Plus One: Boyband with a Message
The most obvious statement to make about boyband Plus One is that they’re
Christian. And while they are ‘hotties,’ while they dance in frenzied unison
about the stage, and while they sing like a young girl’s dream, they are
different, and that difference is in their message.
“I think the first thing that separates us is our message,” says Plus One
member Gabe Combs. “We come with a positive message about our faith, which
we like to sing about, and we also like to sing about girls because we have
relationships too. We bring a message of hope and our lyrics are very
positive.”
Not that The Backstreet Boys or *NSync have negative music, they don’t, but
Plus One takes positivism to a deeper level through faith. And people are
taking notice.
“A group like us is really fresh and new in Christian music,” says Nate
Cole. “There isn’t really a Christian boyband out there right now and I
think a lot of people are really wanting that. For a new artist debut, we
broke the record in Christian music.”
They certainly did, over 19,000 copies of their debut album “The Promise” in
their first week. In the tradition of Jars Of Clay or Amy Grant, their
future seems to have legs, and Plus One are eager for a long run of singles,
albums, and concerts.
“As a group our mission isn’t just to stay in some Christian bubble,” says
Gabe. “The reason for what we’re doing is so people can hear our music and
understand what we’re about. If it happens that we get into the mainstream
then we’re going to be really excited about it. We want to do all that we
can to change the world, you know what I’m saying?”
“To change the world”…a strong statement for five young guys barely out of
high school, or anyone, really. But maybe a trip into Plus One’s recent past
will put their enthusiasm into perspective.
Plus One formed a year ago when Jeremy Mhire, Jason Perry, Nate Cole, Gabe
Combs, and Nathan Walters started singing together. Within months they had
garnered record label attention and eventually signed with Atlantic Records.
That was the beginning. What came next can only be attributed to fate.
If you read the notes on the CD jackets of your latest Britney Spears or
Jessica Simpson album, you’ll see the names of producers who have spent
countless hours recording with the stars…and only the best pop producers
have worked with Plus One.
Plus One’s all-star production team includes 14-time Grammy Award-winning
songwriter and producer David Foster, Buster & Shavoni (Prince of Egypt
soundtrack), Dow & Brad (LFO), Chris Farren (Deana Carter, Kevin Sharp),
Rodney Jerkins (Whitney Houston), Brian McKnight, (Brandy and Monica),
Robbie Nevil (Jessica Simpson, Brandy, Monica), Joe P. (Tatyana Ali, Zoe
Girl), Phil Sillas (Melrose Place, Party of Five), Bradley Spalter (kci &
jojo, Babyface) and Eric Foster White (Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys). In
total, twelve established producers contributing to the album that would
become The Promise.
Says Gabe, “I think in our appeal, it’s the production. In Christian albums
you won’t find the production. A lot of our producers are the best you can
get. We put a lot into the songs, put a lot of time in and they sound really
good. We’re really excited about it.”
The Promise as a title, kind of goes along with the name of our group and
just the idea of all the songs on our album,” continues Nate. “Plus One
means us plus God, that God is always with us. God’s promise to us is that
he’ll never leave us and that’s the whole idea of the album.”
Indeed, The Promise is a highly produced affair with several songs that
titillate the ears. Two singles, “Written On My Heart” and “Last Flight Out”
are Plus One’s ride to the radio charts and both songs highlight the boys’
talents, all of whom can sing.
The fact that all members sing well has led to a number of amazing
opportunities. As Gabe relates, the story behind getting David Foster to
sign on as producer had everything to do with the individual talent Plus One
possesses.
“So we sang for David and he got really excited right off the bat. He said,
‘Wow, every single one of you guys sings.’ Then he listened to our demo. It
was crazy, he listened to our demo like two times and then he went over to
the piano and played the song all the way through. We broke it down and he
had each of us sing individually. Then he was calling people in the office
saying, ‘Come and hear these guys sing.’ Since then, David has had the
biggest role in hooking our group up, basically.”
And when David Foster decides you’re good, you’re halfway there. In the
ensuing months, as Plus One recorded and embarked on short mall tours, word
spread, and the group was soon singing to capacity crowds.
“On our promotional tour we were going to malls and stuff,” says Nate. “We
showed up at a certain mall in Texas and there was 4000 people there. We
were totally surprised. It’s just been really exciting and a real blessing
to see the response.”
To say that the past year has been a strange one is an understatement, and
it's Gabe who describes the rise of Plus One best, “I can’t even explain the
ride we’ve been on recently,” he says. “We just kind of learned day by day
how to deal with it. It’s so new to us, it's been weird.”
Plus One will embark on an American tour this fall, performing their first
concert on September 9th, in Savoy, Illinois. And in the process, they may
even change the world a little…song by song.
