''!Hero'' is an

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

featuring the songs from the

rock opera A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...

!Hero ''!HERO'' is a 2003 Christian rock opera about Jesus. It is based on the question, "What if Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania?". After the original tour in 2003 ended, it was released on DVD, CD, and was written into a trilogy of novels ...

. It is based on the question, "What if

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

was born in

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Bethlehem is a city in Northampton and Lehigh Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, Bethlehem had a total population of 75,781. Of this, 55,639 were in Northampton County and 19, ...

?" The rock opera modernizes Jesus' last two years on earth and features a cast of many well-known

Christian rock Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus, typically performed by self-proclaimed Christian individuals. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Ch ...

artists with

Michael Tait Michael DeWayne Tait (born May 18, 1966) is an American contemporary Christian music artist. Michael Tait met Toby McKeehan in 1984 when he was in high school. Both Toby and Michael met Kevin Max while attending Liberty University in the late 19 ...

, Rebecca St. James, and Mark Stuart as the three main characters: Hero (Jesus), Maggie (

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cru ...

), and Petrov (

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

Track listing and performers

Reviews

Chris Well, writing for CCM Magazine, reviewed it favorably and stated, "''!Hero'' is inventive, rhythmic and should, no doubt, spark debate everywhere about the real Jesus. On the other hand, Andree Farias of Christian Music Today, wrote, "''!Heros attempt to be all things to all people is well-intentioned, its 'replayability' value is minimal, deeming it no more than a glorified post-concert souvenir for the live stage show."

Primary cast

as Hero * Mark Stuart of

Audio Adrenaline Audio Adrenaline was an American Christian rock band that formed in 1986 at Kentucky Christian University in Grayson, Kentucky. The band gained recognition during the 1990s and received two Grammy Awards and multiple Dove Awards. Audio Adren ...

as Petrov * Rebecca St. James as Maggie * Paul Wright as Special Agent Hunter * Nirva Dorsaint as Mama Mary * John Cooper of

Skillet A frying pan, frypan, or skillet is a flat-bottomed pan used for frying, searing, and browning foods. It is typically in diameter with relatively low sides that flare outwards, a long handle, and no lid. Larger pans may have a small grab ha ...

as Chief Rabbi Kai * Michael Quinlan as Jude *

Matt Hammitt Matt Hammitt (born October 19, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, speaker and author. He was the lead singer for Sanctus Real, which has released seven studio albums with Sparrow Records, toured internationally and released 14 top five ...

of Sanctus Real as blind cripple *

T-Bone The T-bone and porterhouse are steaks of beef cut from the short loin (called the sirloin in Commonwealth countries and Ireland). Both steaks include a "T"-shaped lumbar vertebra with sections of abdominal internal oblique muscle on each side ...

as Jairus *

Donnie Lewis Donnie Lewis Jr. (born July 21, 1996) is an American football cornerback who is a free agent. He played college football at Tulane. Professional career Cleveland Browns Lewis was drafted by the Cleveland Browns with the 221st overall pick in th ...

as Jairus' wife *

Pete Stewart Pete Stewart is a singer, guitarist, songwriter and producer from Seattle, Washington. He is the lead singer and guitarist of Grammatrain, was the lead singer for The Accident Experiment, and is the former guitarist of Tait. Stewart released s ...

as Chief of police Devlin * Bob Farrell as Governor Pilate * John Grey as Preacher Rabbi at the wedding * Nathaniel Lee as Janitor Angel *

GRITS Grits are a type of porridge made from boiled cornmeal. Hominy grits are a type of grits made from hominy – corn that has been treated with an alkali in a process called nixtamalization, with the pericarp (ovary wall) removed. Grits are oft ...

as the Wedding Party *

Pete Pete or Petes or ''variation'', may refer to: People * Pete (given name) * Pete (nickname) * Pete (surname) Fictional characters * Pete (Disney), a cartoon character in the ''Mickey Mouse'' universe * Pete the Pup (a.k.a. 'Petey'), a character ...

and Donna Stewart as the bride and groom at the wedding

Secondary cast and musicians

* Todd Collins – percussion * Eddie DeGarmo – piano, background vocals, executive producer *

DJ Maj Michael Joseph "Mike" Allen (born October 9, 1970), professionally known as DJ Maj, is a Christian music DJ and rapper, contributing to gospel music albums released by tobyMac, GRITS, Ill Harmonics, Carman, dc Talk, and the Newsboys. DJ Maj ha ...

–

scratching Scratching, sometimes referred to as scrubbing, is a DJ and turntablist technique of moving a vinyl record back and forth on a turntable to produce percussive or rhythmic sounds. A crossfader on a DJ mixer may be used to fade between two record ...

* Jason Eskridge – background vocals * Kim Fleming –

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

* Brad Ford – vocals, assistant executive producer * Robert Gay – children's chorus * Rachel Goldstein – choir * Kirk "Jelly Roll" Johnson – harmonica * Tony Lucido – bass guitar * Rick May – drums *

Ann McCrary Beverly Ann McCrary (born August 24, 1950) is an American gospel musician and Christian R&B singer, who is a traditional black gospel, urban contemporary gospel, and Christian pop recording artist. She started her music career, in 1988, and re ...

– choir * Antonio Phelon – choir, background vocals * John Ray – choir * Becky Robertson – children's chorus * Joanna Robertson – children's chorus * Thomas Romines – choir * Pete Stewart – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass, piano,

electric piano An electric piano is a musical instrument which produces sounds when a performer presses the keys of a piano-style musical keyboard. Pressing keys causes mechanical hammers to strike metal strings, metal reeds or wire tines, leading to vibrations ...

* Greg Thomas – choir * Patti Thomas – choir * Michelle Valentine – choir * Paul Wright III

Support staff

* Eddie DeGarmo – executive producer * Brad Ford – assistant executive producer * Carl Marsh – Fairlight, string arrangement * Bethany Newman – art director, design * Marcelo Pennell –

audio engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...

* Carter Robertson – choir director * Dan Shike – mastering * Pete Stewart – audio engineer, producer, programming * Greg Thomas – choir director

Notes

Footnotes

References

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hero 2003 albums Rock operas Contemporary Christian music albums Depictions of Jesus in music ForeFront Records albums Concept albums Collaborative albums