U.S. Fans Make Australian Rock Band Hillsong United A Bonafide Grassroots Sensation:

U.S. Fans Make Australian Rock Band Hillsong United A Bonafide Grassroots Sensation:

a_CROSS//the_EARTH: Tear Down The Walls ROCKETS TO #2 ON U.S. iTUNES TOP ALBUMS CHART

Contemporary Christian Rock Band Sells Out Atlanta-Area 12,000-Seat Verizon Amphitheatre on Current North American Tour

NEW YORK, June 1 /PRNewswire/ -- American fans of Hillsong United, the Australian rock band, are building a grassroots bonfire under the group as a_CROSS//the_EARTH: Tear Down The Walls, the band's newly released live album, rockets its way to the #2 position on the U.S. iTunes Top Albums chart.

A musical dark horse on the iTunes chart, a_CROSS//the_EARTH: Tear Down The Walls catapulted over mainstream competition last week from Adam Lambert, Keith Urban, Green Day and Lady GaGa.

Fans have been generating standing-room-only ticket sales for Hillsong United on the North American leg of the group's a_CROSS//the_EARTH Spring Tour 2009 (please see itinerary following). On Wednesday night (May 27), Hillsong United sold-out the 12,000 seat Verizon Amphitheatre in Alpharetta, Georgia, just outside Atlanta, delighting their ecstatic fans with an evening's worth of electrifying spirit-filled rock presented in an astounding concert environment of state-of-the-art light and sound.

Hillsong United is the music-making world-touring youth ministry of the Hillsong Church, a pentecostal congregation located in Sydney, Australia. Featuring Brooke Ligertwood and other charismatic worship leaders and performers, Hillsong United host Encounter, an annual youth conference, in the U.S. each summer, drawing thousands of fans from across the country. This year's Encounter conferences will take place at the Anaheim Convention Center (August 21-22) and the University of Miami (August 28-29). For more details, please visit www2.hillsong.com/united/#/encounter.

The Hillsong Church produced its first praise and worship CD, The Power of Your Love, in 1992. The first Hillsong United release, the four-song EP One, was released in 1998 and bundled with the annual Hillsong live album. Since those humble beginnings, more than 6 million Hillsong CDs, DVDs and other branded units have sold in the United States, with Hillsong United selling more than 560,000 pieces in the U.S.

a_CROSS//the_EARTH: Tear Down The Walls, the latest in a line of live Hillsong United albums beginning with 1999's Everyday, has been drawing rave reviews:

Kevin Davis, writing for the Christian Music Review, called the album "...a must have for your praise and worship collection."

Andree Farias, in Christian Music Today, found "...a combination of stadium-sized praise rockers and ballads..." in the album while noting that "Hillsong United goes back to their old ways with energy and passion....In case you've been living under a rock, take heed: Hillsong United is the biggest youth worship band on the planet."

"Hillsong United return with their first live CD recording since 2006," wrote Leigh DeVore in Charisma magazine. "a_CROSS//the_EARTH: Tear Down The Walls features 12 songs, including 11 new tracks, in Hillsong United's signature power, pop-rock worship melodies. The crowd stays involved on this rousing CD, with its good mix of feet-stomping tracks and heart-moving ballads....Hillsong United continue to usher crowds into the presence of God with energetic, faith-building songs. Fans will be so glad to hear them again...."

   Hillsong United - U.S. Tour dates   Fri 5/29          Birmingham, AL        The Basement at Cathedral of the                                            Cross   Sat 5/30          Nashville, TN         Curb Event Center   Mon 6/1           Columbia, MD          Merriweather Post Pavillion   Tue 6/2           Ocean Grove, NJ       Great Auditorium   Wed 6/3           Virginia Beach, VA    Wave Church   Fri 6/5           New York, NY          Roseland Ballroom (sold-out)   Sat 6/6           Toronto, Ont.         Christian Heritage Day   Tue-Wed 6/9-10    Chicago, IL           Willow Creek Conference   Fri-Sat 8/21-22   Los Angeles, CA       Hillsong United Encounter - LA   Fri-Sat 8/28-29   Miami, FL             Hillsong United Encounter - Miami    www.hillsongunited.com   www.IntegrityLive.com   www.columbiarecords.com  

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: Integrity/Columbia Records

CONTACT: Tricia Whitehead, Spinhouse Public Relations, +1-615-599-7746,
tricia@thespinhouse.com; or Shannon Walker of Integrity Music,
shannonw@integinc.com, +1-251-776-5083,
www.integritymusic.com/ecard/unitedacte

Web Site: www2.hillsong.com/united/#/encounter

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Profile: International Entertainment