Holy Forever
"Holy Forever" is a song by American contemporary Christian musician Chris Tomlin. It impacted Christian radio in the United States on March 10, 2023, as the fourth single from Tomlin's fourteenth studio album, Always (2022).[1] Tomlin co-wrote the song with Brian Johnson, Jason Ingram, Jenn Johnson, and Phil Wickham.[2] Jonathan Smith handled the production of the single.
"Holy Forever" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Chris Tomlin | ||||
from the album Always | ||||
Released | March 10, 2023 | |||
Recorded | 2022 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 5:08 | |||
Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) |
| |||
Producer(s) | Jonathan Smith | |||
Chris Tomlin singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music video | ||||
"Holy Forever" (Lyrics) on YouTube |
"Holy Forever" peaked at No. 1 on the US Hot Christian Songs chart published by Billboard.[3] It was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song at the 2023 Grammy Awards.[4]
Background
On July 15, 2022, Chris Tomlin announced that he will be releasing a new worship project titled Always on September 9, releasing "Holy Forever" as the first promotional single from the album.[5] "Holy Forever" followed the previously released singles "I See You," "Always," and "Yahweh (No One)."[6]
Composition
"Holy Forever" is composed in the key of D♭ with a tempo of 72 beats per minute, and a musical time signature of 4
4.[7]
Reception
Critical response
Jonathan Andre in his 365 Days of Inspiring Media review spotlighted the track as one of three songs to listen to on Always, opining that ""Holy Forever' is my favourite song from Chris Tomlin’s Always, as this track becomes my favourite Chris Tomlin ballad, ever since "Jesus" way back in 2016."[8] Timothy Yap of JubileeCast gave a positive review of the album, saying, "Solely focused on God in his glorious splendor surrounded with a soul-stirring chorus, this reminds us of the type of worship mentioned in Revelation 4 and 5."[9] Gerod Bass of Worship Musician magazine wrote a positive review of the song, saying it "touches on the ever faithful theme with its soaring chorus notes and reverent and honest worship."[10]
Accolades
Year | Organization | Award | Result | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
2023 | Grammy Awards | Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song | Nominated | |
Commercial performance
"Holy Forever" debuted at No. 43 on the US Hot Christian Songs chart dated July 30, 2022.[12]
Music video
The official lyric video of "Holy Forever" was published via Chris Tomlin's YouTube channel on March 29, 2022.[13]
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Holy Forever" | Jonathan Smith | 5:08 | |
2. | "Always" |
|
| 4:07 |
3. | "Yahweh (No One)" (with Elevation Worship) |
|
| 4:50 |
4. | "I See You" (with Brandon Lake) |
| Bryan Fowler | 3:50 |
Total length: | 17:58 |
Personnel
Adapted from AllMusic.[15]
- Jacob Arnold — drums, percussion
- Adam Ayan — mastering engineer
- Jonsal Barrientes — choir/chorus
- Dallan Beck — editing
- Jesse Brock — mixing assistant
- Chris Brown — background vocals, choir/chorus
- Shantay Brown — choir/chorus
- Daniel Carson — acoustic guitar, choir/chorus, electric guitar
- Tamera Chipp — choir/chorus
- Chad Chrisman — A&R
- Courtlan Clement — electric guitar
- Nickie Conley — background vocals
- Elevation Worship — primary artist
- Enaka Enyong — choir/chorus
- Jason Eskridge — background vocals
- Bryan Fowler — acoustic guitar, background vocals, bass, electric guitar, keyboards, producer, programmer, synthesizer programming
- Sam Gibson — mixing
- Ben Glover — acoustic guitar, background vocals, choir/chorus, electric guitar, engineer, keyboards, producer, programming
- Lindsay Glover — choir/chorus
- Tarik Henry — choir/chorus
- Mark Hill — bass
- Tiffany Hudson — choir/chorus
- Tommy Iceland — choir/chorus
- Jenn Johnson — background vocals
- Taylor Johnson — acoustic guitar, electric guitar
- Graham King — engineer
- Benji Kurokose — choir/chorus
- Brandon Lake — primary artist, vocals
- Paul Mabury — drums
- Jerry McPherson — electric guitar
- Matthew Melton — bass
- Buckley Miller — recording
- Sean Moffitt — mixing
- Gordon Mote — piano
- Brad O'Donnell — A&R
- Colton Price — editing, programming
- David Ramirez — programming
- Sophie Shear — choir/chorus
- Jonathan Smith — background vocals, Hammond B3, organ, piano, producer, programming
- Jeff Sojka — background vocals, choir/chorus, drums, electric guitar, engineer, keyboards, producer, programming
- Isaiah Templeton — choir/chorus
- Chris Tomlin — choir/chorus, primary artist, vocals
- Bria Valderama — choir/chorus
- Doug Weier — mixing
- Jordan Welch — choir/chorus
Charts
Chart (2022-2023) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Christian Songs (Billboard)[3] | 1 |
US Christian Airplay (Billboard)[16] | 1 |
US Christian AC (Billboard)[17] | 1 |
Release history
Region | Date | Format | Label | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Various | July 15, 2022 | (promotional release) | ||
United States | March 10, 2023 | Christian radio | ||
References
- "Future Releases for Christian Radio Stations | Free New Songs from Music Artists". AllAccess.com. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
- "Holy Forever | Chords, Lyrics and Sheet Music | SongSelect®". SongSelect. CCLI. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
- "Chris Tomlin Chart History (Hot Christian Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
- Longs, Herbs (November 15, 2022). "Chris Tomlin Honored With Two GRAMMY Nominations - TCB". The Christian Beat. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
- "Chris Tomlin releases 'Holy Forever' off new worship project". Niagara Frontier Publications. July 15, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- Clarks, Jessie (July 15, 2022). "Chris Tomlin Releases Next Track "Holy Forever" Off New Worship Project - TCB". The Christian Beat. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
- "Holy Forever by Chris Tomlin". MultiTracks. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
- Andre, Jonathan (September 20, 2022). "Chris Tomlin – Always | 365 Days of Inspiring Media". 365 Days of Inspiring Media. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
- Yap, Timothy (September 8, 2022). "Chris Tomlin "Always" Album Review : Exclusives : JubileeCast". JubileeCast. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
- Bass, Gerod (November 17, 2022). "Now Hear This". Worship Musician Magazine November 2022. Adolph Agency Incorporated. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
- Atkinson, Katie (November 15, 2022). "Grammy Nominations 2023: The Full List – Billboard". Billboard. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
- "Hot Christian Songs – Billboard". Billboard. July 26, 2022. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
- "Chris Tomlin - Holy Forever (Lyric Video) - YouTube". YouTube. July 15, 2022. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
- "Chris Tomlin - Holy Forever Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
- "Holy Forever - Chris Tomlin | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
- "Chris Tomlin Chart History (Christian Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
- "Chris Tomlin Chart History (Christian AC Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
- "Holy Forever - Single by Chris Tomlin - Spotify". July 15, 2022. Retrieved December 12, 2022 – via Spotify.
External links
- Lyrics and sheet music for the song on PraiseCharts