“We are thrilled at the street-week success of pureNRG’s latest release,” states Rod Riley, COO of Word Entertainment. “I’m proud of Jordan, Caroline and Carolyne and excited to see fans engage in their music and message in such a significant way. Word thanks management, our retail, on-line and media partners for their support of pureNRG and continuing to build this faith-based tween brand.”

Physical retail played a huge part in the success of the project. A pre-sale with the 300-store national chain, Family Christian Stores, accounted for a significant percentage of first week scans through a partnership with FCS’s ministry arm, The James Fund, resulting in the purchase of thousands of shoes for orphans in third world countries. The group also hosted an exclusive video chat on street day to all pre-sale purchasers of the album. Creative floor displays in the shape of a school locker and an exclusive pureNRG messenger bag added to the in-store presence and showcased the commitment from Family Christian Stores and The James Fund. Additionally, an exclusive 24-page activity book with Lifeway Christian Stores added to the pureNRG-focused endcap in the chains 150+ stores.

There were numerous online contests, promotions, and partnerships with pureNRG to help promote the new project. iTunes featured The Real Thing on their Christian/Gospel and Pop home pages and Yahoo! Kids positioned pureNRG on its homepage and added a dedicated music carousel on the music page.

Media is also in agreement about the strength of The Real Thing with Hearitfirst.com and NewReleaseTuesday.com running homepage podcasts on pureNRG street week. Charisma’s “The Buzz” exclaims, A caution to young fans: Keep your copy of this CD in a safe place—your parents might take it for their own collections. JesusFreakHideout.com says, In fact, if there was any music that parents of tweens would want their kids to listen to, this would be it. Christian Music Review adds, I think just about anybody could find something to love about this CD. Upcoming media includes a review on ChristianMusicToday.com, August feature in Cross Point Magazine, homepage feature of performance with interview on Clubhouse magazine’s website, Focus On The Family radio interview and an interview on the mainstream website, Hollywood Teen ‘Zine.

pureNRG has been touring aggressively leading up to the release of this project. The past nine months has seen the group perform for over half a million people as part of the 14-date Casting Crowns Christmas Tour and the 36-date Winter Jam Tour earlier this year. Their busy schedule doesn’t slow down as the next few months include the Creation West Festival in July, a second appearance in August at the American Airlines Center in Dallas at a Ringling Brother’s Circus event and a missions trip to Mexico in October.

pureNRG is just one of the many artists partnering with Word Entertainment in a multiple rights relationship. As detailed in the July 18th issue of Billboard Magazine, the entertainment company is working with artists on many levels – including booking, merchandise, website development and e-commerce. In conjunction with the release of The Right Thing, Word has launched clubNRG, a free fan club found on pureNRG’s office site, www.pureNRGonline.com, the hub for all things pureNRG. As a clubNRG member, fans can access exclusive videos, photos, giveaways and discounts to the pureNRG store while interacting with other fans around the country.

Word Entertainment, a Warner/Curb company, is comprised of Word Distribution, Word Music and Word Label Group’s Word Records, Fervent Records, Myrrh Records, Canaan Records and Word Music Publishing. Leading the industry with over 50 years of music making history, Word Entertainment represents some of Christian entertainment’s top brands, including award-winning artists Diamond Rio, Point Of Grace, BarlowGirl, Mark Schultz, Randy Travis, Selah, Natalie Grant, Aaron Shust, Big Daddy Weave and Francesca Battistelli, in addition to Big Idea's successful VeggieTales video series.

For more info on pureNRG, visit the JFH Artists Database.