"WOW" is a series of annual
compilation album
A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...
s featuring
contemporary Christian music
Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and s ...
dating from 1995. Comprising songs submitted by each partner label, the annual ''WOW Hits'' releases are usually double
CD sets. The series was officially cancelled in 2019. Throughout its run, the WOW franchise evolved into one of the most successful collections of Christian music.
Background
The birth of the WOW record project can be traced to Grant Cunningham, A&R Director at Sparrow Records. In November 1994, Cunningham made a business trip to EMI Limited in London, which at the time was the parent company of Sparrow Records. There, he noticed that several British record labels were issuing an annual CD of top-rated songs, known as the ''NOW'' series, containing collections of pop songs. Cunningham brought the idea back to Sparrow. Sparrow executives suggested a similar project be developed for Christian pop music and he was assigned the task of getting the project off the ground.
Released in late 1995, ''WOW 1996'' was the first in the WOW Series and the first recording put together by the three major Christian
record companies
A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produc ...
of the time:
Word Records
Word Records is a Christian faith-based entertainment company based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is owned by Curb Records, and is a part of Word Entertainment. It is distributed by Warner Records (the former Warner Bros. Records).
History
In 1 ...
(now
Word Entertainment
Word Entertainment is a Christian faith-based entertainment company based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is owned by Curb Records. Word Entertainment represents Francesca Battistelli, for King & Country, Switchfoot, Skillet, Sidewalk Prophets, Chris ...
),
Sparrow Records
Sparrow Records is a Christian music record label and a division of Universal Music Group.
History
Sparrow Records was founded in 1976 by Billy Ray Hearn, then artists and repertoire (A&R) director at Myrrh Records. Purchased by Thorn EMI in ...
(formerly part of
EMI Christian Music Group
EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 2012 ...
), and
Reunion Records
Reunion Records is a contemporary Christian record label based in Brentwood, Tennessee, that operates under the Provident Label Group. The label was founded in 1982, by Dan Harrell and Mike Blanton.
History
The label was formed by Amy Grant's m ...
(now part of
Sony
, commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
's
Provident Label Group
Provident Entertainment is a division of Sony Music headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee and focused primarily on Christian music. The group handles its own physical distribution through its Provident-Integrity service.
Provident Label Group
...
). Still today, after each submitting label agrees to a reduced master royalty, the final decision on the tracks to be included is made by committee. Production, marketing, and distribution for the "WOW Hits" series was handled by EMI Christian Music Group, and from 2013, by Capitol Christian Music Group, which is now a
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...
company.
In 1999, the annual ''WOW Worship'' series was launched. Rather than using the year, each release is identified by the color of the cover. The worship series and hits series are today among the best-selling members of the product brand. Beginning in 2008, WOW began releasing separate single-disc collections spread throughout each year, rather than a two-disc collection toward the end of each year. In addition to ''WOW Hits'', which focuses on the most popular pop and pop-rock music, plans call for either single-disc ''WOW Rock Hits'' and ''WOW Pop Hits'' collections released twice a year.
Released annually
WOW Series
''WOW Series'' was the first and most successful series of WOW collections,
and contains the following albums:
Wow Hits
In 2000, the ''WOW Series'' was rebranded to ''WOW Hits'', forming the second and also the most successful series of WOW collections.
In 2008, the ''WOW Series'' contemplated releasing three single discs per year instead of the annual double discs customers were used to. Only one single disc was ever released, ''
WOW Hits 1
''WOW Hits 1'' is the first and sole single-disc WOW Hits album, released on April 8, 2008. It contains sixteen songs that were popular on Christian radio at the time, and three bonus tracks. The album reached No. 4 on ''Billboards Top Ch ...
''. in the spring of 2008, before reverting to the annual format. It is not known why the publishers decided to return to the annual format instead of the new format, which was inspired by the
Now That's What I Call Music!
''Now That's What I Call Music!'' (often shortened to ''Now!'') is a series of various artists compilation albums released in the United Kingdom and Ireland by Sony Music and Universal Music (Universal Music Group, Universal/Sony Music Entert ...
series, which releases three discs annually. It contains the following albums:
WOW Gospel
''WOW Gospel'' are released annually, beginning with ''WOW Gospel 1998''. The focus of this series is
gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...
, and the compilation has been issued every year since 1998. Since the release of ''WOW Gospel 2003'', a major metropolitan city that has been influential in the field of gospel music has been honored on the album cover. For instance, New York, NY was honored due in part to the September 11, 2001 tragedy, and so on. The exception is ''WOW Gospel 2009'' in which the United States of America was honored due to the previous year's election. Another exception was when Atlanta was honored twice - first in 2007 and 2013. However, for ''Wow Gospel 2014'' and ''Wow Gospel 2015'', they did not recognize a city, however used a different background for the cover. The series consists of the following albums:
* ''
WOW Gospel 1998''
* ''
WOW Gospel 1999''
* ''
WOW Gospel 2000''
* ''
WOW Gospel 2001''
* ''
WOW Gospel 2002''
* ''
WOW Gospel 2003
WOW Gospel 2003 is a gospel music compilation album from the WOW series. Released February 4, 2003, it includes a total of thirty-three songs on two CDs. The album reached 29 on the Billboard 200 chart in 2003, and hit number one on the Top G ...
''
* ''
WOW Gospel 2004''
* ''
WOW Gospel 2005''
* ''
WOW Gospel 2006''
* ''
WOW Gospel 2007''
* ''
WOW Gospel 2008''
* ''
WOW Gospel 2009''
* ''
WOW Gospel 2010''
* ''
WOW Gospel 2011''
* ''
WOW Gospel 2012
WOW Gospel 2012 is a gospel music compilation album from the award-winning WOW series. Released on January 24, 2012, the double CD album features thirty contemporary gospel hits. The album cover pays tribute to Los Angeles, California, with a ...
''
* ''
WOW Gospel 2013''
* ''
WOW Gospel 2014''
* ''
WOW Gospel 2015''
* ''
WOW Gospel 2016''
* ''WOW Gospel 2017''
* ''WOW Gospel 2018''
* ''WOW Gospel 2019''
WOW Worship
The ''WOW Worship'' series was released annually beginning with ''WOW Worship Blue'' in 1999. The focus on this series is
praise and worship. The first album features songs performed by the worship leaders who wrote them, including
Darlene Zschech
Darlene Joyce Zschech (; née Steinhardt on 8 September 1965) is an Australian Pentecostal Christian worship leader and singer-songwriter who primarily writes praise and worship songs. Described as a pioneer of the modern worship movement, she ...
's "
Shout to the Lord
"Shout to the Lord" is a praise and worship song written by Christian worship leader Darlene Zschech in 1993. A popular worship power ballad, it was published by Hillsong Music Australia.
On 9 April 2008, "Shout to the Lord" was the closing s ...
".
It is a partnership between Integrity Music, Maranatha Music and Vineyard Music. After several years, it switched to a
contemporary Christian music
Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and s ...
format, where CCM recording artists perform praise and worship songs in their style. The series features ten albums.
WOW Essentials
''WOW Essentials'' was first released in August 2008. It contains twelve songs that are "essential to Christian music life." The first album features songs from
Chris Tomlin
Christopher Dwayne Tomlin (born May 4, 1972) is an American contemporary Christian music singer, songwriter, and worship leader from Grand Saline, Texas, United States, who has sold over 7 million records. He is a member of Passion Conferences an ...
,
Casting Crowns
Casting Crowns is a contemporary Christian and Christian rock band started in 1999 by youth pastor Mark Hall, who serves as the band's lead vocalist, as part of a youth group at First Baptist Church in Downtown Daytona Beach, Florida. They lat ...
, and many others. The focus of this series was to showcase favorite and well-known songs picked from the most recent years, and consists of the following albums:
Released occasionally
WOW Christmas
''WOW Christmas'' is a series of
compilation album
A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...
s featuring
Christmas music
Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or, in the case of carols or songs, may employ lyrics whose subject ma ...
as recorded by
contemporary Christian music
Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and s ...
artists. The series is released sporadically, beginning in 2002, and consists of the following albums:
Released once
WOW #1s
Other albums
* ''
WOW The 90s'' - Released in 1999. All of the songs in this collection were
contemporary Christian music
Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and s ...
hits during the 1990s. Marketing and distribution responsibilities for this title was delegated to
Word Entertainment
Word Entertainment is a Christian faith-based entertainment company based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is owned by Curb Records. Word Entertainment represents Francesca Battistelli, for King & Country, Switchfoot, Skillet, Sidewalk Prophets, Chris ...
.
* ''
WOW Gold
''WOW Gold'' was released in 2000 and is part of the WOW series. It was a landmark two-album collection of thirty contemporary Christian music hits ranging from the 1970s to the time it was released. Marketing and distribution responsibilities ...
'' - Released in 2000. It was a single 2-CD/2-cassette collection of
contemporary Christian music
Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and s ...
from the 1960s to the time it was released. Marketing and distribution for this title was given to Brentwood Records (now
Provident Music Group
Provident Entertainment is a division of Sony Music headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee and focused primarily on Christian music. The group handles its own physical distribution through its Provident-Integrity service.
Provident Label Group
...
).
