RED celebrates sales success with PLG Staff

RED’s Innocence & Instinct Climbs in Sales as the Sophomore Album Ends Its Second Week Atop Charts: RED stays at No. 1 on the Current Contemporary Christian Albums chart with unit sales of 15,404 in Innocence & Instinct’s second week. Total sales for the modern rock band for the first two weeks are 56,642 and climbing. RED is No. 2 on the Record Label Independent Current Albums chart and remains on Billboard’s Top 200 at No. 37. RED released its new album Feb.10 with a chart-topping single “Fight Inside” and first week sales of nearly 40,000 units. The band simultaneously released its Deluxe Edition of Innocence & Instinct, which features bonus tracks and a DVD featuring the music video “Death of Me” and more. For more information about RED and its new tour dates, please visit: www.myspace.com/dropofred.

Provident Label Group Artists and Projects Garner 51 GMA Dove Nominations: Nominees for the 40th Annual GMA Dove Awards were announced this morning at a press conference in Nashville, Tenn. Provident Label Group affiliated artists, writers and projects received a total of 51 nominations, across multiple categories, including: Fireflight, Casting Crowns and Third Day in the Artist of the Year Category; Tenth Avenue North in the New Artist of the Year category; Third Day and Casting Crowns in Group of the Year category and reigning New Artist of the Year Brandon Heath in the coveted Male Vocalist and Song Of the Year categories. The GMA Dove Awards will be broadcast nationwide live on the Gospel Music Channel from 8 – 10 p.m. (ET/PT) on Thursday, April 23, 2009. GMC is now available in more than 43 million homes in all major markets on the major cable systems as well as on DIRECTV on Channel 338. The 40th Annual GMA Dove Awards will be handed out at Nashville’s famed Grand Ole Opry House.

Fireflight and Krystal Meyers Win JesusFreakHideout.com Readers Choice Awards: The breakthrough sophomore album Unbreakable, from Dove-nominated band, Fireflight was named Rock/Alternative Album of the Year this week by Jesusfreakhideout.com readers in the sixth annual JFH Reader’s Choice Awards. Fans also voted the Orlando-based rock band the “Most TRULY Under-Rated Artist/Band.” Pop artist Krystal Meyers was recognized as Female Vocalist of the Year. Visit www.jesusfreakhideout.com to check out the winners of the other 13 categories.

Brandon with the founders of Step by Step Ministries along with a couple of the moms who went through the program

Brandon Heath Partners With Air 1 Radio Network On “What If We” Outreach To Step-By-Step Ministries: Step by Step Ministries, an organization that helps teen moms, won a “What If We” contest with Air-1. The prize was a free Brandon Heath concert. All of the proceeds of the concert went to Step by Step with nearly $8,000 raised. The event was held at Quest Community Church in Lexington, Kentucky. The church’s auditorium seats 900, but the community was so excited to see Brandon that the church filled the auditorium as well as two overflow rooms leaving standing room only for the 1,800 people in attendance.

Heath Announces “Save David’s Eyes” Benefit Show March 11 As Second Annual “Love Your Neighbor” Event In Nashville: Brandon is also organizing his second annual “Love Your Neighbor” event in Nashville, this time the free concert will raise funds to “Save David’s Eyes.” David is an 18-yr.old high school student, suffering from glaucoma in both eyes. He is already legally blind, and specialists have confirmed that David will completely loose his sight if he does not have eye surgery immediately. David’ father passed away recently, and the family doesn’t have health insurance. Brandon, with songwriting pal Jason Ingram, will host the “Save David’s eyes” benefit show on March 11, at 7 pm (CT), at Fellowship Bible Church in Brentwood, TN. Performers include Heath, Ingram, Matthew West and Tiffany Lee (Plumb). Last year, Heath’s “Love Your Neighbor” benefit raised $20,000 for Nashville tornado victims following a string of destructive storms in March.

Brandon’s “What If We” mindset calls us to recognize that it is through community that we can pull together to accomplish the bigger things God has for us, that we cannot do ourselves. Heath said, “As David’s community I want us all to come around him and speak as loudly as we can that we’re not going to sit by and let this happen to him. We will come together as his community to love this family and let them know more than anything that they’re known and cared about.”

David’s Centennial High School teacher, Mr. Kirby, originally informed his community of David’s condition, inspiring students to do something about it. Half of the proceeds from the benefit concert will go to David’s family to offset medical bills, while the other half will go to a general fund set up at David’s high school to help another family in need. The idea is to support an ongoing fund that Mr. Kirby and his students will manage, that will be used to help a needy family once every school semester.