2022 song by Chris Tomlin
"Holy Forever " is a song by American
contemporary Christian musician
Chris Tomlin . It impacted
Christian radio in the United States on March 10, 2023, as the fourth single from Tomlin's fourteenth studio album,
Always (2022).
[1] Tomlin co-wrote the song with
Brian Johnson ,
Jason Ingram ,
Jenn Johnson , and
Phil Wickham .
[2] Jonathan Smith handled the production of the single.
"Holy Forever" peaked at No. 1 on the US
Hot Christian Songs chart published by
Billboard .
[3] It was nominated for the
Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song at the
2023 Grammy Awards .
[4]
Background
On July 15, 2022, Chris Tomlin announced that he will be releasing a new
worship project titled Always on September 9, releasing "Holy Forever" as the first promotional single from the album.
[5] "Holy Forever" followed the previously released singles "
I See You ," "
Always ," and "Yahweh (No One)."
[6] Speaking with Christian magazine Worship Leader , Tomlin described the song as "the anchor" of Always .
[7]
[8]
Composition
"Holy Forever" is composed in the key of
D♭ with a tempo of 72 beats per minute, and a musical time signature of 4 4 .
[9]
Reception
Critical response
Jonathan Andre in his 365 Days of Inspiring Media review spotlighted the track as one of three songs to listen to on Always , opining that ""Holy Forever' is my favourite song from Chris Tomlin’s Always , as this track becomes my favourite Chris Tomlin ballad, ever since "Jesus" way back in 2016."
[10] Timothy Yap of JubileeCast gave a positive review of the album, saying, "Solely focused on God in his glorious splendor surrounded with a soul-stirring chorus, this reminds us of the type of worship mentioned in Revelation 4 and 5."
[11] Gerod Bass of Worship Musician magazine wrote a positive review of the song, saying it "touches on the ever faithful theme with its soaring chorus notes and reverent and honest worship."
[12]
Accolades
Commercial performance
"Holy Forever" debuted at No. 43 on the US
Hot Christian Songs chart dated July 30, 2022.
[14]
Music videos
The official lyric video of "Holy Forever" was published via Chris Tomlin's YouTube channel on March 29, 2022.
[15] A live performance of the song, featuring Brian and Jenn Johnson, was released on his channel on April 28, 2023, which was recorded during his seventh Good Friday Nashville concert in
Bridgestone Arena .
[16]
[17]
Cover versions
On October 6, 2023, a cover of "Holy Forever" by American singer
CeCe Winans was released on YouTube.
[18]
[19]
Track listing
Personnel
Adapted from AllMusic.
[21]
Jacob Arnold — drums, percussion
Adam Ayan — mastering engineer
Jonsal Barrientes — choir/chorus
Dallan Beck — editing
Jesse Brock — mixing assistant
Chris Brown — background vocals, choir/chorus
Shantay Brown — choir/chorus
Daniel Carson — acoustic guitar, choir/chorus, electric guitar
Tamera Chipp — choir/chorus
Chad Chrisman — A&R
Courtlan Clement — electric guitar
Nickie Conley — background vocals
Elevation Worship — primary artist
Enaka Enyong — choir/chorus
Jason Eskridge — background vocals
Bryan Fowler — acoustic guitar, background vocals, bass, electric guitar, keyboards, producer, programmer, synthesizer programming
Sam Gibson — mixing
Ben Glover — acoustic guitar, background vocals, choir/chorus, electric guitar, engineer, keyboards, producer, programming
Lindsay Glover — choir/chorus
Tarik Henry — choir/chorus
Mark Hill — bass
Tiffany Hudson — choir/chorus
Tommy Iceland — choir/chorus
Jenn Johnson — background vocals
Taylor Johnson — acoustic guitar, electric guitar
Graham King — engineer
Benji Kurokose — choir/chorus
Brandon Lake — primary artist, vocals
Paul Mabury — drums
Jerry McPherson — electric guitar
Matthew Melton — bass
Buckley Miller — recording
Sean Moffitt — mixing
Gordon Mote — piano
Brad O'Donnell — A&R
Colton Price — editing, programming
David Ramirez — programming
Sophie Shear — choir/chorus
Jonathan Smith — background vocals, Hammond B3, organ, piano, producer, programming
Jeff Sojka — background vocals, choir/chorus, drums, electric guitar, engineer, keyboards, producer, programming
Isaiah Templeton — choir/chorus
Chris Tomlin — choir/chorus, primary artist, vocals
Bria Valderama — choir/chorus
Doug Weier — mixing
Jordan Welch — choir/chorus
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Release history
References
^
a
b
"Future Releases for Christian Radio Stations | Free New Songs from Music Artists" . AllAccess.com . Retrieved February 12, 2023 .
