Cory Hunter Asbury is an American Christian musician,

worship pastor A worship pastor usually refers to a person who ministers using contemporary worship music or other Christian music, as well as counseling and pastoring members of the church's music team and worship ministries. This is a distinct role within a ...

, songwriter, and former member of the

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 ...

collective. Starting as an intern with the

International House of Prayer The International House of Prayer (IHOPKC) is a charismatic evangelical Christian movement and missions organization based in Kansas City, Missouri, and the nearby suburb of Grandview that focuses on the inerrancy of scripture, and biblical ...

in Kansas City, Missouri, in 2005, Asbury's career as a musician grew as he collaborated with Matt Gilman leading to the release of ''Holy'' in 2008, followed by his first solo album, ''Let Me See Your Eyes'', in 2009 by Forerunner Music, and numerous appearances on IHOPKC albums, with songs such as "Where I Belong", "Shekinah", "All Is for Your Glory" and "Holy Ghost Party". In June 2012, Asbury moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado, to join New Life Church where he began as an associate worship pastor, becoming a member of its ensembles,

Desperation Band Desperation Band is a worship band led by Jon Egan, and part of the worship ministry of New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The band has been featured on the main stage at Creation East and Kingdom Bound, and has led worship in the Wo ...

and

New Life Worship ''New Life Worship'' is the contemporary worship music band out of New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It en ...

. After signing with

in 2015, Asbury made his first appearance with the Collective on '' Have It All'' (2016). He became more known with the release of "

Reckless Love Reckless Love is a Finnish rock band formed in Kuopio in 2001. They released their debut album in 2010, which reached number 13 in the Finnish charts. In 2011, they released their second album ''Animal Attraction'', which was in the top 10 of t ...

" in late 2017, a hit single that preceded his breakthrough second full-length album, also titled ''

'', in early 2018 which was a commercially successful release, having charted in the United States and internationally. "Reckless Love" was nominated for Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song in the

2019 Grammy Awards The 61st Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on February 10, 2019, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Singer-songwriter Alicia Keys hosted. During her opening monologue, Keys brought out Lady Gaga, Jada Pinkett Smith, Jennifer Lopez, and fo ...

. His third studio album, '' To Love a Fool'', was released on July 31, 2020, which featured the singles, " The Father's House", " Sparrows", and " Dear God".

Early life

Cory Asbury was born on October 15, 1985. Music affected him profoundly in his childhood, and he developed his songwriting ability growing up in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

. Asbury began leading worship at his local church when he was seventeen years old. When Asbury finished high school at Franklin High School in 2004, he considered studying at

UNC Chapel Hill UNC is a three-letter abbreviation that may refer to: Education * University of Northern California (disambiguation), which may refer to: ** University of Northern California (Santa Rosa), in Petaluma, California, United States ** University of Nor ...

, but his friends that graduated at the Onething internship with

(IHOPKC) in Kansas City persuaded Asbury to attend IHOPKC instead, so Asbury began his internship at IHOPKC on January 1, 2005, where he started his musical career.

Music and ministry career

2005–2012: ''Holy'', ''Let Me See Your Eyes'' and IHOPKC releases

Asbury began his career during his seven-year stay in Kansas City with the International House of Prayer, starting in the Onething internship program. He made his first appearance on an IHOPKC compilation titled ''Immersed'', released in December 2007, alongside several artists including Misty Edwards and David Brymer. Forerunner Music then released ''Holy'', a collaboration by Asbury with Matt Gilman, on July 10, 2008. The album consists of twelve tracks with Asbury and Gilman performing six each. On September 1, 2009, Asbury released his first solo album with Forerunner Music, called ''Let Me See Your Eyes'', which included appearances by Jaye Thomas, Edwin Botero and Nathan Prior. Produced by Seth Yates, ''Let Me See Your Eyes'' is an

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and su ...

collection which also incorporates various musical styles including

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

and electro. The song "My Beloved", which featured Jaye Thomas, had been released as Asbury's first single from the album in July 2009. In 2010, Asbury was featured on two IHOPKC albums, ''Where I Belong'' by Onething Live and ''Joy'' by Forerunner Music, alongside Jaye Thomas and Laura Hackett Park, on both releases. The song "Shekinah", which Asbury performed live with Jaye Thomas and was released as a part of ''Joy'' in November, became their first '' Billboard'' chart entry, as it peaked at No. 11 on the Gospel Digital Song Sales chart. Released in 2011, Asbury appeared on ''Before His Eyes'' by Onething Live, performing "Reason to Dance". On July 24, 2012, Onething Live released its third live album, ''Magnificent Obsession'', with Asbury featuring on "All Is for Your Glory" and "Never Gonna Leave Me Dry". This album was Onething Live's breakthrough release, with the album making its debut on ''Billboard's''

Christian Albums 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 ...

chart at No. 17, and on Heatseekers Albums chart at No 10, credited as IHOPKC Worship.

2012–2016: New Life Church, Bethel Music signing and Radiant Church

After spending seven years at the International House of Prayer, Asbury and his family moved to Colorado Springs to join New Life Church where he assumed the role of associate worship pastor on June 1, 2012. He led worship on Sunday morning and the Sunday night services as well as the Desperation Student Ministries on Wednesdays. On August 13, 2013,

released ''Strong God'', an album recorded live at New Life Church through

Integrity Music Integrity Music is part of the David C Cook nonprofit group. Founded as a direct-to-consumer music club in 1987 as ''Integrity Music'', Integrity was at the forefront of contemporary worship music's widespread popularity of praise and worship mu ...

