Israel Houghton's 'Power of One' Debuts at No. 1
The latest project of award-winning worship leader Israel Houghton debuted this past week as the No. 1 best-selling album, topping the Christian, Gospel Overall and Praise & Worship sales charts.
The Power of One also ranked No. 34 on the Billboard Top 200 albums chart, No. 11 on the iTunes overall and No. 1 on the Christian/Gospel digital albums charts.
"I'm truly grateful today," wrote Houghton to his fans Saturday. "I'm grateful to God for the myriad of opportunities He has given me through the years, to realize the dream of helping others find encouragement, hope, and a true connect with God through music.
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"To everyone who has purchased ... the Power of One CD, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping it to debut at Billboard #1," he added.
Released as Houghton's first solo project, outside of his Israel & New Breed, The Power of One is a 14-track album that features performances from popular Christian artists tobyMac, Mary Mary, Martin Smith of Delirious?, and Chevelle Franklyn.
Reviewers have lauded the album, calling it "creatively expansive, musically unlimited," "fresh, healing, uplifting, encouraging," "passionate, youthful energy," "a visceral rush," "genre-defying" and "moving, powerful."
"From its genre-blending roots reggae and heavy rock to sanctified funk and power pop, the album features songs of hope, redemption and revelation," the album's promoters say.
Houghton has been performing songs from the new album throughout his 37-city tour with renowned worship leader Chris Tomlin, appearing before packed venues from coast to coast.
Later this month, Houghton will make his first appearance at Yankee Stadium in New York with his pastor, Joel Osteen of Lakewood Church, Houston, where Houghton serves as worship leader.
The event, "A Night of Hope," on Apr. 25 will mark the first non-baseball event at the new stadium. On that day, Houghton will be featured on the new Gospel Music Channel program, "Revealed," which is similar to MTV's "Unplugged" and VH1's "Storytellers."
To date, Houghton's accolades include two Gold-selling albums, six Dove Awards, two Stellar Awards, a Soul Train Award and two Grammy Awards, among others.
The worship leader also runs New Breed Ministries, an organization he co-founded with wife Meleasa Houghton that is comprised of noted musicians and singers who serve within their respective churches and together serve the Church at large.
