Motown Gospel’s release of Tye Tribbett’s Greater Than debuts at #1 on Billboard’s Top Gospel Albums Chart, #4 on the Top Digital Albums chart and #9 on Billboard’s Top 200. Greater Than, Tribbett’s inaugural project with Motown Gospel, is his fifth recording and is the highest album debut in his recording career. This week, Tribbett’s hit single “If He Did It Before…Same God” moves up to #3 on Billboard’s Hot Gospel Song chart and has an accumulative listening audience of over 15 million.
Lauded by music critics across the country, Greater Than has received stellar reviews from two of the nation’s top newspapers. The New York Times declares, “Tribbett is an exceptional gospel artist” (http://nyti.ms/19g8I0W). The Los Angeles Timesawards the CD three out of four stars, stating, “Combined with Tribbett’s breathless, exclamatory singing, this frenzied variety demonstrates the breadth of his devotion” (http://lat.ms/16g9tIN).
“The critics and the fans have spoken loudly and clearly,” says Bill Hearn, President & CEO Capitol CMG. “Tye Tribbett is back with his best work to date. The entire team at Motown Gospel is very proud to help connect Tye and these incredible new songs with music fans all over the world. Together we are off to an amazing start.”
“When we announced the launch of the Motown Gospel label in April, we expected big things,” says Barry Weiss, Chairman and CEO UMG East. “And now we’re pleased that the very first project released by Motown Gospel is Tye Tribbett’s number one album.”
Tribbett’s album release event was held in Detroit, Motown’s birthplace, at the Greater Grace Temple. Motown Gospel sponsored the event, in conjunction with Radio One and the Word Network. As the Motor City continues its economic struggles, Tribbett’s music offers a message of hope and encouragement to its residents. Over 5,000 people attended the standing room only event, and more than 2,000 people had to be turned away once the church was full to capacity. The Greater Than concert was also streamed live to nearly 250,000 people worldwide through a partnership with Motown Gospel and Yes Lord Radio. In addition to the United States (including Puerto Rico), viewers tuned in from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, Central America, and South America.
The Greater Than promotional tour has been very successful, with standing room crowds at concerts across the country, including the historic Howard Theatre in Washington, D.C., New York’s WBLS City Parks Concert in Harlem, NY, Greater Allen Cathedral in Queens, NY, and Radio One’s Praise in the Park in Atlanta, GA, which was attended by over 12,000 people. Motown Gospel will be announcing additional promotional dates in the coming weeks.
