The collection also adds new electronic and synthetic elements to virtually every song.įans have responded to the music and messages on “Burn The Ships,” which has topped the Christian album chart and produced chart-topping Christian singles with “Joy” and “God Only Knows.” That song has since been redone as a duet with Dolly Parton and reached the No. Musically, the “Burn The Ships” album retains key trademarks of the For King & Country sound - airy instrumentation and soaring melodies - which have gotten the group comparisons to U2 and Coldplay - and big drums. The feelings of appreciation and gratitude both brothers now possess thread their way throughout the “Burn The Ships” album, especially pronounced in lyrics to “Need You More,” “Joy,” “Amen” and “Control.” Trademark elements Happily, young Leo has recovered from that major scare. He was revived with CPR, but later went through skull reconstructive surgery. In January 2018, Leo was discovered at home not breathing.
She ended up getting addicted to the drugs, but faced up to the situation, went for treatment and has been free of the addiction ever since.Īnother life-changing event involving Luke and Courtney’s infant son, Leo, inspired the song “Need You More,” which the Smallbone brothers co-wrote with their sister and fellow Christian music artist, Susan St. She was suffering severe morning sickness and was prescribed drugs to help deal with her ailment. The title track, “Burn The Ships,” is based on struggles experienced by Joel Smallbone’s wife, Courtney, during one of her pregnancies. That thinking has resulted in the brothers’ most personal collection of songs yet on “Burn The Ships,” the duo’s recently released third studio album.Īnd it turns out, they had more headline life events to use as inspiration, especially for Luke Smallbone, who battled a severe case of ulcerative colitis in 2012 and dropped 125 pounds before finally seeing the illness go into remission in 2017. Tickets: $25 to $150 at /events/2021/for-king-and-country Where: Alliant Energy PowerHouse, 370 First Ave.
“Our hope is that if it’s special to us, it will be special to millions of other people across the world.” For King & Country
So we kind of thought to ourselves, well, what if we continue that thought? We make it special to us, because we’ve got a soul, and we’re persons just like the other people who are listening to this music. “I remember it kind of bringing me to tears, and I remember thinking to myself, even if nobody else hears this song, this song is special to me. It ended up being the album title,” Luke Smallbone said in a recent phone interview. “I remember the first song that I ever liked that I wrote was actually a song called ‘Crave’ from the first album.
Remembering a moment early in the career of For King & Country helped provide an answer. Finding inspirationĪs the Smallbone brothers began thinking about their third album, the question was where to go next musically and lyrically.
The duo’s contributions to the soundtrack of the 2016 movie “Priceless” solidified their standing. 1 singles on “Billboard’s” Hot Christian Songs chart - “Shoulders” and “Fix My Eyes.” Things culminated with the album winning the Grammy for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album. Love Strong,” broke things wide-open, topping the Christian Album chart and producing two No. 4 on Billboard magazine’s Christian Albums chart. Their 2012 debut album, “Crave,” got things off to a solid start by reaching No. Their fall tour, dubbed “Relate,” will debut new songs from an upcoming studio project. Fans now can see them Saturday night (11/13/21) at the Alliant Energy PowerHouse in Cedar Rapids. They had been slated to close out The Great Jones County Fair in Monticello on July 25, but that show was canceled. citizens have gone from newcomers to one of the bigger acts on the Christian music scene. In quick order, the Australian siblings who have since moved to Nashville and become U.S. Brothers Luke (left) and Joel Smallbone will bring the Contemporary Christian sounds of their For King & Country ensemble to the Alliant Energy PowerHouse in Cedar Rapids on Saturday night, Nov.