^
"Holy Forever | Chords, Lyrics and Sheet Music | SongSelect®" . SongSelect . CCLI. Retrieved December 12, 2022 .
^
a
b
"Chris Tomlin Chart History (Hot Christian Songs)" .
Billboard . Retrieved October 3, 2023.
^ Longs, Herbs (November 15, 2022).
"Chris Tomlin Honored With Two GRAMMY Nominations - TCB" . The Christian Beat . Retrieved December 12, 2022 .
^
"Chris Tomlin releases 'Holy Forever' off new worship project" . Niagara Frontier Publications . July 15, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022 .
^ Clarks, Jessie (July 15, 2022).
"Chris Tomlin Releases Next Track "Holy Forever" Off New Worship Project - TCB" . The Christian Beat . Retrieved December 12, 2022 .
^ Tomlin, Chris (2022-09-09).
"Chris Tomlin - Holy Forever" . Worship Leader . Retrieved 2024-03-27 .
^
Worship Leader and Songwriter Chris Tomlin - Songs of Deliverance vs. Songs of Transcendence . Retrieved 2024-03-27 – via www.youtube.com.
^
"Holy Forever by Chris Tomlin" . MultiTracks . Retrieved December 12, 2022 .
^ Andre, Jonathan (September 20, 2022).
"Chris Tomlin – Always | 365 Days of Inspiring Media" . 365 Days of Inspiring Media . Retrieved December 12, 2022 .
^ Yap, Timothy (September 8, 2022).
"Chris Tomlin "Always" Album Review : Exclusives : JubileeCast" . JubileeCast . Retrieved December 12, 2022 .
^ Bass, Gerod (November 17, 2022).
"Now Hear This" . Worship Musician Magazine November 2022 . Adolph Agency Incorporated. Retrieved December 12, 2022 .
^ Atkinson, Katie (November 15, 2022).
"Grammy Nominations 2023: The Full List – Billboard" .
Billboard . Retrieved December 12, 2022 .
^
"Hot Christian Songs – Billboard" .
Billboard . July 26, 2022. Retrieved December 12, 2022 .
^
"Chris Tomlin - Holy Forever (Lyric Video) - YouTube" .
YouTube . July 15, 2022. Retrieved December 12, 2022 .
^ News, C. C. M. (2023-05-01).
"Chris Tomlin Releases Live Performance Video for Single 'Holy Forever' " . CCM Magazine . Retrieved 2024-03-27 .
^
Chris Tomlin - Holy Forever (Live) feat. Jenn & Brian Johnson . Retrieved 2024-03-27 – via www.youtube.com.
^
"CeCe Winans Covers Chris Tomlin's "Holy Forever" (Watch the Video Here)" . www.jubileecast.com . 2014-10-02. Retrieved 2024-03-27 .
^
CeCe Winans - Holy Forever (Official Music Video) . Retrieved 2024-03-27 – via www.youtube.com.
^
"Chris Tomlin - Holy Forever Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic" .
AllMusic .
All Media Network . Retrieved December 12, 2022 .
^
"Holy Forever - Chris Tomlin | Credits | AllMusic" .
AllMusic . Retrieved December 12, 2022 .
^
"Chris Tomlin Chart History (Christian Airplay)" .
Billboard . Retrieved August 4, 2023.
^
"Chris Tomlin Chart History (Christian AC Airplay)" .
Billboard . Retrieved August 8, 2023 .
^
"Hot Christian Songs – Billboard" .
Billboard . Year-End Chart. Retrieved February 7, 2024 .
^
"Christian Airplay Songs – Billboard" .
Billboard . Year-End Chart. Retrieved February 7, 2024 .
^
"Christian AC Airplay Songs – Billboard" .
Billboard . Year-End Chart. Retrieved February 7, 2024 .
^
"Holy Forever - Single by Chris Tomlin - Spotify" . July 15, 2022. Retrieved December 12, 2022 – via
Spotify .
External links
Studio albums Live albums Singles Related articles