Review: Hillsong Kids - "Can You Believe It?" (With a Giveaway!)

One of my favorite worship groups is Hillsong United, so when an opportunity came up to review the new Hillsong Kids DVD/album "Can You Believe It?" - I took it. Especially since I haven't had a chance to sit and write in a while and I thought this would give me a great opportunity to get back into doing so.

This was my first foray into Hillsong Kids and I have to say that I was impressed. A lot of times kids music - even just generally speaking - is very ear-wormy and sometimes, dare I say, annoying. Further, I am so particular when it comes to my worship music; it can't be too campy or I lose interest rapidly and since kids' music is often campy as well I knew that anything with the word "Kids" in it relating to music had a potential to be a danger zone. This was not at all the case with the music on this album. Some of the songs were kids singing some Hillsong favorites ("Oceans" and "What a Beautiful Name") and the ones that were a bit more kid-focused ("My Best Friend") were far from campy and were - dare I say - sweet and fun.

As far as the DVD itself, I snuggled in with a cup of tea and crocheting after the kids went to bed to be able to watch it. The format is fun and reminiscent of the days when MTV actually played music with a real VJ. Hosted by Funny Man Dan (and another guy whose name I completely forgot to grab when I watched it... John? Doesn't matter... the straight man to Funny Man Dan's goofiness), the program itself is about 25 minutes long and easily could keep the attention of a 6-10 year old. I feel like the humor would be lost on anyone younger than that and older you might run the risk of the kids thinking the jokes or attempts at engaging the audience in scripture was a bit, erm, dorky. It alternates between music videos and the hosts conducting interviews with members of the worship team, games, or scripture. Like the music, it is kid-focused without being campy or annoying (unless you're in that "I'm too cool for things" teenager phase).

Speaking of teenagers... if you're a youth leader or middle/upper elementary kids' ministry leader, this DVD is a great tool for pre-teaching/activity worship. In addition to the program detailed above, every song on the album is available in an age-appropriate lyrics-only video format. These videos are perfect for kids/teen worship with fun fonts and bright, flashy, attention-keeping graphics. If you're looking for worship time before classes or retreats or events for kids and teens and don't have a worship band/worship leaders for those groups, this is seriously a great and contemporary tool to have in your back pocket.

Overall, my recommendations/reviews would flow like this: 

- Definitely recommend the CD/album itself for anyone with kiddos that is looking for age-appropriate worship music to listen to at home. I mean, how can you go wrong with Hillsong?

- Definitely recommend the DVD for anyone who leads a kids' or teen ministry. Fantastic tool for worship times with the lyric videos section of the disc.

- Medium recommendation for home viewing. While the video is well done, you'd have to have kids that are interested in watching music videos and that like silly grown-ups. This could be good for a snow-day background viewing while doing puzzles or crafts, but personally at our house we'd rather listen to the worship album on CD than watch it on TV. Could also be good if you have a small group with childcare to play for the kids while you meet or if you have a home church with a kids' portion.

And now... the giveaway!!!

Want to win a copy of the DVD for yourself? I'll make it easy this time:

- Share this post on your page & comment that you did so.
- When you comment that you did so, name your favorite Thanksgiving food.

That's it! Contest ends Monday 11/19/18 at 9:00 AM and the winner will be notified by Monday at noon.

And now... time for me to bundle up the kids and clear the snow from my driveway. I've put it off long enough. 👍


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Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255:  “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”):  Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway.  Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation.  I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway.  If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller /FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days on the same blog, you are not eligible to win.  Or if you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again.  Winner is subject to eligibility verification.

Review & Giveaway: "Glory Song"

I'm going to start this review by saying that if you start your CD with a powerful worship song that will hold up to a Sunday morning worship, you're probably going to get a decent review from me on the rest of the album.

This is indeed the case with the new Matt Redman release "Glory Song", whose opening track "All Glory" immediately had me thinking about how awesome it would be to hear our church's worship band playing it before a weekly message. The chorus "All glory to the Father/ All glory to the Son/ All glory to the Spirit/ The Spirit of our God/ As it was in the beginning/ And will be in the end/ All glory to Your everlasting name" is catchy and immediately engages you into the rest of the tracks. There's not a single song on this CD that I did not enjoy, and indeed the only "questionable" part of anything is the random rap in "Gospel Song" that didn't seem to fit with the rest of the music on that particular track - but even that wasn't intolerable, just a little strange.

My favorite tracks on this CD are the well-placed "Questions (You Are Faithful)" and "Still I Will Sing" on tracks 8 & 9. I absolutely love the sentiment behind "Questions" - "In all of our questions/ All of our searching/ When we are wrestling/ You don't let go". This song is a wonderful reminder that no matter what season of life we are in - good, bad, tragedy, celebration - God is there. When we have fears, doubts, anxieties, or are blind to God's presence - He is still there. That song ends and the upbeat "Still I Will Sing" comes on, and the table turns from God's being there for us to a song of praise for Him no matter what the storms of life are. "Sing in the battle/ Sing in the blessing/ Sing through the shadows/ Shout with the heavens/ I won't be silent, no/ I won't be silent/ Still I sing, still I will sing" - no matter what the season of life is, this song is a reminder to praise God and know that He is still there for us. Also worthy of mentioning is track 7's "It Is Finished", a song worthy of an entire congregation's voices on Easter Sunday. "No more condemnation/ You had the final word/ There's nothing that can hold me/ There's nothing now to dread."

I'm going to openly admit now that I've listened to these three songs on repeat several times already. It's actually pretty amazing that I even listened to tracks 10-13 at all - but I did, and they're also good.

Want to hear some of this CD yourself? Take a listen to "Gracefully Broken", a song about surrender to Jesus.

If you're wanting to purchase and download a copy of "Glory Song" for your own listening pleasure, you can do so on iTunes by clicking here. If you're old-fashioned and want a hard CD copy, it's also available on Amazon (and Amazon digital download). If you're thinking "Danielle, you said you'd be giving away a copy - maybe I can see about maybe winning that first" - yes. Here's how you do that:

1. Share this post on social media and comment below that you did so (add your username if Twitter/Instagram). (1 Entry)

2. "Like" Danielle's Brain Bits on Facebook and comment below that you did so. (1 entry)

3. Comment below with your favorite Matt Redman song AND/OR the song on "Glory Song" you're most interested in hearing simply based on the title (can be found on the iTunes link above). (2 entries)
Each person can have a total of 4 entries possible - so earn those entries! Giveaway closes at 9:00 AM on Wednesday, October 4 and winner will be drawn and notified no later than 3:00 PM on Wednesday, October 4.

Good luck and happy listening!

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“Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255:  “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”):  Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway.  Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation.  I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post. Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway.  If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller /FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days on the same blog, you are not eligible to win.  Or if you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again.  Winner is subject to eligibility verification.