Jake is a trio of Toby Penner and his twin brothers, Josh and Marty. Together they rehearsed in their garage, took the name of their grandfather, and became one of the best pop vocal groups not only in the Christian music industry but in the music industry at large. They had four hits in 2001 on the Christian chart including the number one song of the year, Believer. They also had two big hits on the pop chart this year: Let Me Know and Take My Heart Away. The first track off their sophmore CD finished off the year on the Top 40 Christian songs so 2002 looks to be promising for Jake, the Top Christian Group of the Year and the Top Christian Artists of the Year.
I first heard the Newsboys during a performance of theirs at the Dove Awards in 1995. Shine was one of the big Christian hits of the year and has become a signature song for them. So when they put out a compilation of their greatest hits over the past decade it was an easy decision to call the album Shine The Hits. This has been a staple in my CD player this year for not only does it boast hits like Shine, Entertaining Angels, and Breakfast, but it also includes a Megamix, and two number one songs of 2001: Joy and Who? The number one Christian Album of the Year is Shine The Hits by the Newsboys.
