NEWS SOURCE: The M Collective
August 2, 2013

Nashville, Tenn. (August 2, 2013) - John Cooper, lead singer of the GRAMMY®-nominated and platinum-selling band Skillet, is set to participate in the 50th anniversary of the "I Have A Dream" speech. Hosted by THE DREAM@50 and American Eagle Outfitters, fans are invited to Times Square on Saturday, August 3 at 3:00pm-7:00pm, to show their solidarity for Dr. King's vision of a more equitable society and have their own dream for a better world videotaped and posted worldwide for the "My Dream" video series. In addition to Cooper, other celebrity participants include John Legend, Forest Whitaker, Mayor Cory Booker, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and more.

Skillet's latest album, RISE, was released in June of this year and has created a whirlwind of a summer for the band. The album entered the Billboard 200 at No. 4, No. 1 on Billboard's Rock, Hard Rock and Christian Albums Charts and iTunes® Rock Album Chart at No. 1. Last month, Skillet made their late night debut on CONAN performing the hit single "Rise," along with major media coverage from The New York Times, Billboard, USA Today, Yahoo!, MSN and more. Additionally, their hit single "Sick Of It" recently broke into the Top 10 on the Mainstream Active Rock chart. Their music video for "Sick Of It," which has almost reached 1.5 million views on YouTube, can be watched here.

For more information, visit www.thedreamat50.com.

Following recent performances at several major Christian and mainstream festivals, Skillet is gearing up to hit the road with Shinedown on the upcoming Carnival of Madness tour. Kicking off August 13, the tour will also feature the touted prodigy band of John Cooper, We As Human. They'll follow by heading overseas for their first-ever tour with Nickelback, a month-long jaunt that will see Skillet playing Milan, Paris, Vienna, London, and many more.

About Skillet
RISE follows the band's 2009 blockbuster, Awake, which was recently certified platinum for sales in excess of one million copies in the U.S. It's worth noting that Skillet was the only active rock band to achieve platinum certification in 2012, and were one of only three rock bands (the other two being Mumford & Sons and The Black Keys) to strike platinum in 2012. RISE debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on Billboard's Top Rock, Hard Rock and Christian Albums Charts.

Awake debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on the magazine's Top Modern Rock/Alternative Albums Chart. In addition, the record hit No. 1 on the iTunes® Top Albums Chart, garnered three Billboard Music Awards and spawned four hit singles including the No. 1 Active Rock smash and gold-certified "Awake & Alive," the gold-certified "Hero," "It's Not Me It's You" and the platinum-certified "Monster." "Monster" lived up to its name, selling more than a million copies and hitting Top 5 at Active Rock radio (the first in a string of multiple Top 5 active rock hits), while its companion video has generated over 47 million YouTube views. The hook-happy "Hero" was featured in season-long spots for NBC's NFL Sunday Night Football and served as the official theme song for WWE's Royal Rumble Pay-Per-View. The band toured endlessly in support, playing to sold-out crowds across the country, which earned them a spot on Pollstar's Concert Pulse Chart of the Top 50 Tours for fall of 2010. Awake followed the band's 2006's gold-selling album, Comatose.

Over the course of the past few years have sold more than two million units in the U.S. alone, racked up more than 150 million YouTube views and amassed a diehard following (dubbed Panheads) whose members number in the millions, including over 4 million on Facebook alone.

[Get Connected with Skillet]
Website// www.skillet.com
Facebook// www.facebook.com/skillet
Twitter// www.twitter.com/skilletmusic

About THE DREAM@50
THE DREAM@50 is a tribute series produced by Richard Karz in partnership with the United Nations (Academic Impact, DPI), UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), YouTube, International Theatre Institute, The King Center, Global Arts Link, Americans for the Arts, Dance/USA, National Dance Education Organization, American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD), National Education Association, National Art Education Association, National Council of Teachers of English, National Council for the Social Studies, Arts Schools Network, Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, United Way, Dance Camera West, Dance Films Association, L.A. Live, and the Times Square Alliance.

For more info on Skillet visit the JFH Artists Database.