Release and Promotion
To promote the album prior to its release, lead single "If We Are the Body" was released to Christian AC and Christian CHR radio on July 26, 2003. The single was a "huge" radio hit, peaking at number one on the Radio & Records Christian AC and Christian CHR charts and at number three on the Billboard Hot Christian Songs and Hot Christian AC charts. Casting Crowns was released on October 7, 2003 and debuted at number 198 on the Billboard 200, selling 6,000 units; it also debuted at number eleven on the Christian Albums chart and number nine on the Heatseekers Albums chart. By March 2004, the album had sold 168,000 copies in the United States, in large part due to the success of "If We Are the Body". For the chart week of March 6, 2004, Casting Crowns reached its peak position of number two on the Christian Albums chart. The following week, the album reached the number one position on the Heatseekers Albums chart. "Who Am I", the album's second single, was released on February 22, 2004 to Christian AC, Christian CHR, and Soft AC/Inspirational radio. The song topped the Radio & Records Christian AC, Christian CHR, and Soft AC/Inspirational charts as well as the Billboard Hot Christian Songs and Hot Christian AC charts. In May 2004, the album reached its peak position of number fifty-nine on the Billboard 200. "American Dream" was serviced to Christian Rock radio on June 24, 2004 while "Voice of Truth", the album's third single, was released to Christian AC, Christian CHR, and Soft AC/Inspirational radio on September 18, 2004. "Voice of Truth" peaked atop the Radio & Records Christian AC and Soft AC/Inspirational charts as well as the Billboard Hot Christian Songs and Hot Christian AC charts.
By the end of 2004, Casting Crowns had sold over 710,000 copies. It ranked as the second best-selling Christian album and the 126th best-selling album of 2004 in the United States. Casting Crowns ranked as the fifth best-selling Christian album and the 179th best-selling album of 2005 in the United States. By September 10, 2005, the album had sold over 1 million copies. Casting Crowns received re-releases in 2006 and 2007, both of them featuring bonus DVD content. After first charting on the Billboard Catalog Albums chart in 2005, the album reached a peak position of number seven on the chart for the chart week of September 5, 2009. The album ranked as the eleventh best-selling Christian album of the 2000s decade and has sold over 1.7 million copies in the United States as of December 5, 2009. The album received a 2x Platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 2012, signifying shipments of over two million units. It is one of only eight Christian albums to reach that certification.
Read more about this topic: Casting Crowns (album)
Famous quotes containing the words release and, release and/or promotion:
“We read poetry because the poets, like ourselves, have been haunted by the inescapable tyranny of time and death; have suffered the pain of loss, and the more wearing, continuous pain of frustration and failure; and have had moods of unlooked-for release and peace. They have known and watched in themselves and others.”
—Elizabeth Drew (1887–1965)
“If I were to be taken hostage, I would not plead for release nor would I want my government to be blackmailed. I think certain government officials, industrialists and celebrated persons should make it clear they are prepared to be sacrificed if taken hostage. If that were done, what gain would there be for terrorists in taking hostages?”
—Margaret Mead (1901–1978)
“Parents can fail to cheer your successes as wildly as you expected, pointing out that you are sharing your Nobel Prize with a couple of other people, or that your Oscar was for supporting actress, not really for a starring role. More subtly, they can cheer your successes too wildly, forcing you into the awkward realization that your achievement of merely graduating or getting the promotion did not warrant the fireworks and brass band.”
—Frank Pittman (20th century)