Pop stands for Popular...

I don't spend a ton of time talking about music in this space. The simple reason is because I deal with so much of it everyday at the station that it's nice to vent on the other areas of Pop Culture. The more honest and complex reason is that there just isn't much great music to talk about. Now before this becomes too much of a diatribe against the staleness and stubbornness of the "Christian Music Industry" let me shift gears. While it is true that the industry I work in is dying a death of sameness, I come here not to bury "Christian Music" but to praise it for an example of the kind of music we desperately need to see more of, pop.

Her name is Britt Nicole, and her debut album, "Say It" is the perfect example of what happens when you pair the right producer with the right voice and take some musical risks. In a word Britt's album is H-O-T. It was so refreshing to pop in an disc and listen all the way through with a smile on my face, and coming out on the other end with a sore neck from all the head bobbing. You may have heard her first single, "You", on "The Fuse" or your local "Christian station". It's okay, but it doesn't compare to the other tracks on this album. In fact, out of the 11 tracks on the album it may be in the bottom half. Why would the label choose it as the first single? Because they are catering to an already close minded and overly "safe" group of programmers, but that's a whole 'nother diatribe. The point is, Britt Nicole's album is an oasis in the mid tempo rock desert of our industry and I want to bring attention to it in whatever way I can. While the mainstream world cruises to Kelly Clarkson, Gwen Stefani, Black Eyed Peas, Rihanna, Nelly Furtado, Pink, Justin Timberlake, and The Pussycat Dolls (often putting up with messages they don't buy into), we have.... uh..... Toby Mac. Well, add Britt to that list and pick it up if you are looking for some great summer tunes, and pray that other Christian artists, labels, and radio stations realize there is a market for music that is, get this, popular.