"Red Letters"
"Red Letters (Southern-Style Edit)" cover
Southern-Style Edit cover
Single by Crowder
from the album I Know a Ghost
B-side"Wildfire"
ReleasedSeptember 19, 2018 (2018-09-19)[1]
Recorded2018
Genre
Length3:48[2]
LabelSparrow/sixstepsrecords
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Crowder
  • Cash
Crowder singles chronology
"All My Hope"
(2017)		 "Red Letters" / "Wildfire"
(2018)		 "Testify"
(2019)
Music video
"Red Letters" on YouTube

"Red Letters" is a song performed by American contemporary Christian music singer Crowder. It was released as one of the first singles from his third studio album, I Know a Ghost (2018), alongside "Wildfire" on September 19, 2018.[4] The song peaked at No. 9 on the US Hot Christian Songs chart, becoming his fifth top ten single.[5] "Red Letters" was nominated for the GMA Dove Awards for Song of the Year and Short Form Video of the Year at the 2019 GMA Dove Awards.

Background

Crowder released the song on September 19, 2018, and announced his third studio album I Know a Ghost.[6] He explained the meaning behind the song in a video on his YouTube channel, "When I was a kid I remember sitting in the church pew next to my grandmother and asking her why some of her bible was written in red. She explained it was the Red Letter edition and whenever Jesus, God’s only Son, spoke, it was written in red. As a kid I thought that was just how God wrote it. Nope. I was wrong. About this and other things. Turns out it was a guy by the name of Louis Klopsch. It was the late 1800s and he very much wanted the common man to not only have access to scripture but for the story of God’s reconciliation to jump off the pages as it had for him. At the time, translations such as the King James didn’t use punctuation marks that are common place now. You can imagine how difficult numerous passages could be with the absence of any quotation marks or full stops. One evening, he was reading in Luke 22:20, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you,' and that is when Mr. Klopsch had an idea -the words of Jesus in red. He didn’t stop there, he and the editors went all the way to the beginning and took any scripture in the old testament foretelling the arrival of a messiah as well as any scriptures that Jesus was quoted as quoting and put them in red as well; a scarlet thread woven through all of time and creation."[7][8]

Composition

The song is played in a B major key, and 148 beats per minute (BPM).[9]

Reception

Critical response

"Red Letters" was described in reviews on Jesusfreakhideout as a "typical Crowder radio song", comparing it to one of his singles from his last album "My Victory". It was also compared to dc Talk's 1998 hit, which both focus on the words of Christ from the bible.[10]

Accolades

Awards
Year Organization Award Result Ref.
2019 GMA Dove Awards Song of the Year Nominated [11]
Short Form Video of the Year Nominated

Commercial performance

It debuted at No. 29 on the Hot Christian Songs chart.[12] After the release of the album, it rose to No. 16.[13] The song reached the top 10 on its twenty-third week, reaching its peak of No, 9.[14]

Track listing

CD release[15]
  1. "Red Letters" – 3:48
  2. "Red Letters (Lead Sheet (Medium Key)" – 3:49
  3. "Red Letters (Vocal Demonstration)" – 3:40
  4. "Red Letters (High Key With Background Vocals)" – 3:40
  5. "Red Letters (High Key Without Background Vocals)" – 3:40
  6. "Red Letters (Medium Key With Background Vocals)" – 3:40
  7. "Red Letters (Medium Key Without Background Vocals)" – 3:40
  8. "Red Letters (Low Key With Background Vocals)" – 3:40
  9. "Red Letters (Low Key Without Background Vocals)" – 3:40
  • Digital download[16]
  1. "Red Letters" – 3:48
  2. "Wildfire" – 3:14
  • Digital download (acoustic)[17]
  1. "Red Letters" – 3:49
  • Digital download (Southern-Style edit)[18]
  1. "Red Letters" – 3:42

Music video

The music video for "Red Letters" was released on October 29, 2018.[19] It was inspired by Louis Klopsch’s statement in the introduction of his Red Letter Bible, “It sheds a new radiance upon the sacred pages, by which the reader is enabled to trace unerringly the scarlet thread of prophecy from Genesis to Malachi. Like the Star which led the Magi to Bethlehem, this light, shining through the entire Word, leads straight to the person of the Divine Messiah, as the fulfillment of the promise of all the ages.”[20] Crowder also adds, “The meta-narrative of the story of God’s rescue woven through the Scriptures is intricate and powerful and that’s what I wanted to pick up on with this song. It’s worth singing about. I love it and I hope it’s meaningful for my fans and listeners out there.”[21]

Charts

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[28] Gold 500,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ "Red Letters / Wildfire - Single by Crowder". iTunes. iTunes. 19 September 2018. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  2. ↑ "Red Letters on Spotify". Spotify. Spotify. 19 September 2018. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  3. ↑ "Red Letters by Crowder (I Know A Ghost)". PraiseCharts. PraiseCharts. 19 September 2018. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  4. ↑ "Louder Than The Music - Crowder - Red Letters / Wildfire". Louder Than The Music. 19 September 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  5. ↑ "MercyMe Makes Record-Extending 'News' at No. 1 On Christian Airplay Chart". Billboard. 7 March 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  6. ↑ "Man are we excited! New Crowder music, finally! We got a new album coming soon and thought we'd drop a couple of tracks on you ahead of time". Twitter. 19 September 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  7. ↑ "Crowder Red Letters". ThisIsPower. 10 November 2018. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  8. ↑ "Crowder - Red Letters Song Meaning". YouTube. 10 November 2018. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  9. ↑ "Key & BPM for Red Letters by Crowder". TuneBat. 19 September 2018. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  10. ↑ "JFH Staff Review: Crowder - I Know A Ghost". Jesusfreakhideout. 9 November 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  11. ↑ "2019 Nominees | The 52nd Annual GMA Dove Awards". GMA Dove Awards. 14 August 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  12. ↑ "Music: Christian Music Chart - Billboard Chart". billboard.com. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  13. ↑ "Music: Christian Music Chart - Billboard Chart". billboard.com. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  14. ↑ "Music: Christian Music Chart - Billboard Chart". billboard.com. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  15. ↑ "Red Letters Crowder, Daywind". DayWind.com. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  16. ↑ "Red Letters (I Know a Ghost) on iTunes". iTunes. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  17. ↑ "Crowder - Red Letters (Acoustic)". Genius. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  18. ↑ "Crowder - Red Letters (Southern-Style edit)". iTunes. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  19. ↑ "Crowder - Red Letters (Official Music Video". YouTube. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  20. ↑ "The Origins of the Red-Letter Bible". Crossway. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  21. ↑ "Crowder Releases New Music Video For Hot First Single, Red Letters". JFHNews. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  22. ↑ "Crowder Chart History (Hot Christian Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  23. ↑ "Crowder Chart History (Christian Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  24. ↑ "Crowder - Christian AC History". Billboard. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  25. ↑ "Hot Christian Songs - Year-End | Billboard". Billboard. Billboard-Hollywood Reporter Media Group. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  26. ↑ "Christian Airplay Songs - Year-End | Billboard". Billboard. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  27. ↑ "Christian AC Songs - Year-End | Billboard". Billboard. Billboard-Hollywood. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  28. ↑ "American single certifications – Crowder – Red Letters". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
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