SINGING THEIR WORTHY PRAISES TALENT PLUS SPIRITUAL SOUND EQUALS MUSIC CHARTS' NEW KIND OF BOY BAND.Byline: Fred Shuster Music Writer Guys with good voices and even better looks are a dime a dozen these days. Chemistry and a positive message is another matter. Plus One, an increasingly popular Christian-pop boy group, seems to have those elements in spades. ``Plus One works because we're not just five guys singing next to each other,'' says Florida native Nathan Walters, 22. ``We've worked our socks off from the beginning to connect, to click.'' The other thing that separates Plus One from the rest is their beliefs. The Nashville-based vocal quintet sings about their faith but doesn't hit anyone over the head with it. Plus One's debut album, ``The Promise'' (143/Atlantic), sold almost 20,000 copies upon release. The disc was recently lingering in the pop albums chart and in the Top 10 of Billboard's Top Contemporary Christian list. ``In some ways, we're very different,'' says Plus One's Jeremy Mhire, 19. ``But it's our differences that make us interesting. I'm learning how we each bring something special to everything we do, and it's the ways we differ that allow us to be more than just ordinary.'' Plus One formed a year ago when Mhire, Walters, Jason Perry, Nate Cole Nate Cole (born Nathan David Forest Cole on May 19, 1981) is an American singer/songwriter. He is a former band member of the band Plus One. He currently is the lead singer in a band called Castledoor with former band mate Gabe Combs. and Gabe Combs started singing together. Within months, they'd garnered record company attention and eventually signed with Atlantic's new Christian
The term New Christian (cristianos nuevos in Spanish, cristãos novos division, 143 Records, headed by hitmaker David Foster  This article or section resembles a .Please help [ improve this article] by removing excessive trivia, irrelevant praise and criticism, lists and collections of links that are of . . In addition to his keyboard contributions, the 14-time Grammy Award- winning producer helmed sessions for such standout songs as the flamenco-flavored ``God Is in This Place,'' the album's heartfelt heart·felt adj. Deeply or sincerely felt; earnest. heartfelt Adjective sincerely and strongly felt: heartfelt thanks Adj. 1. title track, and the stirring ``My Friend.'' Foster, who signed Plus One just days after their first audition, says the members show wisdom beyond their years. ``These guys really hear each other, really listen to each other when they sing,'' Foster says. ``Individually, they're all incredibly talented, but they've learned that as vocalists, they're even better together.'' Plus One appears on ABC's ``Twas the Night Before Christmas'' special with 98 Degrees, Jessica Simpson, 'N Sync, Monica, Billy Gilman ''This article or section is being rewritten at Billy Gilman (born William Wendell Gilman III May 24, 1988) is a Grammy-nominated country music singer-songwriter. and SHeDAISY, at 7 p.m. Sunday (Channel 7). Throughout ``The Promise,'' recorded in locales ranging from San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden to New Jersey to Nashville, Plus One touches on topics of friendship, love and their faith in God in such tracks as the rhythmic ``My Life,'' the warmly melodic me·lod·ic adj. Of, relating to, or containing melody. me·lod  i·cal·ly adv. ``Soul
Tattoo'' and the high-flying lead-off single ``Written on My
Heart,'' which has scored airplay air·play n. The broadcasting of an audio or audiovisual recording on the air over radio or television. airplay Noun the broadcast performances of a record on radio at both Christian-pop and adult-contemporary outlets. ``We have to become more than just five good singers,'' says Sacramento native Cole, 18. ``Our job is to become one great group, to find that path through hard work and lots of time together to those moments when we're genuinely together when we sing.'' Plus One has already spent a lot of quality time together. By June 1999, the guys were sharing a crowded San Francisco flat, so tight, in fact, that Combs was forced to sleep in a walk-in closet. After recording sessions began in the Bay Area, the group began volunteering at a shelter for homeless families and later forged an ongoing partnership with Habitat for Humanity Habitat for Humanity, nonprofit ecumenical Christian organization that enables low-income people to own affordable, livable housing. Headquartered in Americus, Ga., it was founded in 1976 by businessman Millard Fuller and his wife. by participating in a weeklong, 20-house building blitz in historic Selma, Ala., where they worked side by side with veterans of that city's civil rights movement. ``That experience put some things in perspective for us,'' Cole says. ``Seeing that kind of need right here in America and being able to make a personal contribution - experiencing how we could help - that was amazing a·maze v. a·mazed, a·maz·ing, a·maz·es v.tr. 1. To affect with great wonder; astonish. See Synonyms at surprise. 2. Obsolete To bewilder; perplex. v.intr. .'' Adds 20-year-old Combs: ``Working next to people who worked with Dr. King, people who sacrificed so much ... it was overwhelming.'' PLUS ONE What: Appearing on ``Twas the Night Before Christmas'' with 98 Degrees, Jessica Simpson, 'N Sync, Monica, Billy Gilman and SHeDAISY. Where: ABC ABC in full American Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. television network. It began when the expanding national radio network NBC split into the separate Red and Blue networks in 1928. (Channel 7). When: 7 p.m. Sunday. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Nathan Walters, left, Nate Cole, Jason Perry, Gabe Combs and Jeremy Mhire say their religious faith and chemistry set them apart from other groups. The quintet will perform on ABC's Christmas special on Sunday. |
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