for King & Country
Contemporary Christian act for KING & COUNTRY are an anthemic pop duo formed by Australian-born, Nashville-based brothers Joel and Luke Smallbone. Their 2011 single "Busted Heart" and subsequent debut album, Crave, brought them widespread success in the Christian music world and helped them cross over to the mainstream U.S. charts. 2014's sophomore follow-up, Run Wild. Live Free. Love Strong., was another American chart hit, later certified gold. By the end of the decade, the pair scored their biggest release to date with 2018's Burn the Ships, their first Christian chart number one. In 2020, after multiple holiday-themed live releases and EPs, they went big with the official full-length A Drummer Boy Christmas. The group issued What Are We Waiting For? in 2022; the album included the single "Relate," which peaked at number one on the U.S. Hot Christian Songs chart. Unsung Hero, a biographical film and inspired soundtrack about the Smallbone family, arrived in 2024.
Born in Sydney, Australia to a music promoter/entertainment manager father, and siblings of contemporary Christian singer/songwriter Rebecca St. James, the brothers grew up in a musical household and relocated to Nashville in 1991 as their father pursued a new career opportunity. Their first bow as recording artists was singing backup with their sister, which led to the formation of the grassroots duo Joel & Luke. They changed their name to for KING & COUNTRY, a moniker they chose to convey their message of believing in something bigger than themselves, as well as the devotional, emotionally honest nature of their lyricism. By the summer of 2010, their song "Light It Up" was featured in the Lifetime dramedy Drop Dead Diva. The following fall, the twosome released a self-titled EP for Word, featuring the songs "Love's to Blame" and "People Change," as heard on the supernatural CW series The Vampire Diaries, and "Busted Heart (Hold on to Me)," the fastest-rising debut single of 2011 on the Billboard Hot Christian Songs chart. The first-time full-length Crave arrived in February 2012, having made Billboard's list of the year's most anticipated debut albums, and the Smallbone brothers hit the road alongside artists like Skillet and Sanctus Real for the Winter Jam tour. The album hit the Top Five Christian chart and made it onto the bottom half of the Billboard 200.
Hope Is What We Crave: Live followed in the summer of 2013, and that fall the duo released the Christmas effort Into the Silent Night: The EP, which returned them to the Top Five of the Christian albums chart. In 2014, their second LP, Run Wild. Live Free. Love Strong., hit number two on the Christian chart and climbed all the way to the 13th spot on the Billboard 200. A deluxe edition of the album appeared in 2015, offering a number three Christian hit in the bonus track "Priceless." Released in time for the 2017 holidays, for KING & COUNTRY issued the Christmas: Live in Phoenix album. In 2018, the pair released "joy.," the lead single from their third album, Burn the Ships, which arrived in October of that year. A 2020 single, "Together," saw the duo teaming up with Tori Kelly and Kirk Franklin. Later that year, they committed to an entire holiday full-length with A Drummer Boy Christmas, which featured Needtobreathe ("O Come, O Come Emmanuel") and Gabby Barrett ("Go Tell It on the Mountain").
In 2021, three years after its original release, a deluxe version of Burn the Ships arrived with added material including the collaborative "Amen (Reborn)" with Lecrae and the World Famous Tony Williams. It was followed by the single "Relate," which appeared on the duo's fourth full-length effort, What Are We Waiting For? Released in 2022, the LP featured guest appearances by Dante Bowe, Sleeping at Last, Tori Kelly, and Kirk Franklin. It topped the Christian Albums chart and reached number seven on the Billboard 200. In early 2024, they released the song "Checking In," featuring Lee Brice. The track arrived as the first single off the soundtrack to Unsung Hero, an autobiographical film about the Smallbone siblings and their family's early years.
© Chrysta Cherrie & Marcy Donelson /TiVo
Similar artists
-
Burn The Ships
Humour/Spoken Word - Released by Curb | Word on 5 Oct 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
What Are We Waiting For?
Humour/Spoken Word - Released by Curb | Word on 11 Mar 2022
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
TOGETHER
for King & Country, Kirk Franklin, Tori Kelly
Humour/Spoken Word - Released by Curb | Word on 1 May 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
The Proof of Your Love (The Monologue Mix)
Pop - Released by Fervent Records on 12 Jun 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Crave
Alternative & Indie - Released by Fervent Records on 28 Feb 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
For God Is With Us
Humour/Spoken Word - Released by Curb | Word on 24 Sep 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Christmas | LIVE from Phoenix (Live)
Christmas Music - Released by Fervent Records on 27 Oct 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Little Drummer Boy (Rewrapped)
Humour/Spoken Word - Released by Curb | Word on 9 Nov 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
God Only Knows (Robin G. Acoustic Mix)
Pop - Released by Curb | Word on 12 Apr 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
God Only Knows (with Dolly Parton)
for King & Country, Dolly Parton
Humour/Spoken Word - Released by Curb | Word on 14 Jun 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
For God Is With Us
for King & Country, Hillary Scott
Humour/Spoken Word - Released by Curb | Word on 15 Jul 2022
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
God Only Knows (Team Timbo Remix)
for King & Country, Dolly Parton
Pop - Released by Curb | Word on 14 Jun 2019
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Fix My Eyes (Radio Version)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Fervent Records on 16 Sep 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hope Is What We CRAVE
Rock - Released by Fervent Records - Word on 20 Aug 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
TOGETHER (feat. Kirk Franklin & Tori Kelly) (R3HAB Remix)
Pop - Released by Curb | Word on 24 Jul 2020
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hope Is What We Crave Live (Live)
Rock - Released by Fervent Records on 27 Aug 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
From the Inside Out
Pop - Released by Fervent Records - Word on 11 Mar 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Priceless (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
for King & Country, I Was The Lion
Film Soundtracks - Released by Fervent Records on 14 Feb 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -