Beautiful Surrender Explained

Beautiful Surrender
Type:studio
Artist:Jonathan David & Melissa Helser
Cover:Beautiful Surrender by Jonathan David & Melissa Helser.jpg
Recorded:2015–2016
Genre:
Label:
Producer:
Prev Title:On the Shores
Prev Year:2012

Beautiful Surrender is the eighth album by American Christian worship duo Jonathan David & Melissa Helser, released on September 30, 2016, from Bethel Music through Provident Label Group.[1] Ed Cash handled the production of the album, with Brian Johnson and Joel Taylor serving as executive producers.[2]

Touted as a "vibrant response" to On the Shores, their 2012 album, Beautiful Surrender was the duo's first release with Bethel Music since joining the collective in 2014.[3] The album also included a radio remix of their Dove Award-winning hit single, "No Longer Slaves," as a bonus track.[4] The album became a breakthrough hit for the Helsers, debuting at No. 1 on the Christian music charts in the US and UK as well as attaining mainstream rankings in the US, Australia, Canada and Norway. Following its release, the album spawned "You Came (Lazarus)" as a single, impacting Christian radio in the United States on February 17, 2017.[5]

Background

Jonathan David & Melissa Helser announced that their eighth album, Beautiful Surrender, would be released internationally on September 30, 2016, via Bethel Music and Provident Label Group.[6] With multi award-winning producer Ed Cash handling the project, Beautiful Surrender was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee with instrumentation provided Cageless Birds, a North Carolina-based collective that the duo helped co-found.[7] The duo elaborated on the core message of the album, saying:

Surrender is to cease resistance, yield control and give oneself up to the power of another. When you find the One your heart loves, surrender is a beautiful, effortless fall – not a duty or a task. When Jesus said 'follow me,' they saw everything they ever wanted and joyfully surrendered all they had. What would it look like to truly surrender without reservation, without caution, and give in fully not to an idea of God, but to God himself?

— Jonathan David & Melissa Helser

Promotion

In a bid to promote the album, Jonathan David & Melissa Helser launched the album's pre-order with "Beautiful Surrender", "Catch the Wind" and "Find Me" being released as promotional singles as they were availed for instant download in September 2016.

Singles

After to the album's release, the song "You Came (Lazarus)" was released by Bethel Music to Christian radio in the United States as the lead single from the album, impacting on February 17, 2017.

Critical reception

Matt Collar of AllMusic called the album "a heartfelt production showcasing the husband-and-wife duo's emotive, literate, faith-based sound." Cross Rhythms reviewer Tony Cummings gave the album a perfect ten squares rating, saying that "the worshipping Church has in these two servants an inspiring couple of songsmiths and worship leaders." The album garnered a four star rating from a NewReleaseToday review by Mary Nikkel, describes the sound as being "more like an indie folk-influenced release than most contemporary worship records." Nikkel concluded that "Beautiful Surrenders thematic hub is the freedom that comes from full surrender to the true Gospel, the fullness of Jesus's love and grace. Those timeless concepts are expressed in often delightfully unexpected ways both musically and lyrically, establishing the Helser's unique and vital role in the Bethel Music worship family." Reviewing for One Man in the Middle, Tony Cummings rating the album eight-point-three-out-of-ten, is of the opinion that the "whole album is a positive one with a lot of depth to the lyrics and a great combination of vocals." Kelly Meade, in a review for Today's Christian Entertainment, rated the album three and a half stars saying that the overall feel of the album is "one of reflective and worshipful sentiments with heartfelt lyrics and soothing melodies."

Commercial performance

Beautiful Surrender was a breakthrough hit for Jonathan David & Melissa Helser, accruing sales of 9,000 copies in its first week, thus vaulting in at No. 1 on Billboard-issued Christian Albums chart dated October 22, 2016, chronicling the best selling releases of the genre that week.[8] The album also reached No. 54 on the US Billboard 200 chart.[9]

In Australia, Jonathan David & Melissa Helser had their first entry on the mainstream ARIA Albums Chart, with Beautiful Surrender debuting at No. 32 on the chart.[10]

In Canada, the duo also debuted on the all-genre Canadian Albums Chart, with the album peaking at No. 67.[11]

Beautiful Surrender also became the duo's first entry on the OCC's Official Christian & Gospel Albums Chart in the United Kingdom, debuting at No. 1 for the week ending October 13, 2016.

Personnel

Adapted from AllMusic.

Release history

RegionDateFormatLabelRef.
VariousSeptember 30, 2016CDProvident Label Group[13]
Bethel Music[14]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Jonathan & Melissa Helser "Beautiful Surrender" Feature Story . Chalos . Melissa Riddle . September 30, 2016 . The Christian Beat . August 2, 2018.
  2. Web site: Beautiful Surrender – Jonathan David & Melissa Helser Credits AllMusic . . August 2, 2018.
  3. Web site: Beautiful Surrender – Bethel Music . . August 2, 2018.
  4. Web site: Beautiful Surrender – Jonathan David & Melissa Helser Songs, Reviews, Credits AllMusic . Collar . Matt . . August 2, 2018.
  5. Web site: Jonathan David & Melissa Helser – You Came (Lazarus) Daily Play MPE® . January 24, 2017 . Daily Play MPE . Destiny Media Technologies, Inc. . August 2, 2018.
  6. Web site: Bethel Music's Jonathan David & Melissa Helser Release "Beautiful Surrender" September 30 . Clarks . Jessie . September 14, 2016 . Hallels . August 2, 2018.
  7. Web site: Bethel Music's Jonathan David & Melissa Helser Release "Beautiful Surrender" Sept. 30 : News : Hallels . Yap . Timothy . September 15, 2016 . Hallels . August 2, 2018.
  8. Jonathan & Melissa Helser, Fred Hammond Lead Christian, Gospel Album Charts . Asker . Jim . October 14, 2016 . . August 2, 2018 . Asheboro, North Carolina-based singer/songwriters, worship leaders and husband and wife Jonathan and Melissa Helser vault in atop Billboard's Top Christian Albums chart (dated Oct. 22), as their ninth album, Beautiful Surrender, starts with 9,000 copies sold in its first week (ending Oct. 6), according to Nielsen Music..
  9. Top 200 Albums . October 22, 2016 . Billboard. August 2, 2018.
  10. Web site: ARIA Albums: Sticky Fingers Westway Debuts At No 1 . Ryan . Gavin . October 10, 2016 . Noise11 . August 2, 2018 . Around Craig are two religious based albums debuting, first of which is local Australian church group Planetshakers with their 31st album "Overflow" coming in at No.25 and then Bethel Church group members Melissa Helser and Jonathan David see their fourth duo album "Beautiful Surrender" come in at No.32..
  11. Canadian Albums Chart . October 22, 2016 . Billboard. August 2, 2018.
  12. Web site: Official Christian & Gospel Albums Chart Top 20 Official Charts Company . October 13, 2016 . . August 12, 2018.
  13. Web site: Jonathan David & Melissa Helser – Beautiful Surrender – Amazon.com Music . Amazon . September 30, 2016 . August 2, 2018.
  14. Web site: Beautiful Surrender by Jonathan David & Melissa Helser on Apple Music . September 30, 2016 . . United States . . August 2, 2018.