CASTING CROWNS NOMINATED FOR TWO “2013 BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS”

This week, multi-Platinum selling band Casting Crowns receives recognition by Billboard magazine with two distinguished “2013 Billboard Music Award” nominations.

The group appears in the Top Christian Artist and Top Christian Album categories for its RIAA Gold-selling album, Come To The Well, (Oct. 18, 2011). The “2013 Billboard Music Awards” will air live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, May 19, 8/7c on the ABC Television Network.

With the addition of these new nominations, Casting Crowns has now garnered six career Billboard Music Award nods with two wins in 2012. This acclaim rounds out a landmark year for the top-selling outfit, touting a list of accolades which include its three GRAMMY nominations, RIAA 2x multi-Platinum and RIAA Gold certifications, along with some of the most successful touring of its career and in Christian music overall. In support of the band’s latest album Acoustic Sessions: Volume 1 (Jan. 22, 2013), its 2013 spring acoustic tour saw 12 sold-out dates out of the 18-city tour. Casting Crowns also made its feature film debut in the Provident Films feature release of “Ring The Bell,” available now on DVD.

Billboard Award finalists are based on key fan interactions with music, including album and digital singles sales, radio airplay, touring, streaming and social interactions on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, VEVO, Spotify and other popular online destinations for music. All measurements have been tracked from Feb. 27, 2012 through Feb. 24, 2013 by Billboard and its data partners, including Nielsen Entertainment and Next Big Sound. Top artists will be recognized in a variety of genres.

For a complete list of this year’s nominees, visit: http://www.billboard.com/bbma/finalists

About Casting Crowns:
Prolific CCM band Casting Crowns has achieved major sales milestones including one RIAA 2x multi-Platinum album, three RIAA Platinum albums, two RIAA Platinum DVDs, six RIAA Gold albums, four Gold DVDs and four RIAA Gold certified digital singles. The band currently holds the position as Billboard’s top-selling act in Christian music since 2007. The group has also been honored with two American Music Awards (out of six total nominations), a GRAMMY Award for its 2005 album Lifesong, and has received six GRAMMY nominations including three received on Dec. 5, 2012. The band has garnered 17 GMA Dove Awards and two 2012 Billboard Music Awards from six total Billboard Music Award nominations.

Casting Crowns’ seven band members all remain active in student ministry in the Atlanta area and tour according to their local church commitments. Serving his 18th year in youth ministry, lead singer/songwriter Mark Hall maintains his role as the student pastor at Eagle’s Landing First Baptist Church in Atlanta.

Casting Crowns concluded its 84-city “Come to the Well” tour on May 5, 2012, in Houston to an audience of more than 16,000. Across the Fall 2011 and Spring 2012 legs, the tour saw 40 arena sellouts, and exceeded 370,000 in total attendance. Most recently, in support of Casting Crowns’ latest album Acoustic Sessions: Volume 1 (Jan. 22, 2013), its 2013 spring acoustic tour sold out 12 of the 18 cities. During Casting Crowns’ career, the band has helped with more than 68,500 child sponsorships through the group’s partnership with Christian humanitarian organization, World Vision.

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