Jesusfreakhideout.com Music News, May 2012: Multi-Platinum Band MercyMe's The Hurt & The Healer No. 1 on Billboard Christian Sales Chart, Lands Another Top 10 Debut on Billboard 200

Multi-Platinum Band MercyMe's The Hurt & The Healer No. 1 on Billboard Christian Sales Chart, Lands Another Top 10 Debut on Billboard 200

Project Also Dominates iTunes® Christian & Gospel Album Chart While Lead Single Tops Two Charts at Radio

NEWS SOURCE: The M Collective
May 30, 2012

Nashville, TN, May 30, 2012: Underscoring their long-standing popularity and appeal, the seventh studio album from multi-platinum and award-winning band MercyMe, The Hurt & The Healer, has hit the Billboard 200 top albums chart in a big way, landing at No. 7. The album charted at just below Lionel Richie's newest release and above Sara Bareilles and Norah Jones' latest. The Hurt & The Healer entered at No. 1 on the Christian SoundScan chart. During its debut week, the album reached No. 10 on iTunes'® Overall Albums Chart and has crowned the iTunes® Christian Albums chart at No. 1 since its release on May 22.

In addition to their success at retail and stellar critical acclaim (Christianity Today, New Release Tuesday, Crosswalk /TheFish.com), MercyMe is also currently dominating at radio. The album's title-track lead single is sitting high at No. 1 this week on two charts: Billboard Christian AC Indicator and Soft AC/Inspo, and rose to No. 2 at AC Monitored. "The Hurt & The Healer" also continues to climb quickly upward at CHR, spending this week at No. 11.

As the Grammy-nominated band celebrates their new album, MercyMe will visit markets across the country throughout the summer. More information about tour dates can be found on MercyMe's official site.

For more information on MercyMe and The Hurt & The Healer, please go to www.mercyme.org.

# # #

About MercyMe
Since their debut in 2001, Grammy-nominated, American Music Award and multiple GMA Dove Award winners MercyMe have sold over 6 million units in CD and DVD sales, while being one of few Contemporary Christian music groups to have had all of their recordings certified Gold or Platinum, as well as garner 23 No.1 multi-format Christian radio singles, and 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." In 2009, BILLBOARD named MercyMe's "Word Of God Speak" the #1 Song of The Decade and the group the #1 Christian Songs Artist of the Decade, with an additional #1 as the Christian AC Song Artist of The Decade as one of the industry's most notable talents. MercyMe made history as "I Can Only Imagine" surpassed 1 million digital downloads, making it the first song in Christian music to go platinum in the digital domain. The multi-platinum selling band has sold out venues including Radio City Music Hall and has been seen on The Tonight Show, CNN, Fox New Channel's Fox & Friends, ABC News, CBS's The Early Show, and on the pages of Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, USA Today, Billboard, and more. www.mercyme.org

For more info on MercyMe visit the JFH Artists Database.