''Tonight'' is the fourth full-length solo album by

Christian hip hop Christian hip-hop (originally gospel rap, also known as Christian rap, gospel hip-hop or holy hip-hop) is a cross-genre of contemporary Christian music and hip-hop. It emerged from urban contemporary music and Christian media in the United State ...

artist

TobyMac Kevin Michael McKeehan (born October 22, 1964), better known by his stage name TobyMac (styled tobyMac), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. His road band is known as Diverse City. Widely regarded as one of the most ...

. It is the follow-up album to his 2007 release ''

Portable Sounds ''Portable Sounds'' (stylized as (portable sounds)) is the third full-length studio album from Christian hip hop artist tobyMac. Released on February 20, 2007, the album serves as a follow-up to his 2004 album, '' Welcome to Diverse City''. T ...

'', and was released on February 5, 2010. The Deluxe Version of the album contains a DVD with interviews with Toby about the songs on the record, the making of this record and an inside look at the Diverse City Band. The album debuted at No. 6 on the ''Billboard'' 200, selling 79,000 units in its first week. As of early November 2010, the album has sold over 315,000 copies.

Recording

When asked about the album by stereotruth.net Toby had the following to say about the emotions that went into producing it; "The recording process means a lot to me, and I don't approach what I do haphazardly. I have a lot of passion when it comes to my records. I don't know if it's good or bad, but there's this range of emotions that come with making a record. Music is something that can actually open people’s minds to who God is. Music will never change the world, but God can choose to use music, and that's what I count on. I want my songs to be said in a way that anyone can relate to them. I want them to move people's lives forward; move people toward God, and if I'm accomplishing that, whether or not anyone loves this record, as long as I feel like that is what I’m doing, then I feel like my job is done."

Singles

" City on Our Knees" was released as the lead single from the album on August 14, 2009. It peaked at No. 1 on ''Billboard''s Hot Christian Songs chart. On January 26, 2010, " Get Back Up" was released as the album's second single. The song also peaked at No. 1 on ''Billboard''s Hot Christian Songs chart. He donated 100% of his artist royalties from first week sales of the single to relief efforts for Haiti after the

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

that devastated the country. The third single from the album, "Hold On", was released on October 19, 2010. "Tonight" was released as the fourth single on March 21, 2011. It was used as the theme for

MLB Network MLB Network is an American television sports channel dedicated to baseball. It is primarily owned by Major League Baseball, with TNT Sports (United States), TNT Sports, Comcast's NBC Sports Group, Charter Communications, and Cox Communications h ...

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

team preview show, ''30 Clubs in 30 Days'', as well as being used in a commercial for ''

America's Got Talent ''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is an American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distributed by) and ...

''. A music video for the song was released on February 8, 2010. Both "Start Somewhere" and "Changed Forever" impacted

Christian radio Christian radio refers to Christian media radio formats that focus on Christian religious broadcasting or various forms of Christian music. Many such formats and programs include contemporary Christian music, gospel music, sermons, radio dramas, ...

as the fifth and sixth singles from the album on October 10, 2011.

Other songs

"Showstopper" was used as a part of the NFL Thursday Night Football promotional material, and the 2009

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

. It also has been the official theme song for the WWE Fatal 4-Way Pay-Per View event, and the song was also promoted for ESPY's Best US Male Olympian. "Showstopper" and "Funky Jesus Music" were both premiered at the Winter Wonder Slam 09 Tour. "Funky Jesus Music" was included on the "Hits Deep Live" album. On "Hits Deep Live" when TobyMac tells the crowd to say, "Ola Ola Eh" this is a reference to the song Sweet Dreams (La Bouche song) by La Bouche.

Accolades

The album won a

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 ceremonies presented annually and have been held in Nashville, Tennessee exce ...

for Rock/Contemporary Album of the Year at the 42nd GMA Dove Awards. The songs " Get Back Up", "Tonight" and " Showstopper" were also nominated.42nd Annual GMA Dove Awards Nominees
on DoveAwards.com

Track listing

Notes * signifies a remixer.

Personnel

* Toby McKeehan - vocals, guitars, programming, keyboards * Christopher Stevens - guitars, programming, keyboards, drums, background vocals * David Wyatt - programming, keys *

Cary Barlowe Cary Barlowe (born 1982) is a multi No.1 hit American music songwriter, guitarist and a family member of the rock band Luna Halo. He is also a three-time Grammy Award-nominee. Born in Virginia on a Saturday, July 31, 1982, and raised in Nort ...

- guitars, acoustic guitar, background vocals * Tim Rosenau - guitars, trumpet *

Jesse Frasure Jesse Vernon Frasure (born September 18, 1981), also known as DJ Telemitry, is an American music publisher, record producer, songwriter, and DJ. He has written 22 number one songs and has cuts with various artists including Chris Stapleton, M ...

- programming, keyboards, background vocals * Brian Haley - drums * Justin York - guitars * Tony Lucido - bass * Byron " Mr. TalkBox" Chambers - talkbox * Jamie Moore - keyboards, programming * Wendell Henry - drums * John Cooper - vocals, background vocals on "Tonight" * Paul Moak - electric guitar * Michael Ripoll - guitars * Mike Payne - guitar, banjo, electric guitar * Israel Houghton - background vocals on "Break Open the Sky" * Taylor Stevens - piano * Adam Nitti - bass * DJ Maj - DJ * Sammy Sylvester - bass, electric guitar * Leif Shires - trumpet * Craig Swift - saxophone * Kenn Hughes - trombone * Nirva Dorsaint-Ready - background vocals * Gabriel Patillo - background vocals * Jason Eskridge - background vocals * Siti Monroe - background vocals *

Matthew Thiessen Matthew Arnold Thiessen (born August 12, 1980) is a Canadian-born American musician known for being co-founder, lead singer, guitarist, pianist, and primary songwriter for the rock band Relient K. With Relient K, he has released Relient K discogr ...

- background vocals on "Wonderin'" * Ayiesha Woods - background vocals * Jovaun Woods - background vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control TobyMac albums ForeFront Records albums 2010 albums Albums produced by TobyMac