NewYearsDayProject | a song a day blog

On the  first season of the  Labeled Podcast ,  Aaron Marsh  talked about his writing process for  Copeland 's debut album,  Beneath Medicine Tree . In early 2019, he returned to the podcast to talk about the band’s latest album,  Blushing . If most listeners casually picked up the two records, forgivably, they'd assume they were listening to different bands.  Beneath  is a guitar-driven product of late '90s/early '00s emo rock. The album has mostly an optimistic tone.  Blushing  is a dark electronic-influenced album with darker lyrics. Marsh told  Labeled  host  Matt Carter  that rather than writing lyrics that are easily pinned to real people, like his ex-girlfriend Paula (in the song " When Paula Sparks ") he doesn't "want to write songs about [his] private life." He says, instead, "I want to write poetic songs about my private life." The band's fourth album,  You Are My Sunshine ,  does just that. Listeners don't know the

Ontario-based Christian rapper Manafest signed to BEC Recordings and Tooth & Nail’s Hip-Hop imprint Uprok Records in 2005. In 2008, Mananfest released his third album, Citizens Activ , which was surprisingly successful in Japan. His fifth album, 2010’s The Chase , saw the rapper fully embracing rap-rock. The album was preceded by Avalanche - No Plan B EP . The two songs “ Avalanche ” and “ No Plan B ” contained remixes and alternate versions, including a version of “No Plan B” featuring Japanese metal vocalist of Crossfaith , Kenta Koie contributing a verse to the song. The video for the song also features Koie. FACE MYSELF OR GET TAKEN OUT. Christopher Scott Greenwood , the future Christian rapper Manafest suffered many setbacks in his early life. When he was five, his father committed suicide. He became a Christian after attending a summer camp. When he was about 14, he dreamed of becoming a professional skateboarder, but in 1998, he suffered an injury that stopped that dream

In 2000, DC Talk announced their intermission, a hiatus that has outlasted their 15-year existence. According to Toby McKeehan , better known by the stage name TobyMac , Michael Tait and Kevin Max wanted to record solo projects and McKeehan wanted to pursue DC Talk. But then McKeehan was approached about recording the theme song for a film called Extreme Days . With that single, McKeehan crafted his debut solo record, the genre-bending Momentum . The album was filled with hip-hop, rap-core, soul, and funk. Eventually gold-certified, Momentum started the career of the reluctant solo artist in DC Talk who became the most commercially successful of the trio. SOMETIMES I FEEL GOD IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT. In 1984, Rockwell released his number 2 Billboard Hot 100 single “ Somebody’s Watching Me .”  Rockwell, born Kennedy Gordy , wrote the track when his father, founder and CEO of Motown Records Berry Gordy , challenged him to write a chart-topping hit. The one-hit-wonder has often b

In August 2010, Katy Perry released her seminal album Teenage Dream . While the former CCM singer had several big hits from her rebranded debut album, One of the Boys , it was Teenage Dream that solidified Perry in pop music history as the album tied with Michael Jackson ’s Bad for having the most number 1  Billboard’s Hot 100 . Teenage Dream wasn’t exactly a concept album, but many of the songs involved fantasy--romantic and sexual. But Teenage Dream wasn’t the only adolescent themed album of 2010. In April, Secret & Whisper released their sophomore record on Tooth & Nail , Teenage Fantasy . Unlike Katy Perry’s sophomore record, Secret & Whisper faded into obscurity after releasing their follow-up to  Great White Whale .   After one single, “ Warrior ” (Southern Arrowwood), was heard on Christian Rock radio, the band announced an indefinite hiatus in July 2011.  TONIGHT I TRY TO STAY AWAY FROM YOU, LADY OF NORTHERN STAR. Listening to Teenage Fantasy, listeners would be

Following up P.O.D. ’s 2003 self-titled album , Testify brings the band both back to their hard rock and reggae, while going deeper into rap rock. The video for the album’s lead single, “ Goodbye for Now ” topped MTV ’s Total Request Live . It was the band’s fourth video to top the countdown, the most by a single artist until that point. Rather than a hard rock single as all P.O.D. albums had been led with until that point, “Goodbye for Now” was a down-tempo, moody Hip-Hop track featuring an act that co-producer Glen Ballard had signed to his soon-to-be-defunct record label, Java Records . B allard suggested that Katy Perry at the end of the P.O.D. track. “Goodbye for Now” was slightly more successful than the singles from Payable on Death, but the band failed to follow up their lead single. It was also the band's last charting hit on non-Christian charts. WE TORE THIS ROOF OFF THIS MOTHER; NOW IT’S TIME TO BLOW. P.O.D. departs from Howard Benson and instead works with Glen B