BarlowGirl

BarlowGirl

BarlowGirl is a Christian rock group. Hailing from Elgin, Illinois, the band is made up of three sisters: Rebecca, Lauren, and Alyssa Barlow.

Their song "Never Alone" was the longest running number-one song in 2004 on Radio and Records' Christian Hit Radio and Christian Rock charts.

Their song "I Need You to Love Me" broke the record on CRW’s Christian CHR chart by holding the #1 the No. 1 spot for 13 consecutive weeks. It was the most played song on Christian CHR radio in 2006. BarlowGirl was voted the January 2006 winner in Yahoo.com's Who's Next after viewers were shown the video for the song.

History

The Barlow sisters' father, Vince Barlow, created youth CDs at his church in Chicago. Word of his CDs spread nationwide. People hired Vince to perform at their churches. He brought his daughters as his backup band in the late 1990s. BarlowGirl began writing songs and performing them at his performances. The trio stopped touring with their father when Becca and Alyssa began taking college classes, but they did perform at his nearby concerts. The trio had written around ten songs by 2002.

The Barlow sisters were given a paid trip to the Gospel Music Association's Music in the Rockies seminar at Estes Park, Colorado, in mid-2002. The sisters didn't know that the seminar was a record industry event for unsigned artists, or that it was a competition. They reached the finals of the event. Record companies began courting the sisters after word of mouth spread about the seminar.

The group's name became famous before the group released their first CD. The group Superchic[k] included a song titled "Barlow Girls" on their initial release, Karaoke Superstar. The song was a tribute to the actual Barlow sisters and their stand for sexual purity, and effectively introduced the sisters to the music world.

The sisters were signed to Fervent Records on October 14, 2003.

Musical Style

BarlowGirl is known as a Christian rock group. Their style includes three-part harmony mixed with rock guitars. Their songs run the range from ballads to guitar rock.

BarlowGirl's philosophy

The band has gained a following with their message of "Don't be conformed, be Transformed" from Romans 12:1-2. Besides believing in abstinence and modesty, the band has also taken a stand on not dating, but their main message remains that people should look to God for love and security, and He will bring everything else into our lives.

BarlowGirl's message is one of not rushing into a dating relationship, one that is a more secular view of dating. The ladies believe that God will provide the ideal mate. [2] The lyrics from their song "Average Girl" state: "Chasing after boys is not my thing, See I'm waiting for a wedding ring" and "Boys are bad; that's certainly not true, 'Cause God's preparing one for you".

They were quoted as saying:

"We believe that God has one perfect man already chosen for us; therefore we have no need to worry ourselves in searching for him. When the time is right, we know God will bring us together. In the mean time, we are not hiding in a closet avoiding all males, we are still living our lives, just without the pressure of having to have a boyfriend."

Self-titled debut album

File:Barlowgirl.jpg

BarlowGirl hit the spotlight when they released their first album BarlowGirl on February 24 2004 , coupled with the success of its first single, "Never Alone". The longest running number-one song in 2004 on R&R's CHR and CRW Rock charts, "Never Alone" was named Song of the Year on each of these charts. The CD had sold over 250,000 units by April 2005, and featured the singles "Never Alone" and "Mirror". These number-one songs earned the trio four 2005 GMA (Gospel Music Association) awards (formerly the Dove Award) nominations, including the Best New Artist award, Best Rock Song, and Rock Album. The trio was the best-selling new Christian artist of 2004. BarlowGirl received a 2006 GMA award nomination for Rock/Contemporary Song of the Year for "Mirror".

Another Journal Entry

Another Journal Entry, BarlowGirl's sophomore album

Their second album, Another Journal Entry, was released on September 27 2005. The album debuted at number three on Soundscan's Christian album chart, and had reached eighty-five on Billboard's Top 200 Current Albums chart by October 10 2005 . The trio was nominated for three additional 2006 GMA awards – Group of the Year, Rock/Contemporary Album of the Year, and Rock Recorded Song of the Year – for Let Go.

The first single from the album, "Let Go", was a free download of the week from iTunes and enjoyed a successful chart run.

Their next single from the album, "I Need You to Love Me", quickly climbed to number one on the Weekend 22 countdown in April 2006. The single held on to the #1 position on the R&R Christian CHR chart for 9 weeks, and the CRW Christian CHR chart for a record 13 weeks. The single was the most played song of 2006 on Christian CHR radio as played on the Weekend 22.

They prepared a video for their hit song "Never Alone" for release for mainstream radio, but it did not chart on the mainstream charts.

Another Journal Entry Yahoo! Music Special Edition

This special edition features all the hit songs like, "Let Go" and "5 Minutes of Fame". This CD also features a remix of "Never Alone".

Another Journal Entry: Expanded Edition

The re-release was released in August 2006. It features all 11 tracks from Another Journal Entry and 5 bonus tracks consisting of: 1 brand new song, 3 acoustic versions of BarlowGirl hits ("I Need You To Love Me", "Porcelain Heart", and "On My Own") , and a radio edit of "Never Alone". Also included on the disk was their "Never Alone" music video. There was also a Fan Pack released, with a bonus "More Than Music" book and sticker.

National Day of Prayer 2007

The girls are the youth ambassadors for the national day of prayer. They recorded the song "We Pray" (written by Clint Lagerberg and Otto Price) along with other artists like Rebecca St. James for this event.

Studio Series Performance Trax

• Never Alone (2005)
• Mirror (2005)
• Enough (2005)
• I Need You To Love Me (2005)
• For Beauty of The Earth (2006)

Music Videos

• I Need You To Love Me (2005)
• Never Alone (2006)
• Grey (2006)

Coming Up

• "We Pray" (Unconfirmed)

Trivia

• The sisters call themselves more of a reluctant trio who never wanted to be in a band. It was their parents who got them into it, as the three first performed in their church, before finally making the splash into mainstream Contemporary Christian music (CCM).
• They received more votes for Yahoo.com's Who's Next by beating the three other contestants: Limbeck, Morningwood, and The Willowz.

References

• BarlowGirl's Official Website
• BarlowGirl's Official Myspace.com
• Barlow Girl interview discussing modesty and dating, Retrieved January 29 2007
• - BarlowGirl Online - A Large BarlowGirl Fansite

External links

• BarlowGirl Lyrics
• Fervent Records