Soaring melodies, driving rhythms, theatrical instrumentation and personal themes are the heartbeat of for KING & COUNTRY’s RUN WILD. LIVE FREE. LOVE STRONG., the highly-anticipated, sophomore album releasing Sept. 16 from Word Entertainment. Available for pre-order now, iTunes is offering three Instant Grat Track downloads from the album, including hit single “Fix My Eyes,” encouraging anthem “It’s Not Over Yet” and the newest single, “Without You (Feat. Courtney).”
Comprised of brothers Joel and Luke, for KING & COUNTRY’s “Without You” not only hits No. 1 on the Christian & Gospel Top Songs iTunes® chart, but is an inspiring, real life message of hope that features a beautiful duet with Luke’s wife Courtney.
“‘Without You’ is probably the most honest, difficult song that I’ve ever had to write,” says Luke, “because I got very, very sick at one point and my wife, during my sickness, thought that there was a chance she could lose me. She came to me on one particular night and said, ‘Luke, you just can’t leave me here.’”
In addition to for KING & COUNTRY’s professional success that includes an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno as a debut artist, gathering “New Artist of the Year” and “Breakthrough Artist of the Year” awards, and having the top-selling debut release from 2012 in its genre, the duo’s Luke also faced a life-threatening illness.
“You say it's going to be okay, but at that time in my life, I didn’t know if it was going to be okay,” remembers Luke. “Your wife and son look up to you for strength, and in those moments, those dark moments, I didn’t have any. That was a difficult thing for me.
“The ‘Without You’ lyrics gave me the vision and the hope for what is to come,” continues Luke. “I know that I have today, but I don’t know if I have tomorrow, so in those moments, I am going to laugh, and I’m going to dance if I can. If this illness was to take me, it would take me as a very hopeful man.”
“‘When you hear Luke’s wife on the chorus and them singing it together, I will be on record of saying it is the most gut-wrenching song that we have ever written,” adds Joel. “I think we’ve written a lot of honest songs before, but this is about as rip-a-page-out-of-your-journal and sing it as music gets.”
With a “Without You” music video to be released soon, for KING & COUNTRY’s first single from RUN WILD. LIVE FREE. LOVE STRONG., “Fix My Eyes,” has remained in the Top 5 on iTunes Christian/Gospel singles chart since its release May 1. In addition, Nielson BDS reports that the single had the most stations supporting first-week at Christian AC/CHR radio than any song since 2009, including 100% of the Christian CHR panel. With 110 reporting outlets (including national networks) currently spinning “Fix My Eyes,” the song hits No. 3 with a bullet on the National Christian Audience Airplay Billboard chart. The song also jumps to No. 2 at Christian CHR while hitting No. 5 on the AC Indicator chart. An inside look at the inspiration behind the song “Fix My Eyes” can be seen below.
Playing the new songs and fan favorites like “The Proof Of Your Love” from their critically acclaimed debut album, Crave, for KING & COUNTRY embarks on a major market, 40-city fall “YOU MATTER – THE TOUR.” Launching Sept. 14 in Nashville (Franklin, TN), the tour will hit significant venues in cities like Los Angeles (Chino and Riverside, CA), Washington, D.C. (Woodbridge, VA), Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, San Diego, Las Vegas, Austin, Albuquerque and more before wrapping up in New York City Nov. 23. Being sponsored by Compassion International, all “YOU MATTER – THE TOUR” dates, as well as tickets, are available now at www.forkingandcountry.com.
With RUN WILD. LIVE FREE. LOVE STRONG., for KING & COUNTRY has created an album that lives up to the band’s name, a reflection of standing and fighting for something bigger than yourself, a mission statement that drove the duo from the first words written for this project until the last note was recorded.
“RUN WILD. LIFE FREE. LOVE STRONG. is a statement of reclaiming our birthright as humans to live a life that is for others--a life that is others-focused, God-focused—and in that find what it truly means to run wild, live free and love strong,” says Joel.
