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The Afters | |
|---|---|
 The Afters performing in April 2014 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Blisse |
| Origin | Dallas,Texas, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Labels | |
| Members |
|
| Past members |
|
| Website | theafters |
The Afters is an American Christian rock band founded by Josh Havens and Matt Fuqua. Havens and Fuqua first worked together in aStarbucks coffee shop inMesquite, Texas, where they performed songs for customers before deciding to form a band. They were initially joined by Brad Wigg from the same Starbucks and drummer Michael Burden and performed with the nameBlisse. When Burden left the band, Marc Dodd, who also worked at the Mesquite Starbucks stepped in. Their song "Never Going Back to OK" was the most-played song onR&R magazine'sChristian CHR chart for 2008.[1]
As a precursor to Blisse, Josh performed several shows aroundDallas with his band The Screaming Mimes which included Charlton Parker, who later formed Deaf Pedestrians, and Hans Grumbein. While Brad was a founding member of Blisse, he took time away from the band to perform with his own blues project, playing lead guitar. Shows at the Door inDeep Ellum, part of Dallas, were filled in by Dallas bassist Eric Kitchens and bassist/filmmaker Niko Red Star.
Under the name Blisse, the band recorded a six-song EP in 2000. From the recording they made enough money to cut their first album,When the World Is Wonderful, which was released independently in 2001. This album contains songs also released on their major label debut albumI Wish We All Could Win. In 2002 they released a live concert DVD filmed at a local Dallas club called The Door.
The band changed its name after discovering that another "Blisse" already existed. Settling on "The Afters", they continued to play local clubs in the Dallas area. Eventually they were discovered byINO Records and signed to a four-record deal. Word of the band later got toEpic Records, who signed the band to a deal for mainstream promotion and distribution. Their first major label album,I Wish We All Could Win, was released on February 22, 2005. The first single from the album was "Beautiful Love", written by Josh Havens about a time when his wife was abroad doing humanitarian aid. The single's music video won The Afters a 2005 MTVu "Streaming Woodie" award. In addition, "Beautiful Love" became the theme song for the MTV show,8th and Ocean about the careers of female and male fashion models living inMiami. The song was also featured in the 2006 film,Just My Luck. The song "Until the World" was the theme song for the American drama television series that aired on the ABC Family NetworkBeautiful People.
In an update posted on their official website, the band went into the studio in August 2006 to begin recording their second album,Never Going Back to OK. It was originally scheduled to be released on December 26, 2007, as per a post on theirMySpace blog, but was ultimately delayed and released on February 26, 2008.[2]
The first single from the album, the title track "Never Going Back to OK" was premiered on October 16, 2007, onTotal Axxess. It was released as a streaming file on The Afters' MySpace page on November 10, 2007.[3] The song was on theR&R magazine charts in December 2007. It reached No. 1 on theR&RCHR chart in March 2008;[4] R&R magazine ranked it as the most played song on U.S.Christian CHR radio in 2008.[1] In the spring of 2008, the band began their own headlining tour along withFalling Up,Ruth, andEveryday Sunday.[5]
The Afters said in theirTwitter account that they started recording their next album on October 27, 2009.[6] The album, calledLight Up the Sky, was released on September 14, 2010.[7] The album's first single, the title track reached No. 1 on Billboard'sChristian CHR radio and also appeared on MTV'sThe Hills.[8]
In January 2011 The Afters joined the Rock And Worship Roadshow national tour headlined byMercyMe.[9] Light Up the Sky was produced byDan Muckala.[10] They announced a new album to be released on April 17, 2012. A month later, they released a new single entitled "Life is Beautiful" on iTunes; the song was part of the soundtrack for the movieOctober Baby.[citation needed] On February 19, 2013, a new single, "Every Good Thing", became available on iTunes.[citation needed] The new album's title wasLife is Beautiful.[citation needed]
On August 28, 2015, the band released "Live on Forever", the lead single[11][12] fromLive on Forever, their fifth studio album set for release in late 2016 onFair Trade Records.
