''Holy Water'' is the debut studio album by American contemporary Christian music band

We the Kingdom We the Kingdom is an American contemporary Christian music band signed to the Capitol Christian Music Group. The band consists of multiple generations of relatives: Andrew Bergthold, Ed Cash, Franni Rae Cash, Martin Cash, and Scott Cash. The b ...

, which was released via

Capitol Christian Music Group Capitol Christian Music Group (Capitol CMG) (formerly known as EMI Christian Music Group) is an American music group that, since 2013, is under the ownership of Universal Music Group. It is based in Brentwood, Tennessee. Capitol CMG is in the C ...

on August 7, 2020. The album features guest appearance by

Bethel Music Bethel Music is an American music label and worship movement from Redding, California, originating out of Bethel Church where they started making music in 2001. Bethel Music has grown from being a local church music ministry to a global outreach ...

, Tasha Cobbs Leonard,

Maverick City Music Maverick City Music is an American contemporary worship music collective founded by Tony Brown and Jonathan Jay originating from Atlanta. The collective made its debut in 2019 with the release of two extended plays, ''Maverick City, Vol. 1'' and ...

, and

Bear Rinehart William Stanley "Bear" Rinehart III (born September 6, 1980; also known by the stage name Wilder Woods) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist who is a founding member and lead singer of the rock band, Needtobreathe. In 2019, he ann ...

. The album was preceded by the release of " Dancing on the Waves", "

Holy Water Holy water is water that has been blessed by a member of the clergy or a religious figure, or derived from a well or spring considered holy. The use for cleansing prior to a baptism and spiritual cleansing is common in several religions, from ...

", " Don't Tread on Me", " God So Loved", and " Child of Love" as singles. "Holy Water" went on to become the band's breakthrough hit, peaking at No. 2 on the

Hot Christian Songs Hot Christian Songs is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It ranks the popularity of Christian songs using the same methodology developed for the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, the magazine's flagship songs ...

chart. "Don't Tread on Me" peaked at No. 40 on Hot Christian Songs. "God So Loved" was the band's second Hot Christian Songs top ten single, peaking at No. 4. ''Holy Water'' achieved commercial success in the United States, the album having debuted at No. 4 on ''Billboard'''s

Top Christian Albums Chart Top Christian Albums is a weekly chart published in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the best-performing Christian albums in the United States. Like the ''Billboard'' 200, the data is compiled by Nielsen Soundscan based on each album's weekly ...

. ''Holy Water'' has garnered a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

nomination for

Best Contemporary Christian Music Album The Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality albums in the Contempor ...

at the

2021 Grammy Awards The 63rd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held in and around the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles on March 14, 2021. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from September 1, 201 ...

. The album won the

GMA Dove Award A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards are presented annually. Formerly held in Nashville, Tennessee, the Dove Awards ...

Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year at the 2021 GMA Dove Awards.

Release and promotion

Singles

" Dancing on the Waves" was released as the first single from the album on August 16, 2019. "

" was released on September 13, 2019, as the second single from the album. The song was the band's breakthrough hit single, peaking at number six on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart, number two on

chart, and number one on

Christian Airplay Christian Airplay is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States since June 21, 2003. This chart lists the 50 most-listened-to records played on multiple Christian radio stations across the country as monitored by N ...

. On April 24, 2020, " Don't Tread on Me" was released as the third single from the album. "Don't Tread on Me" peaked at number 40 on the Hot Christian Songs Chart. "God So Loved" was released as the fourth single from the album on May 29, 2020. "God So Loved" peaked at number five on Hot Christian Songs chart, and number one on the Christian Airplay chart.

Promotional singles

On July 3, 2020, We the Kingdom released "Child of Love" as the first promotional single from the album, concurrently launching the album's pre-order. "No Doubt About It" was released as the second promotional single from the album on July 24, 2020.

Reception

Critical response

In a positive review from 365 Days of Inspiring Media, Joshua Andre lauded We the Kingdom for being "extremely good" on their debut project, and remarked the band "is probably the most energetic band since

Rend Collective Rend Collective (formerly known as Rend Collective Experiment) is a Northern Irish Christian folk rock worship band originating from Bangor, Northern Ireland. The current lineup consists of Gareth Gilkeson, Chris Llewellyn, Ali Gilkeson, Patr ...

." ''

CCM Magazine ''CCM Magazine'' is a twice-monthly online magazine focusing on contemporary Christian music, published by Salem Publishing, a division of Salem Communications. History ''CCM'' was first published in July 1978, as a printed magazine. It has be ...

's'' Ross Cluver gave a favourable review of the album, describing it as "one of the strongest worship projects so far this year." NewReleaseToday's Grace Chaves praised the album, describing it as "fresh and different" compared to other worship albums, and the overall impact being "powerful and beautiful in so many ways." Jesus Freak Hideout's Alex Caldwell says in his four star review: "''Holy Water'' is a refreshing album for these troubled times, and a reminder that the author of all things created music in all of its forms."

Accolades

Commercial performance

In the United States, ''Holy Water'' debuted at number four on the ''Billboard'''s

dated August 22, 2020. concurrently debuting and on the

Top Album Sales Top Album Sales is a music chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine starting in December 2014. It is a weekly chart documenting the best-selling albums on a weekly basis in the United States. Up until December 2014, this had been documented by th ...

at No. 55.

Track listing

All songs were written by We the Kingdom (

Ed Cash Edmond Martin Cash (born August 6, 1971) is a producer, songwriter, engineer, and multi-instrumentalist. AllMusic/ref> He was named the "Producer of the Year" at the Gospel Music Awards for four consecutive years (2004–2007) and gains recogn ...

, Scott Cash, Franni Cash, Andrew Bergthold and Martin Cash), except where noted. * Songwriting credits adapted from PraiseCharts.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

External links

* on PraiseCharts {{DEFAULTSORT:Holy Water (We the Kingdom album) 2020 debut albums We the Kingdom albums