Recently in International Christian Music Category

Every week, iTickets.com offers new free Christian music downloads. Typically they're from artists you've heard of, or at least I've heard of as a member of the media. But this week, there's a download from an artist I've never heard of, and who I'm having trouble even finding info.

His name is Renier Strydom and I think he's from South Africa. The free download at itickets is for his song, "The One I Love," from his album, Almal Wat Dors Het.

Here are the lyrics for "The One I Love":

When I told you about the Juno Awards recently, I mentioned that I hadn't heard of the band Life Support. So I contacted the band to get some info, and I think you'll be happy to meet this group of missionary-minded musicians.

The six piece band describes themselves as a "worship collective / "art rock" ensemble whose passion is to lead people into God's presence." The group formed while the members were attending St. Francis Xavier University as an outreach to witness to the students on campus.

Up-and-coming artist Omega Bugembe Okello recently received an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding World Music Artist.

The Ugandan songstress began her musical career as a young child when she was selected as one of the first and youngest members of the African Children's Choir, touring throughout North America and Europe to raise awareness of the plight of war-torn Uganda.

"I was raised by parents who loved Jesus and instilled that faith in me as a child," she says. "Imagine how thrilled I was at four years old to join a ministry like the African Children's Choir, and share my faith worldwide!"

On January 27, Maranatha! Music will release Quiero Alabarte 1 and Quiero Alabarte 2. Each compilation features vocal and instrumental versions of the best of Maranatha! Praise recorded in the Spanish language.

The Quiero Alabarte series has touched thousands of people worldwide with encouragement and hope. Newly re-mastered, the best of this series can now be experienced again in a brand new way. The release also allows fans of the series to upgrade to new digital masters for superior quality listening experience.

I wonder how much praise music there is out there in Spanish. If you're a Spanish-speaking Christian, maybe you can share a little bit about how the Christian music industry does or doesn't reach out to you in your own language.

What songs topped the Christian music charts for 2008? Check out this Gospel Soundcheck post, Radio and Record's Most Played Christian Songs of 2008.

I came across this story in The Star online, about the Malaysian finals for the Global Battle of the Bands contest, which included a Christian rock band called Vessel of Worship.

This was the third of four qualifying heats held at the Carmen Club, Bayview Georgetown Hotel in Penang, Malaysia. The results were determined by live audience voting and a panel of judges, and the story cites Vessels of Worship as the crowd favorite. The national finals will be held on November 13 at Planet Hollywood in Kuala Lumpur.

The GBOB contest included local heats from all around the world, and the finals feature bands from Croatia, Serbia, Germany, Malaysia, Pakistan and everywhere else you can think of. I thought it was worth noting that a Christian band from Malaysia made the finals; I'm always intrigued by how Christian music fits into the mainstream music scene in other parts of the world. The US is one of the few places where we separate Christian and mainstream music into their own communities.

The GBOB world finals are scheduled for December 14 and 15 in London. The winner gets a $100,000 prize, a statuette, and worldwide promotion.

There are two local qualifying heats left in the US, on October 20 in Anaheim, California and October 23 in Covington, Kentucky. You can get complete details at the Global Battle of the Bands website.