* ''
WOW for the Children,'' a single disc released in the year 2000, is a special issue for
Feed the Children
Feed the Children, established in 1979 and headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is a non-profit organization focused on alleviating childhood hunger. Its mission is "providing hope and resources for those without life's essentials." The organ ...
.
* ''
WOW Gospel Christmas
WOW Gospel Christmas includes thirty songs on a double CD album. In 2007 it reached #78 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart, took first place on the Top Gospel Albums chart, and 20th spot on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. In 2008 it reached 24th ...
'' (2007)
* ''WOW Gospel Christmas'' - Single Disc Edition (2013)
* ''
WOW Gospel No. 1s'' (2007)
* ''
WOW Gospel Smooth Jazz Tribute'' (2007)
* ''
WOW Gospel Essentials'' (2008)
* ''
WOW Gospel Essentials 2'' (2009)
*''WOW Gospel Worship''
*''WOW Gospel the 90s''
*''WOW Gospel the 2000s''
* ''
WOW Hymns
''WOW Hymns: 30 Modern & Classic Hymns from Today's Top Artists'' is a two-disc compilation album of hymns that have been recorded by popular Christian musicians. It was released on March 6, 2007. The album features thirty songs by Jeremy Camp ...
'' was released in March 2007. It is a two-disc
compilation album
A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...
of thirty modern and classic hymns that were recorded by popular Christian musicians. The album features songs by
Jeremy Camp
Jeremy Thomas Camp (born January 12, 1978) is an American contemporary Christian music singer and songwriter from Lafayette, Indiana. He has released eleven albums, four of them RIAA-certified as Gold, and two live albums. Camp's original musi ...
,
Chris Tomlin
Christopher Dwayne Tomlin (born May 4, 1972) is an American contemporary Christian music singer, songwriter, and worship leader from Grand Saline, Texas, United States, who has sold over 7 million records. He is a member of Passion Conferences an ...
,
Nichole Nordeman
Nichole Ellyse Nordeman (born January 3, 1972) is an American contemporary Christian singer and songwriter.
Biography
Nordeman was raised in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where she played the piano in church. She got her start when she entered ...
,
David Crowder Band
David Crowder Band (stylized as David Crowder*Band and The David Crowder*Band) was a six-piece Christian rock and modern worship band from Waco, Texas. Their final album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Christian and No. 2 on the B ...
, and many other well-known groups and singers. An accompanying songbook was also released by
Word Music.
* ''
WOW Next 2007
WOW Next 2007 is an album in the WOW series, comprising twelve top Contemporary Christian music
Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an as ...
'' was a free ten-song CD given to anyone who bought any WOW compilation CD.
* ''
WOW New & Next'' (2010)
* ''WOW New & Next 2011'' (2011) - ''WOW New & Next'' (2010) and ''WOW New & Next'' (2011) were 12-song CDs showcasing new artists that was sold, or given free to anyone who bought any WOW compilation CD.
* ''
WOW Hits Party Mix -'' Released: March 10, 2015. This album features 30 (36 in the Deluxe Edition) remixed versions of some of the top Christian songs included in previous WOW albums.
* ''
WOW Hits 20th Anniversary
Wow or WoW may refer to:
Games and toys
*''World of Warcraft'', a massively multiplayer online role-playing game
*'' World of Warplanes'', an online flight simulator
*''World of Warships'', an online naval simulator
*''Wizard of Wor'', a 1981 ...
-'' Street date: March 18, 2016. This special anniversary album features 30 of the top Christian songs included in previous WOW albums.
Home video
From 1997 to 2012, excluding 2008, the WOW Hits series was accompanied with home video releases. The first of these, WOW 1997 the VIDEO, was a videocassette with nine music videos released in 1996. The sequel, WOW 1998, featured 16 videos. The WOW Gospel series also received home video releases. The final videocassette release was WOW Hits 2004, released in 2003.
Beginning in 2002 with the release of WOW Hits 2003, home videos were released in the DVD format. Prior releases were also reissued on DVD in 2002, with a few modifications. For instance, the 2000 and 2001 releases each had a
Raze music video on videocassette, due to a sexual abuse scandal involving Raze frontman Ja'Marc Davis, these were omitted from the DVD releases. Additionally, the 1997 and 1998 releases were
The final WOW Hits home video release was WOW Hits 2012 in 2011.
The final WOW Gospel home video release was WOW Gospel 2017 in 2017.
Spin-off DVDs include WOW British Gospel in 2004 and WOW Music Trivia Game in 2007.
References
External links
WOW series at EMI Christian Music GroupFind all the WOW HITSWOW Hits Facebook website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wow
Compilation album series
Christian music compilation albums