In 2006, according to Christian Copyright Licensing International (CCLI), an organization that licenses music to churches, Tomlin was the most often sung contemporary artist in U.S. congregations.[3] Tomlin has produced 21 number-one radio singles, 30 top-ten hits (more than any other Christian artist), and spent over 158 weeks at number-one during his career. He has sold more than 12 million albums with more than 7 Billion career global streams, won a Grammy, three Billboard Music Awards, 31 GMA Dove Awards, is a two-time BMI Songwriter of the Year honoree, and is an ASCAP Songwriter of the Year. In 2016, he was named one of only four artists to ever receive the Sound Exchange Digital Radio Award for over 1 billion digital radio streams, alongside Justin Timberlake, Pitbull, and Garth Brooks. Tomlin is also the first Christian artist to reach 1 billion streams on Pandora and was presented with their BILLIONAIRE award. Regarded as one of the most successful Christian touring artists today, Tomlin has sold-out venues including New York City’s Madison Square Garden, Nashville’sBridgestone Arena, Denver'sRed Rocks Amphitheatre, and LA’s Banc of California Stadium. His “Good Friday Nashville” concerts have frequently sold out. The event holds
the record as the longest running annual charity related concert at Bridgestone Arena.[4]
Early life
At the age of 13, Tomlin began singing at the Main Street Baptist church in Grand Saline.[5] He wrote his first worship song at age fourteen. During high school, Tomlin learned to lead worship in his youth group.[6] After graduating from Grand Saline High School in 1990, he entered Tyler Junior College (TJC) planning for a medical or physical therapy career.[7] Tomlin graduated in 1992[8] and enrolled in Texas A&M University to study medicine.[9] He grew active in a campus Christian group called Breakaway, where he became the worship leader.[9] In 1994, Tomlin graduated from Texas A&M with a bachelor's degree in psychology.[8][10] After college Tomlin participated as a worship leader at various camps in Texas, including Dawson McAllister Youth Conferences.[11] While at Breakaway, Tomlin participated in a Bible study led by Choice Ministries founder Louie Giglio.[9] In 1997, Tomlin partnered with Giglio to found Passion Conferences.[12][13]
Career
In 1995, Tomlin released Inside Your Love, which was released independently.[14] In 1998, he released Authentic on Sparrow Records.[15]
In 2000, Tomlin signed onto newly founded Sixstepsrecords, a subsidiary of Passion Conferences.[16] His first nationally released solo project, titled The Noise We Make, was released in 2001, featuring the song "Forever". He released the live EP 545 and his second studio album Not to Us in 2002.[17]
Since his signing onto Sixstepsrecords, Tomlin has released nine full-length studio albums. 2004's Arriving was the first to chart on Billboard's Hot Christian Albums chart and the Billboard 200. Tomlin has topped the Hot Christian Albums chart six times, and his 2013 album Burning Lights topped the Billboard 200, making the album only the fourth contemporary Christian album to do so.
Tomlin has toured with many contemporary Christian artists, such as Delirious?, Steven Curtis Chapman, Michael W. Smith, and MercyMe.[20][21] Tomlin has headlined several tours, and has also joined Passion Conferences for national and global tours and events.[22] Tomlin has also participated in various other conferences festivals including Grand Saline's annual Salt Festival in Texas,[23]Hillsong's 2007 conference,[24] and the SoCal Harvest in Anaheim.[25]
In 2022, Tomlin released Always. The title track is one he considers the eternal, everlasting song. According to Tomlin, “Hebrews 13:8 says, ‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever,’ and that's really the heart of this song. I love how it speaks to the miracles that we’ve read of Jesus when he walked this earth. Our faith is not a faith that’s just 30 minutes old, or the faith of just our parents, but it’s generations before us and generations after us. It’s a long line of those who’ve run the race.”
The album's “Holy Forever” is the one that Tomlin considers the anchor of this anthology. “It’s a song that sounds like Heaven to me. It has this transcendence about it.” For him, worship music usually has two distinct lanes—song of transcendence, and songs of deliverance and rescue. “This one takes you into the spiritual realm. It takes you into a place of worship where your spirit’s connecting to something eternal.”
According to Christian Copyright Licensing International's list of the top 25 worship songs in the US in August 2007, Tomlin held five spots with songs he has either written, co-written or performed: "How Great Is Our God" (No. 1), "Forever" (No. 5), "Holy Is the Lord" (No. 7), "We Fall Down" (No. 12), and "Indescribable" (No. 22) (written by Laura Story[35]). In 2008, Tomlin held 6 spots on 20 The Countdown Magazine's top 20 praise and worship songs: "We Fall Down" (No. 14), "Forever" (No. 10), "Holy is the Lord" (No. 8), "Indescribable" (No. 6),[35] "Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)" (No. 3), and "How Great is our God" (No. 1).[36] In 2012, CCLI reported that his songs were performed more than 3 million times in churches around the world.[37]Time magazine has called him "most often sung artist anywhere" in 2006,[38] and in 2013, he was also pronounced the most sung songwriter in the world.[39] In 2017, he became only the fourth artist to receive the Sound Exchange Digital Radio Award for surpassing a billion digital radio streams,[40] and in 2018, he became the first Christian artist to receive the Billionaire award from Pandora for reaching a billion Pandora streams.[41]
