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This Friday, November 28, 2025
ALBUMS
Seth Davey Words in the Wounds (independent)
Emery White Line Fever (Remastered) - Disc Two (independent)
Illustrate, Procyse In The Name (Remixes) [Polished Arrow]
John P. Kee Throwback: An Evening with John P. Kee, Part 1 [Tyscot]
Kelo The Healing Process 2: Grief [Syntax]
No Vain Glory UNLEADED [Syntax]
Jeannie Ortega Concrete Dreams [Syntax]
Phil Wickham Psalm 8 - EP [Fair Trade]
Calum Wood Christmas Songs from the Kitchen Table, Vol. 1 (independent)

SINGLES
Ashes Awaken For You - Single [MTS]
Ian Austin Simpler Times (feat. Heather Suzanne) - Single [Ocean House]
Chris Caro & OnBeatMusic Flicker - Single [Syntax]
Cutright Slide Thru - Single [Syntax]
Mark Fonseca No Vacancy - Single (independent)
Hillside Recording Unto Us - Single [Ocean House]
Knaladeus & Braille Iron Sharpens Iron - Single [Syntax]
Brandon Lake x Skema Boy No Idols - Single [Provident]
Kemara Lynn Apply Pressure (feat. DKG KIE) - Single (independent)
Oscar Nash Peace on Earth (feat. Jemimah Paine) - Single (independent)
Saints in Exile & Cutright My Dead End (Orchestral Remix) ft. Jeannie Ortega, Jericko & Luc DiMarzio - Single [Syntax]
Silent Reflection Erase - Single [Syntax]
Tds Cam, De'Aris & Craig Watson, Wayne Klassik, & YAGIRLLAYC Prayers For My Enemies (Rapzilla Freshmen) - Single [Syntax]
TUVÍ, Yung Drew & 1KChvcho One Hundred (Rapzilla Freshmen) - Single [Syntax]
We Will Worship, Vine & Vibes (ft.Lisa Oduor-Noah) Ndiyabulela - Single (independent)

VINYL
John Schlitt The Christmas Project Vinyl [Girder]

Next Friday, December 5, 2025
SINGLES
29:11 Worship Glory Glory - Single [DREAM]
Cleansing Of The Temple Mary Did You Know? - Single [Rottweiler]
Heather Suzanne, Ian Austin Sleeping Child of Bethlehem - Single [Ocean House]
Living Again Dive Into - Single [Ocean House]
Seth Metoyer Flicker Of December - Single [Rottweiler/Broken Curfew]
Run51 Good News (A Christmas Medley) - Single [DREAM]


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