, with Asbury singing "All to Him" and "Ascribe". ''Strong God'' peaked at No. 6 on ''Billboard's'' Christian Albums chart, and at No. 165 on the ''Billboard'' 200. Asbury also co-wrote "Fun" with Jon Egan and

Jason Ingram Jason David Ingram is an American Christian music producer and songwriter. He has been a songwriter for many Christian artists, including Bebo Norman and Point of Grace. Career Around the end of 2001, he was the first artist to be signed to ...

for

's live album, ''

Banner A banner can be a flag or another piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or another message. A flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms (but usually in a square or rectangular shape) is called a banner of arms. Als ...

'' (2014). In May 2015, Asbury was signed by

and became a part of its Artist Collective.
- On March 11, 2016, Bethel Music released its eighth live album, '' Have It All'', with Asbury singing on the song "Son of God", his first feature for Bethel. ''Have It All'' started at No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Christian Albums Chart in its opening week with 25,000 copies sold, peaking at No. 12 on the ''Billboard'' 200. He has toured with Bethel Music and has also led worship at the Heaven Come Conference, an annual Bethel Music event launched in 2016. During his tenure there, he led worship during certain services organized at Bethel Church, the home base of Bethel Music in Redding, California. In December 2016, Asbury moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan, where he began serving as a worship pastor at Radiant Church.

2017–2020: ''Reckless Love''

On October 27, 2017, Asbury released his second single, "

", in the lead up to the issue of his second solo album. As the song grew in popularity and achieved commercial success with radio airplay weeks before its release date, his third album of the same name, ''

'' was released on January 26, 2018, by Bethel Music. The album debuted at No. 1 on ''Billboard's''

chart with 11,000

equivalent album units The album-equivalent unit, or album equivalent, is a measurement unit in music industry to define the consumption of music that equals the purchase of one album copy. This consumption includes streaming and song downloads in addition to traditio ...

sold in its first week, while reaching No. 53 on the all-encompassing ''Billboard'' 200 chart for the best-selling releases in the United States. The title track broke into the top ten of

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 ...

as well, reaching No. 7 after massive gains in streaming and radio airplay. Asbury also peaked at No. 3 on ''Billboard's'' Emerging Artists chart. ''Reckless Love'' also broke through internationally as it topped the

Official Christian & Gospel Albums Chart The Official Christian & Gospel Albums Chart is a music chart based on sales of albums of Contemporary Christian and gospel music in the UK. It is compiled weekly by the Official Charts Company (OCC), with each week's number one being announced ...

in the United Kingdom, and peaked at No. 69 and 73 on the Australian ARIA Albums chart and the

Schweizer Hitparade The Swiss Hitparade (german: link=no, Schweizer Hitparade) is Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland. The Swiss charts include: * Singles Top 7 ...

of Switzerland respectively. The song went on to top several Christian radio charts. It reached No. 1 on the Christian Songs chart, staying there for eighteen weeks. The song also peaked at No. 3 on the

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

chart. It was nominated for the 2019 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song. In January 2020, Cory Asbury released a new version of "Reckless Love" which featured

Tori Kelly Victoria Loren Kelly (born December 14, 1992) is an American singer-songwriter, and voice actress. She first gained recognition after posting videos on YouTube as a teenager, and made it through to Hollywood week on the ninth season of ''Americ ...

, and a devotional book titled ''Reckless Love: A 40-Day Journey Into the Overwhelming, Never-Ending Love of God''.

2020–present: ''To Love a Fool''

On January 24, 2020, " The Father's House" was released as the lead single for his third solo album, '' To Love a Fool''. On the Hot Christian Songs chart, the song debuted at No. 16, peaking at No. 3 on the chart. Asbury released " Christ Be Magnified" as a standalone single on February 28, 2020. On April 4, 2020, Asbury and Bethel Music released "

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

" as third single from Bethel Music's album, '' Revival's in the Air'' (2020). The song peaked at No. 36 on the Hot Christian Songs chart. ''To Love a Fool'' was released on July 31, 2020. ''To Love a Fool'' debuted at number four on the ''Billboard''

Top Christian Albums 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 ...

chart. On September 11, 2020, " Sparrows" was released to Christian radio in the United States as the second single from ''To Love a Fool''. "Sparrows" peaked at number 6 on Hot Christian Songs chart. Asbury released " Dear God" as the third single from '' To Love a Fool'', on October 23, 2020. "Dear God" debuted at number 34 on the Hot Christian Songs chart. On November 6, 2020, Asbury released his first live album, '' To Love a Fool – A Rooftop Experience'', which contains live versions of the songs that initially appeared on ''To Love a Fool'' studio recording. The album debuted at number 20 on the Top Christian Albums Chart. Asbury received two nominations for the 2021 GMA Dove Awards, being nominated for Song of the Year for "The Father's House" and Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year for ''To Love a Fool''. In August 2021, Asbury announced that he would be headlining the Songs and Stories tour in the United States, alongside Benjamin Hastings of Hillsong United.

Discography

;Studio albums * ''Let Me See Your Eyes'' (2009) * ''

'' (2018) * '' To Love a Fool'' (2020) ;Collaborative albums * ''Holy'' with Matt Gilman (2008) ;Live albums * '' To Love a Fool – A Rooftop Experience'' (2020)

Bibliography

Tours

Headlining * Songs and Stories Tour (2021)

Awards

Billboard Music Awards

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GMA Dove Awards

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2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

, " The Father's House" , Song of the Year , , - , '' To Love a Fool'' , Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year ,

Grammy Awards

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Asbury, Cory 1985 births Living people Christians from Michigan American Charismatics American male singer-songwriters American performers of Christian music Composers of Christian music Singer-songwriters from North Carolina 21st-century American singers 21st-century American male singers Performers of contemporary worship music Musicians from Fort Lauderdale, Florida Singer-songwriters from Florida