Christian group "Changin" it up with country tunes

NASHVILLE (Billboard) - Christian pop trio Point of Grace named its new album "No Changin' Us," but the group is making a concentrated effort to expand its sound -- and its audience.

"We definitely tried to be more intentional this time about putting the right country songs on our record," singer Shelley Breen says of the album, due March 2 on Word Records. "We came up with songs that will hopefully broaden our audience and yet satisfy our existing one."

Point of Grace debuted in 1993 with a self-titled set and has since released more than a dozen albums and scored two dozen No. 1 singles. Word Records, the band's label for its entire career, falls under the Warner Music Nashville umbrella, so the Warner country promotion team is handling the band's push into mainstream country.

"The core country fan and the core Christian fan overlap in a very profound way," Warner Music Nashville president/CEO John Esposito says. "This is not like we're asking these gals to get accepted at the hip-hop format or alternative rock."

Word Entertainment president/CEO Mark Bright credits Nathan Chapman, who has previously worked with Taylor Swift, with producing an album that both audiences can embrace. "He was able to basically walk the line with the country side and the Christian side," he says.

"Nathan's approach was, 'Tell the story as if you were singing it onstage,'" singer Leigh Cappillino says. "He knew who Point of Grace was and he knows who Point of Grace is today, and he was able to meld them together on this record."

"No Changin' Us" is the group's first album as a trio, following Heather Payne's 2008 departure to spend more time with her family. The remaining members are also married with children, and songs like "The Greatest Show on Earth" and "Love and Laundry" reflect working motherhood.

"People ask, 'What makes a Christian song?'" singer Denise Jones says. "A Christian song for us is celebrating marriage and that love for each other, celebrating our families."

Point of Grace's fans have helped to welcome the group to country radio stations. "When we walk in as a 'new artist,' half of the women that come in to listen already know who we are and are excited that we're there," Breen says.

The group recently kicked off the Come Alive tour with Mark Schultz. It will also appear on home-shopping channel QVC before the release date to promote the album and perform several songs.

The trio also has written "Cooking With Grace," a collection of recipes from the members and their friends that will be published March 2.

The single "Come to Jesus" has been promoted to Christian radio, and Bright says the label is still deciding which track will be the country single.

"Right now there's not a girl vocal group," Breen says of the void on country radio. "There are several percolating, and we hope we're the one. We hope we can use our current fan base to help us get there. I believe that if the song is good enough, it's going to get played. The best song is going to win."