Jeremy Camp Speaking Louder Than Before Christian Music

Jeremy Camp Speaking Louder Than Before

December 9, 2008 – 1:59 pm

It’s a cold winter morning at a Starbucks outside Nashville, and Jeremy Camp raises his voice slightly to be heard above the whirl of barista activity. It may be hard to hear him in this environment, but Camp’s music is ringing loud and clear this week on the Billboard charts.

His new album, ” Speaking Louder Than Before ,” debuted this week at No. 2 on the Top Christian Albums chart and at No. 38 on the Billboard 200, after selling 33,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

“It’s a call to action, but a call to action through love,” Camp says of the new project. “If you are a believer, you don’t have to go out and be a street evangelist. We all have the opportunity to share the gospel and we should — that’s what we were called to do. If you don’t have much passion, well, get on your face and pray for the passion and get into the word of God. That’s what I’ve been sharing. That’s the whole concept.”

Camp’s desire to share his faith has made him one of the Christian industry’s most successful artists. Since releasing his 2002 debut album, “Stay,” the Indiana native has had three albums certified gold for U.S. shipments in excess of 500,000 units each, won five Dove Awards — including two male vocalist of the year titles — and earned three ASCAP Christian songwriter of the year honors.

The new album marks Camp’s first as a co-producer. Inspiration was still striking even at the last minute: The first single “There Will Be a Day” “wasn’t even supposed to be on the record because it wasn’t in existence a month before we started recording,” Camp says of the song, which is No. 2 on Hot Christian Songs.

Though only 30, Camp has experienced a tremendous amount of heartbreak. His first wife died of ovarian cancer just four-and-a-half months after their marriage. Now remarried and a father of two daughters, Camp’s past still colors his work, especially on such songs as “Healing Hand of God,” a poignant ballad about surviving tragedy with God’s help.

“Speaking Louder Than Before” is accompanied by 12 video devotionals, which can be accessed via a link on the CD to a special Web site or on the DVD that comes with the expanded edition of the album.

At retail, Wal-Mart has an exclusive track with its version of “Speaking Louder Than Before,” while iTunes has an exclusive Christmas tune, “Christ Has Come.” During street week, Camp did album-launch events in Dallas and Corona, Calif. In addition to touring the United States in 2009, he’s planning a European jaunt that will take him to Ireland, Scotland, the Netherlands and Germany.

Christian Music Online