In 2018, "Well Done" appeared on theBillboard 100,[citation needed] followed by "I Will Fear No More" on October 19, 2018.[citation needed] Both songs were advance releases forThe Beginning & Everything After, their greatest hits album released on November 2, 2018, and forFear No More, their sixth studio album released on May 31, 2019.[citation needed] On December 3, 2021, the band released their first live album,Where Heaven Touches Earth: Live at The Grove[citation needed] which was recorded inArizona.[citation needed]
Current members[13]
Former members[13]
Touring members
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [14] | US Alt. [15] | US Christ. [16] | US Rock [17] | ||
| I Wish We All Could Win |
| —[A] | — | 24 | — |
| Never Going Back to OK |
| 41 | 9 | 1 | 10 |
| Light Up the Sky |
| — | — | 10 | — |
| Life Is Beautiful |
| 133 | — | 7 | — |
| Live on Forever[18] |
| —[B] | — | 7 | 33 |
| Fear No More[20] |
| —[C] | — | 14 | — |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| US Christ. [22] | ||
| The Beginning & Everything After[23] |
| 38 |
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [24] | US Adult [25] | US Christ. [26] | US Christ Airplay [27] | US Heat. [28] | US Rock | ||||
| "Beautiful Love" | 2005 | 55 | 29 | 37 | — | — |
| I Wish We All Could Win | |
| "You" | — | — | 4 | — | — | ||||
| "All That I Am" | 2006 | — | — | 13 | — | — | |||
| "Someday" | — | — | 25 | — | — | ||||
| "Never Going Back to OK" | 2008 | — | — | 16 | — | — | Never Going Back to OK | ||
| "Keeping Me Alive" | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "MySpace Girl" | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "We Are the Sound" | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Ocean Wide" | 2009 | — | — | 23 | — | — | |||
| "Light Up the Sky" | 2010 | —[D] | — | 1 | 17 | — |
| Light Up the Sky | |
| "Lift Me Up" | 2011 | — | — | 3 | — | — | |||
| "We Won't Give Up" | — | — | 32 | — | — | ||||
| "Life Is Beautiful" | 2012 | — | — | — | — | — | Life Is Beautiful | ||
| "Every Good Thing" | 2013 | — | — | 2 | — | — | |||
| "Broken Hallelujah" | 2014 | — | — | 11 | 15 | — | — | ||
| "Live on Forever" | 2015 | — | — | 11 | 9 | — | — | Live on Forever | |
| "Battles"[31] | 2016 | — | — | 19 | 15 | — | 45 | ||
| "Shadows"[32] | 2017 | — | — | —[E] | 7 | — | — | ||
| "Well Done" | 2018 | — | — | 14 | 11 | — | — | Fear No More | |
| "I Will Fear No More" | 2019 | — | — | 18 | 39 | — | — | ||
| "Lightning" | — | — | — | 47 | — | — | |||
| "Joy Unto the World" | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | ||
| "Say Goodbye (Say Hello)" | 2022 | — | — | 22 | 16 | — | — | TBA | |
| "This is Our Momment" | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "God is With Us" | 2023 | — | — | — | 32 | — | — | ||
| "What God is Gonna Do" | 2024 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "You Never Gave Up On Me" | — | — | — | 40 | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
| Year | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | New Artist of the Year | Won |
| Rock/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year ("Beautiful Love") | Nominated | |
| Rock/Contemporary Album of the Year (I Wish We All Could Win) | Nominated | |
| 2009 | Song of the Year ("Never Going Back to OK") | Nominated |
| Rock/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year ("Never Going Back to OK") | Nominated | |
| Rock/Contemporary Album of the Year (Never Going Back to OK) | Won | |
| 2016 | Rock/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year ("Live on Forever") | Nominated |
| Short Form Video of the Year (Live on Forever) | Won |
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Dove Award for New Artist of the Year 2006 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Dove Award for Rock/Contemporary Album of the Year Never Going Back to OK 2009 | Succeeded by incumbent |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
