In January, INO records and MercyMe launched the contest where two fans could win in three different markets, one from a local radio station and one from an online contest via the band’s website/myspace page. Filmed during MercyMe’s headline run on Winter Jam earlier this year, the video showcases a fans-eye view of their live performance, resulting in a blending of intimate and unique moments from shows in Cincinnati, OH., St Louis, MO., and Normal, IL. Yahoo! Music plans to world premiere the video online May 9th, (to watch go to http://new.music.yahoo.com), while The Gospel Music Channel will broadcast the TV premiere of the video on May 10th.

We recently had the chance to hear from the contest winners themselves, and here’s what some of them had to say about their experience filming the band:

“The whole experience was amazing. Meeting the band just made the whole night go a notch higher. The guys were so down to Earth, funny, friendly and definitely seemed like Christ-like individuals. It was a once in a lifetime event and I'm glad I was able to do it!” - Joshua Francis, St. Charles, MO

“It was an awesome experience to be a part of the making of this video. MercyMe is a band which stands firm on the solid rock and brings a glimpse of heaven down to earth as they sing. They always point to the one true God and provide music which praises His name.” -Chris Jeschke, Cincinnati, OH

A follow up to their 10th No. 1 single “God With Us” (which also set the record for radio adds in a single’s first week with 79 adds), “You Reign” will impact radio in May and go for adds at AC, CHR and Inspo formats on 5/30/2008.

“Anytime we can get our fans involved, we will,” said MercyMe frontman Bart Millard about the idea to have fans involved in creating the new video. “We loved the idea of them actually filming this video since they are a huge reason for why we do what we do. Our goal for our latest album was to write songs that hopefully the church would sing long after we're gone, so to have the body involved with "You Reign" on any level is a dream come true.”

MercyMe recently released their iTunes ® Original album, a collection of six exclusive new recordings, in-depth interviews with the band and key tracks from MercyMe's previous releases, which made its way into iTunes' ® New Music Tuesday email for release week, hitting #1 on the Christian album chart for iTunes and #32 on the overall Top Albums chart.

At the close of 2007, MercyMe was the No. 1 Most Played AC artist (R&R/CRW) and Inspo artist (CRW) in 2007, while their latest studio project, “All That Is Within Me,” garnered their 10th No. 1 Christian single, “God With Us.” The album remains in the top ten on Billboard’s Contemporary Christian SoundScan chart after 17 weeks and entering the Top 200 chart at No. 15 and selling an impressive 83,626 units, a personal record for units sold in a project’s first week.

www.mercyme.org
http://www.myspace.com/mercyme

Since their debut in 2001, Grammy-nominated, American Music Award and multiple GMA Music Award winners MercyMe have sold over 5 million units in CD and DVD sales, including “Almost There”, nearly triple platinum, their 2003 project “Spoken For” which is approaching platinum sales, and the RIAA Gold certification for “Undone,” the MercyMe Live DVD, and “Coming Up to Breathe”. Their latest, “All That Is Within Me,” entered the Billboard Top 200 chart at No. 15 and sold an impressive 83,626 units, the most they’ve ever sold in a project’s first week. MercyMe is one of few Contemporary Christian music groups to have had all of their recordings certified Gold or Platinum, as well as garner four consecutive mainstream radio hits with “I Can Only Imagine”, (No. 4 AC/top 25 on Top 40/Hot AC), “Here With Me” (No. 4 AC), “Homesick” (top 10 AC), and “So Long Self.” With their multi-platinum sales, and one of the industry's most notable talents, MercyMe has sold out venues including Radio City Music Hall and received media attention from the likes of The Tonight Show, CNN, Fox New Channel’s Fox & Friends, ABC News, CBS’ Early Show, and has been seen on the pages of Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, USA Today, Billboard, and more.