Casting Crowns' Digital Single 'East to West' Goes Gold Status

Multi-platinum, AMA, GRAMMY and Dove award-winning artist Casting Crowns garners its third RIAA certified Gold digital single surpassing more than 500,000 units with “East to West,” from the group’s 2007 platinum release The Altar and the Door.  The occasion marks Casting Crowns' third Gold digital single in a year and adds to the positive momentum seen on its well-attended spring 2012 “Come to the Well” tour.

Preceded by Gold hits “Who Am I” (certified July, 2011) and "Praise You In This Storm" (certified September, 2011) this latest Gold digital single brings Casting Crowns’ tally to three.  Currently, Casting Crowns holds a distinction of being one of only nine Contemporary Christian artists to recieve Gold digital single certification.  (The group is currently tied with Switchfoot as having the most career Gold digital singles.)  There have only been 15 total digital Gold singles in the history of contemporary Christian music.
 
Casting Crowns recently released its new music video, “Jesus, Friend of Sinners,” which debuted to more than 500,000 via GodTube.  Visit the following links to view the music video:
GodTube: http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=KZGWKLNX.
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BY6VAy9y_iQ

News of the band’s latest Gold digital single comes as Casting Crowns forges ahead on its wildly popular “Come to the Well” tour.  Following a hugely successful fall run, the spring leg, featuring Matthew West, Lindsay McCaul and Royal Tailor, kicked off Feb. 9 in Florence, S.C. With 44 scheduled shows, the spring jaunt has sold out 17 of its first 26 dates, already seeing attendance exceeding 132,000.

The tour takes its name from Casting Crowns’ newest studio project, Come to the Well (10/18/11).  The week of its release, Come to the Well sold 99,138 copies, making it the highest debut on Billboard’s Top 200 at No. 2.  The album additionally topped the Billboard Contemporary Christian Overall chart, while also claiming No. 1 on the iTunes Christian Albums chart and No. 3 on its Overall Albums chart.  Lead radio single “Courageous” landed at No. 1 on the iTunes Christian Songs chart and peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard National Christian Audience chart in just 10 weeks.

For more information on Come to the Well or a for a updated list of tour dates, visit: www.castingcrowns.com.
 
About Casting Crowns
All of Casting Crowns’ projects are RIAA certified, with a tally of three RIAA Platinum Albums, two RIAA Platinum DVDs, two RIAA Gold Albums, two Gold DVDs and three Gold digital singles, holding position as Billboard’s top-selling act in Christian music since 2007.  The group also claims two American Music Awards, with six total nominations, three GRAMMY Awards and 14 GMA Dove Awards.

Despite an unprecedented eight-year career with Casting Crowns, the seven band members remain active in student ministry in the Atlanta area and tour part-time around their local church
duties.  Serving his 18th year in youth ministry, lead singer/songwriter Mark Hall is the student pastor at Eagle’s Landing First Baptist Church in Atlanta.

As a testament to the band’s impact, Casting Crowns performed for a second time in North Korea in April 2009, in partnership with Global Resource Services, as the band continues to
forge invaluable relationships with the people in the D.P.R.K.

For more information on Casting Crowns visit: http://www.castingcrowns.com/ or follow Mark Hall’s Twitter at twitter.com/markhallCC.

Source: CMSpin