Casting Crown is recognized as the leading act in contemporary Christian music
with a collection of multiple grammy dove and billboard music awards over the course
of their career casting crowns started off as a contemporary christian and christian rock band
in 1999 by youth pastor and the band's lead vocalist mark hall who had been a part of the
first baptist church in downtown daytona beach florida in the recent years the group experienced
loss and success simultaneously while their careers skyrocketed at unprecedented heights
let us look into some of their achievements over the past decades i'm andy i'm megan i'm mark
and i'm chris christian rock group casting crowns had initiated their journey as a student worship
band in daytona beach florida in 1999. mark hall managed by the group initially included
guitarist juan de vevo and hector cervantes violinist melody de vevo and drummer rob cervantes
aka chavez however with their ship to georgia in 2001 the band gained new faces starting with chris
hoffman on base megan garrett on keyboards and accordion and much beloved drummer andy williams
during their early days casting crowns released two independent albums on cd
which were held in high regard in the atlanta area these independent albums
part of the outreach project for youth in the area as their fame slowly advanced to a national level
the group made its mark in the gma regional songwriters competition at palm beach atlantic
university west palm beach florida in both the best song and the best artist categories in 2004.
the group did not associate with a record label for a long time after their debut however one of
the group's albums found its way into the hands of mark miller lead singer for country group sawyer
brown music struck a chord for miller through their mix genre of pop and rock style and halls
commanding vocal delivery miller instantly signed casting crowns to his nouveau beach street records
a division of reunion records with distribution by the prominent label group they had become
the face of beech street records as they were the first artists to be signed with the record
mark miller introduced them to the co-producer stephen curtis chapman who himself had made a
name for himself as an artist on the ccm musical scene first synonymous album released by casting
crowns in 2003 quickly established them as one of the fastest selling debut artists in christian
music history the third single on this album by the title voice of truth spent a record-breaking
14 consecutive weeks at number one beginning in 2003. moreover it had also been featured as
the intro song for the movie facing the giants which had been the first of many singles that
would gain this honor it's no surprise that the album was listed as a certified platinum in 2005
and the group would later on receive their first gold certification for a single for the song who
am i from their debut record in 2011. writing the high tide the group managed to produce another
album by the name of life song followed in 2005 debuting at number 9 on the billboard 200 chart
three distinct singles from lifesong spent nine weeks in the top spot with the song praise you in
this storm remaining at number one for seven weeks in just the first six years of their career the
group had also secured their first grammy award for their work on the album life song in 2006.
following the success of their fourth album casting crowns released their first recording
of live performances by the name of lifesong live which included the studio versions of their album
this was tailed by the altar and the door tour in 2007 which featured artists like
leland and john waller the tour was a major success grossing 4.4 million in ticket sales
breaking all their previous records casting crowns accomplished another feat as their single east to
west from the altar in the door hit 16 consecutive weeks at number one in 2007. the song ended up
enjoying the top spot for a total of 19 weeks later on now their most prosperous single to date
reliving history one of their other songs was also featured as a soundtrack for kirk cameron film
fireproof from the same alba adding to these lists of achievements casting crowns was one of the rare
american bands to ever have been invited to north korea they performed as chief entertainers in the
2009 spring friendship arts festival in pyongyang where they performed with the annie moses band
breaking every boundary set for their genre of music casting crown's fourth major studio album
until the whole world hears debuting at number four on the billboard 200 and selling over 167
000 copies in its first week alone after its release in november 17 2009 it was the very next
year casting crowns won the dove award for artist of the year which was a huge accomplishment for a
christian rock band at that time slowly most of the early members of the group left the scene
paving the way for new faces these included andy williams in the year 2009 and in 2012
josh mix replaced guitar player hector cervantes however their journey continued with the release
of their hymns album glorious day hymns of faith exclusively through cracker barrel old country
stores in the early 2015. from this point on their fan base had grown beyond all bounds and they had
achieved immortalized fame however in 2021 the band received the devastating news of the sudden
death of their longtime bandmate and comrade andy williams after an unfortunate accident the band
released the song scars in heaven a month after his unexpected demise according to critics it
had been a song about faith in the middle of a hopeless situation the only scars in heaven are
on the hands that hold you now mark hall sings in the chorus mark unpacks the personal meaning
it held for him in an exclusive interview he had been inspired to start to write the song as his
grandparents passed away one after the other he found encouragement and inspiration in one
particular story in scripture the song had been quite fitting for everyone who had lost someone
during the pandemic or through a sudden death at the end of herself when she meets jesus and
jesus starts teaching her that she's going to life empty thinking that the world is going to fill her
when really if he would she would just go to him first she could go to life full
william had been one of the earliest man members of this well-acclaimed group he had left the
spotlight amidst their climb to fame however this tight-knit group remained closer than ever
as william's passing was announced by the lead vocalist of the band mark hall on his instagram
through the following post early this morning around 1am andy williams went to be with jesus
he fought a great fight but the injuries that he suffered took a toll on his physical body
andy williams has died after suffering multiple injuries from a motorcycle accident that occurred
while on his way to church for a sunday worship service a gofundme had been set up to help
william's wife and children with medical bills it has raised about 77 000 of its 250 000 goal the
post continued with a following comforting message you prayed along with us that andy would be healed
you prayed along with us that andy would wake up you prayed along with us that god would perform
a miracle while we mourn that andy isn't here with us and that we didn't get to witness the
miracle we longed for here on earth all of our prayers were answered he is healed he is awake
and we believe that he is more alive today than he has ever been we're pouring in the believers and
and hopefully lighting a fire under some people and and seeing churches after we're long gone
that are really walking with jesus and making him known to the world
following a short yet successful 42 city spring run casting crowns announced plans for the
much-awaited healer tour to an additional 37 major markets across the nation this award-winning group
had released their new album healer on january 14 2022. when the world shut down for the pandemic
front man and songwriter mark hall felt the need to write about this moment of recovery and healing
according to him the whole album is about healing about how god meets us where we are and what his
healing looks like the torah was a celebration of our rejuvenated world after much tragedy
many bands and artists had been featured in this tour however hillsong worship the music arm of
hillsong church made the most headlines along the line hillsong church has been under fire after a
string of scandals and accusations including the resignation of founder brian houston who
is accused of sexual impropriety in breaching the church's code of conduct this was followed by the
resignation of several other top leaders hillsong has been abandoned on many fronts including the
loss of nine of 16 american church campuses in recent weeks they posted a letter of encouragement
on facebook for ticket holders to keep their plans to attend the concert saying we know you will be
ministered too deeply by the lord through our friends casting crowns and we the kingdom were
absolutely incredible i don't care why you came you might have come because a girl you might have
come because of sport you might have come because you have a new shirt you want to show off i don't
care why you come just get here because once you get here we're going to tell you about jesus
needless to say casting crowns has dominated the contemporary christian music scene for over two
decades and will continue preaching the message of goodwill and harmony through their tunes