In addition to topping the overall “Christian, Praise & Worship” and “Christian/Gospel Mainstream” charts, and landing at No. 17 on the Billboard Top 200, the album becomes Hillsong UNITED’s 10th Top 10 album in Australia (No. 4 on Aria Top 50 Albums Chart) and goes to No. 1 on the Australian and New Zealand iTunes Top Album charts, while hitting the iTunes overall charts at No. 4 in US, No. 6 in Canada, No. 12 in Mexico, No. 19 in the UK, No. 2 in Norway, No. 5 in Switzerland and Sweden, and No. 15 in the Netherlands. A remarkable feat considering competition from sales following the GRAMMY® Awards, the album is already selling 55% ahead of the last, critically acclaimed album, A Cross the Earth: Tear Down The Walls. AFTERMATH marks Hillsong UNITED’s first new recording since the alliance announced last year with EMI Christian Music Group.

Returning to North America today to begin its 12-city “Aftermath” tour, Hillsong UNITED already logged five sellouts. With all tour markets selling fast, tickets are completely sold out at major market venues in San Francisco (The Warfied Theatre, 2/26), Los Angeles (Staples Center, 3/1 – 12,310 tickets sold), Dallas (Music Hall, 3/5), New York City (Hammerstein Ballroom, 3/10) and Boston (Orpheum Theatre, 3/11). Adding an encore event in Boston at 10 pm, the full Hillsong UNITED Aftermath tour itinerary can be found on the band’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/hillsongunited, which has more than 1.5 million friends. (All tour dates are also listed below.)

With the tour just beginning, the band is also gathering acclaim from radio for its first single from AFTERMATH, “Search My Heart,” a pulsing, urgent cry to be used by God for His – not simply our own – purposes. The song is on track to become the band’s most successful radio single ever, having already been heard by millions of people nationwide though K-LOVE and Air 1 networks, as well as other stations throughout the US that have added it to rotation.

The first new album from Hillsong UNITED in over two years, AFTERMATH offers an unabashedly creative collection of new songs that celebrates the One who saves, redeems and is the true representation of Hope in a world where hopelessness abounds. Featured on the cover of this month’s CCM Digital Magazine, and following the recent feature story in RELEVANT Magazine, Hillsong UNITED’s new album has been heralded by Worship Leader, All Music Guide, CCM, Ultimate Guitar and many others as the acclaim continues:

“Few things are as uplifting as when a song’s lyrics and music are equally inspirational… Recalling the sonic sense of wonder of early-to-mid-‘80s new wave and modern rock, the band’s sophomore studio album is full of interstellar keyboard patches, fat drumming, and haunted guitar tones.” – iTunes

“Hillsong goes beyond the congregational-friendliness common to modern worship anthems by adding their own artistic flair….” – Crosswalk.com

“Creativity spills out on this album…this is another stunning album from Hillsong UNITED.”– Louder Than The Music (5-Star Review)

“Honestly, every song on this album is remarkable…they’ve produced a quality sound track with some great songs and fantastic lyrics.” – HollywoodJesus.com

“The composition of each song is well-crafted and fresh with digital loops, strings, synths, guitars, drums – you name it. Swelling vocals and poignant lyrics beckon devotion…” – Soul Shine Magazine

Just this month, Hillsong Music has received a Billboard Latin Music Award Nomination in the “Latin Pop Albums Artist of the Year, Duo or Group” category, along with six GMA Dove Award nominations: Hillsong LIVE’s A Beautiful Exchange is nominated for both “Praise & Worship Album of the Year” and “Long Form Music Video of the Year,” while the song “Greatness of Our God” from the album is a contender for “Worship Song of the Year.” Hillsong also received a nod for “Spanish Language Album of the Year” for Con Todo and two additional nominations for “Special Event Album of the Year” and “Praise & Worship Album of the Year” for Hillsong UNITED’s role on the Passion: Awakening project.

For more information, please visit: www.hillsongunited.com and www.facebook.com/hillsongunited.

The full Hillsong UNITED 2011 Aftermath North American tour itinerary follows:

Wed, Feb 23, 2011 Vancouver, BC Abbotsford Entertainment & Sports Centre Thu, Feb 24,2011 Seattle, WA ShoWare Center Kent Sat, Feb 26, 2011 San Francisco, CA The Warfield Theatre SOLD OUT Sun, Feb 27, 2011 Sacramento, CA Memorial Auditorium Tue, Mar 1, 2011 Los Angeles, CA Staples Center SOLD OUT Wed, Mar 2, 2011 Phoenix, AZ US Airways Center Fri, Mar 4, 2011 Houston, TX Berry Center Sat, Mar 5, 2011 Dallas, TX Music Hall SOLD OUT Mon, Mar 7, 2011 Atlanta, GA Gwinnett Center Tue, Mar 8, 2011 Birmingham, AL BJCC Thu, Mar 10, 2011 New York, NY Hammerstein Ballroom SOLD OUT Fri, Mar 11, 2011 Boston, MA, 7 PM Orpheum Theatre SOLD OUT Fri, Mar 11, 2011 Boston, MA, 10 PM Orpheum Theatre, Part II

For more info on Hillsong United, visit the JFH Artists Database.