NewSong’s ‘The Christmas Shoes’ has become the most-added new single at
mainstream AC radio, according to the R&R AC chart as of Dec. 4.
Benson recording group, NewSong has been getting a lot
of attention from both Christian and mainstream radio stations lately due
to the popularity of an emotionally-charged bonus Christmas cut from their
most recent project, Sheltering Tree.
The response to the song is so great that Jive Records (Britney Spears,
N*Sync, Backstreet Boys and sister company to Benson Records) shipped “The Christmas Shoes” to mainstream AC radio formats, and other
select morning shows, on November 13th.
The bonus cut on this studio album was a last minute addition. NewSong’s
Eddie Carswell notes, “The master had already been turned in, the packaging
was complete and here was this song that we knew we had to put on the
album. It’s rare to add a song to a completed project once it has
progressed to this point, but the response to the song was so overwhelming
that we just had to add it. We also enlisted the help of the Cedarmont
Kids who really helped bring this song to life.”
“The Christmas Shoes” was penned by NewSong members, Leonard Ahlstrom and
Eddie Carswell after receiving a poem from friend DC Chymes, co-host of the
#1 morning radio show in St. Louis (also syndicated in 13 markets), The
Steve and DC Morning Show. Carswell adds, “DC gave me a poem that he had
been reading on the air, around Christmas-time, for the past few years. It
was this poem that inspired Leonard and I the to write ‘The Christmas
Shoes.'”
When DC received his mastered copy of the song in the mail, he played it
immediately for his listeners. The song wasn’t done playing before the
phone lines began to light up. “Our operator sent someone back to the
studio to ask what we did to make the phones go so wild. She ended up
having to man the phones for 6 solid hours of calls.” Chymes says. “In
addition to the flood of phone calls” he adds, “we received over 1,000
e-mails about the song that day. Our server was shut down because of the
web traffic.”
The song’s next airplay was during NewSong’s October 10, street-week radio
tour, when the group dropped by for an in-studio visit with the Steve and
DC show. Again, the song was played and again, the response was
overwhelming. Chymes says, “Callers were openly weeping on the air
telling their Christmas stories and what this song meant to them.”
NewSong’s latest project Sheltering Tree features 12 new songs including
the bonus Christmas cut
“The Christmas Shoes” and the current Top-10 radio single “Red Letter Day”
and is available in both Christian bookstores and mainstream retail outlets
everywhere.
Benson Records is a division of Provident Music Group, the Christian music
and publishing entity of the parent company, London-based Zomba Music.
Benson Records is home to artists including 4HIM, Forty Days, Kyle
Matthews, NewSong, and Whisper Loud.
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