TobyMac Is Back

TobyMac’s fourth CD Tonight hits streets February 9, following three gold-selling solo projects and a 2008 Dove Award for “Artist of the Year.” The singer/rapper’s lead single, “City on Our Knees,” is the fastest charting and selling song in his career thus far, moving over 133,000 copies and landing at the top of the 100 Hot Digital Tracks chart.

The new album, his first in three years, includes guests such as Skillet’s John Cooper on “Tonight,” Relient K’s Matt Thiessen on “Wonderin,'” Nirva Ready on “Changed Forever,” and tobyMac’s 10-year-old son Truett (“TruDog”) on “LoudNClear.”

“The recording process means a lot to me, and I don’t approach what I do haphazardly,” Mac writes on MySpace. “I have a lot of passion when it comes to my records. I don’t know if it’s good or bad, but there’s this range of emotions that come with making a record.Music can actually open people’s minds to who God is. Music will never change the world, but God can choose to use music and that’s what I count on.”

Flyleaf No. 1 at Yahoo

Finishing ahead of such artists as Taylor Swift and Mariah Carey, Flyleaf has the No. 1 music video at Yahoo with “Again.” Others on Yahoo’s Top 100 list include Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber.

Dylan’s royal(ty) gifts

Bob Dylan’sChristmas in the Heart, which released October 12, has tallied $125,000 in royalties so far, which Dylan is donating to Feeding America, Crisis and World Food Programme. Dylan had said he would donate all royalties to charity.

Furler switches from singer to painter

Peter Furler, who retired as newsboys lead singer earlier this year, is now trying his hand at oil painting, showing his work in record company offices, recording studios, and management firms, even selling directly on eBay. Click here to see a gallery of his art.

Go Fish’s YouTube triumph

Vocal troupe Go Fish recently reached a milestone on YouTube with viewings of the new “Christmas With a Capital C” video, with nearly 15,000,000 views. Conservative comedian Brad Stine guests to rant about the politically correct spin put on the holiday.

Big Apple tree lighting tunes

At last week’s annual New York Stock Exchange Euronext holiday tree lighting festivities, guest artists included Stryper, Billy Ray Cyrus, Collective Soul, Manhattan Transfer and Broadway’s “Rock of Ages” cast, plus appearances from Valerie Smaldone, Kym Johnson and Santa.

Lifetime’s debuts movie with NewSong tune

Over the weekend, Lifetime premiered its original movie The Christmas Hope based on Donna VanLiere’s New York Times best-selling book and featuring NewSong’s 2006 tune of the same name. Check listings for reruns, along with other films in the series based on NewSong tunes, The Christmas Blessing and The Christmas Shoes.

Boone earns ISSA honor

Singer/songwriter Cooper Boone scored the “Country Song” honors during the ISSA Christian Songwriting Contest for the track “Mending Fences” from his self-titled debut. The song “Country Living” is also nominated at the 9th annual Independent Music Awards.