Plus One (band)
Plus One | |
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Background information | |
Origin | Tennessee, U.S. |
Genres | Christian pop |
Years active | 1999–2004, 2014 |
Labels | Warner/Atlantic, Inpop |
Past members |
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Plus One was an American
History
Formation and early years: 1999–2000
Plus One began to take shape as early as 1999 and formed by a manager named Mitchell Solarek, when 18-year-old Sacramento, California-boy Nate Cole was joined by 20-year-old Gabe Combs of Pittsburg, California, 21-year-old Nathan Walters of Lakeland, Florida and the 19-year-old Jeremy Mhire of Springfield, Missouri, who had been engrossed in vocal studies as a junior on full scholarship to Southwest Missouri State University. Cole and Combs had known each other from mutual music circles while growing up in Northern California and Walters had initially heard about the new group through an acquaintance of Cole's. The group came to complete fruition with the arrival of 17-year old Jason Perry of Madison, Indiana, who up to that moment had been focusing on his role as starting fullback and defensive end for his high school football team. Perry is the youngest member of the group. The name Plus One refers to the members of the group, plus God. Atlantic Records pursued the formation of a boy band motivated by the success of such secular bands as
The Promise and "Remarkable Success": 2000-2001
Their successful debut album,
Obvious and Christmas: 2001-2002
Returning from the Promise tour, Plus One went back into the studio to record songs for a new album, this time including some of their own material, tracks like "Use Me", a ballad called "You", "Under the Influence", "Kick Me", and "Going Crazy". A strong beat and guitar riffs defined these new tracks, distinguishing them from the lighter sound of the group's first recording. Obvious was released in February 2002, and sold twice as many copies in its first week of release as Promise had. It hit the number-one spot on the Christian charts immediately. Three of the album's tracks, "Camouflage", "I Don't Care" and "Let Me Be the One", became hit singles on the top-ten Christian radio charts. In the fall of 2002 during their Obvious Tour, Plus One released Christmas, a collection of Christmas music. In addition their own renditions of "
Departure of Perry and Mhire, and Exodus: 2002-2003
In 2002, after completing touring for their Obvious tour and promoting their Christmas album, two members of Plus One were called to other ministries and obligations, Jason Perry left the group in 2003 followed by Jeremy Mhire leaving the remaining three members to carry on Plus One's music ministry. In 2003, the band was dropped from their label. Seeking to revamp their image, they signed a deal with Inpop Records and released their third album, the first time releasing an album without their two former members. Exodus. As a result, the band became a trio. Co-produced by former Newsboys frontman Peter Furler and keyboardist Jeff Frankenstein, Exodus marked a departure from the boy band image, leaving the all-out "pop" style for a more mature sound featuring keyboards, guitars and the band performing their own materials. Peter Furler said that "it's some of the best music I've ever been part of" and that he can feel justifiably proud of turning out this album. "Be Love" is the hit single on this album, and was followed by "Circle". The album contains all original songs, with the exception of a rendition of the Tim Hughes hit "Here I Am to Worship".
Break-up and Hiatus: 2004-2016
In 2004, after completing the Exodus 04 tour, Plus One quietly parted ways with Inpop and with each other. On September 23, 2004, Nate Cole announced that Plus One would most likely be breaking up. Nate Cole and Gabe Combs went on to form Indie rock band Castledoor with their wives Liska Cole and Coury Combs and released 5 EP's and one album. In 2008, Nathan Walters went on to pursue a solo career, releasing one album called Escape in Nashville, TN. After Castledoor, Nate Cole and his wife Liska Cole started a duo band called Doom & Gloom and released home recordings.[citation needed] In 2011 Gabe Combs and Nathan Walters started a music production called Multitone Musik to merge their production and songwriting skills. In December 2016, Nate Cole released his first solo album Bad Beat.[1]
Reunion: 2014
On April 14, 2014, Plus One announced that they had reunited with three original members: Nathan Walters, Gabe Combs, and Jason Perry, who previously had quit the group in 2003. They also announced the release of their latest single, "My All", available on their official website and their Facebook page.[2]
Members
- Nate Cole (1999–2004) – vocals
- Jason Perry (1999–2003, 2014) – vocals
- Jeremy Mhire (1999–2003) – vocals
- Nathan Walters (1999–2004, 2014) – vocals, keyboards
- Gabe Combs (1999–2004, 2014) – vocals, guitars
Discography
Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |||
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US [3] |
US CCM [5] |
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The Promise |
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76 | — | 1 | |
Obvious |
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29 | 3 | 3 | |
Christmas |
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— | — | 25 | |
Exodus |
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— | 17 | — | |
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that country. |
Compilation contributions
Title | Album Details |
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Left Behind: The Movie Soundtrack |
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Pokémon: The Movie 2000
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WOW Hits 2001 |
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Radio Disney Jams, Vol. 4 |
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WOW Hits 2002 |
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WOW Christmas: Red |
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WOW Hits 2003 |
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WOW Worship: Red |
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X 2004 |
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Singles
Year | Title | Chart positions | Album |
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CCM | |||
2000 | "Written on My Heart" | 1 | |
"God Is in This Place" | 1 | ||
"Last Flight Out" | |||
2001 | "Here in My Heart" | ||
"Run To You" | |||
"Soul Tattoo" | |||
2002 | "Camouflage" | Obvious
| |
"I Don't Care" | |||
"Let Me Be The One" | |||
2003 | "Be Love" | ||
"Circle" | |||
2014 | "My All" | non-album single |
As a featured artist
Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | ||
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CCM | |||||
2001 | "Whenever You Need Somebody" (Natalie Grant featuring Plus One) |
— | Stronger | ||
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that country. |
On television
2001 | Touched by an Angel Season 7 episode 20 "Band of Angels"[citation needed ]
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Videography
Title | Video details |
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Plus One: The Home Video |
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Plus One: Making of the Album
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References
- ^ Bronson, Kevin (December 13, 2016). "Ears Wide Open: Nate Cole". Retrieved December 29, 2016.
- ^ "Plus One Returns, Offers First Single". New Release Tuesday. April 14, 2014. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
- ^ "US Billboard 200 Albums Chart". billboard.com Retrieved March 10, 2010
- ^ "US Billboard Top Christian Albums Chart". billboard.com Retrieved March 10, 2010
- ^ "AllMusic charts > Chart history". allmusicguide.com Retrieved May 13, 2010
- ^ "RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) > Certifications list". riaa.com Retrieved May 10, 2010