Music world

[Photo Caption: Casting Crowns with Carrie Underwood: Members of Casting Crowns pause for a photo with GRAMMY-winner Carrie Underwood at the SONY BMG post GRAMMY party at the Beverly Hills Hotel on Sunday evening. Pictured (L-R): Hector Cervantes, Carrie Underwood, Chris Huffman and Mark Hall.]

Christian music’s top-selling, top-touring and multi-platinum artist Casting Crowns hit the red carpet with three nominations for the 50th GRAMMY Awards ceremony held Sunday, Feb. 10, at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles. The group received high-profile media attention during red-carpet arrivals interviewing with national outlets including The Tonight Show, CNN, Entertainment Weekly, Billboard and ABC, FOX, Extra and the Associated Press.

Casting Crowns led the Gospel categories with three nominations recognized in the Best Gospel Performance and Best Gospel Song categories for its No.1 song “East to West” and a nod for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album for the group’s blockbuster third album The Altar and The Door. The GRAMMY nominations follow Casting Crowns’ recent win at the 2007 American Music Awards in November and the 2006 GRAMMY win for previous album Lifesong.

With the release of the band’s new album The Altar and The Door, Casting Crowns ended 2007 as the No.1 top-selling Christian music artist according to the Billboard music charts. The GRAMMY-nominated album has sold more than 580,000 copies and was certified RIAA Gold in the first 10 weeks following its historical debut at No. 2 on The Billboard 200 chart in Sept., second only to High School Musical 2, setting a new record for a Christian artist without crossover promotion in the mainstream market. The album held at No.1 for 11 weeks on SoundScan’s Top Christian Albums chart and 13 weeks at No.1 on iTunes. The first radio single “East to West” spent 14 weeks at No. 1 on Christian AC radio. Plus, more than 200,000 fans attended the fall leg of Casting Crowns’ The Altar and The Door Fall Tour claiming the top-grossing Christian music event of the year grossing 4.4 million in ticket sales. The spring leg kicked off Jan. 31 and will hit 48 cities.

Read our interview with Casting Crowns here.
Read our review of The Altar and the Door here.

According to the band’s website, drummer Dave Douglas is leaving the band. Says the band:

After seven years of touring, recording, and rehearsing, Dave Douglas has decided to leave Relient K. His final show will be 12/29. As a part of Relient K, he has been an amazing drummer, singer, collaborator, and friend. Before Dave joined the band, we were plagued with drummer turnover. Although he was the fifth drummer in two years, the moment he joined was the first time we ever felt like a complete band. He will be missed on the stage and on the road, and we wish him all the best.
RK

I know that there have been some rumors and speculation about my future in Relient K. I suppose I should clear that up. The time has, in fact, come for me to leave the band. This has been a very difficult decision, but I know that this is the right one. Relient K has been a huge part of my life and I’m sure that it is going to take a long time to get used to not being a part of the band any more. I’ve had a lot of good times, met a lot of great people, and been able to go a lot of places. it’s been a blessing and a pleasure to work with Matt, Matt, John, and Jon. Also, I want to thank everyone else who has been involved with the band, especially those who have been on the road with us. Our fans are amazing and I want to thank all of you for your support and enthusiasm.

I am moving on to new music projects, and I hope that I will still have all of your support. Come the first of the year I will be devoting most of my time to Gypsy Parade . Feel free to look us up and say hi. Until then I will playing with Relient K, so I’ve got a few more shows left in me. I suppose that this is my “farewell tour.” hopefully I, and the rest of Relient K, will see you at one of them.
Thanks to all of you.