Victory (stylized in capital letters) is the eleventh live album by California-based worship collective Bethel Music, and their sixteenth full-length release overall. The album was released on through the collective's imprint label, Bethel Music, on January 25, 2019. The album is inspired by the biblical account of King Jehoshaphat's victory over the Moabite alliance in war by sending out a group of worshipers as a vanguard for his army. The featured worship leaders on the album are Josh Baldwin, Cory Asbury, Jonathan David & Melissa Helser, Bethany Wohrle, Sean Feucht, Emmy Rose, Brian Johnson, Jenn Johnson, Kalley Heiligenthal, Paul McClure, Hannah McClure and Hunter G K Thompson with Molly Skaggs, Daniel Bashta and Harvest as guests. Ed Cash handled the production of the album.
The album was preceded by the release of "Stand in Your Love" as a single on August 10, 2018. Following the album's release, "Raise a Hallelujah" became the second single with its release on March 8, 2019. To promote the album, the collective is embarking on the Victory Tour, which began on February 4, 2019, at The Fillmore in Miami, Florida, and concluded on October 16, 2019, at the Ovens Auditorium in Charlotte, North Carolina. "Goodness of God" became the third single from the album on November 1, 2019.
Garnering critical acclaim for its production and the variety of musical genres, the album also became a commercial success with debuts on mainstream charts in the United States, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Scotland and Switzerland, with the album concurrently appearing at No. 2 and No. 1 on the American and British Christian charts respectively.
Background
Victory marks Bethel Music first collection of new songs in two years, that is, since the release of Starlight in April 2017. The album was written, recorded and produced in 2018, which proved to be an tumultuous year for the Bethel Church community, as Jaxon Taylor (son of Bethel Music CEO Joel Taylor) was in a life-threatening health situation having contracted Hemolytic-uremic syndrome, and the near-month-long devastating Carr Fire, a wildfire which had made its way to Redding.
The album was inspired by the biblical account of King Jehoshaphat's war with the Moabite alliance, recorded in 2 Chronicles 20:1-30. The alliance, which consisted of the kingdoms of Moab, Ammon and some of the Meunites), waged war against the Kingdom of Judah, which was under Jehoshaphat's reign. Jehoshaphat decided to inquire from God and proclaimed a fast in his kingdom and reassurance from Jahaziel, who delivered a prophetic word that God would fight their battles. Having consulted some people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to go, praising God, at the head of the army, and God delivered the victory to Judah.
Music and lyrics
The album, like previous Bethel Music releases, is primarily a contemporary worship album, which contains various genres such acoustic, Americana, country, and folk music. The sound on the album has drawn comparisons to Rend Collective, especially on songs such as "Drenched in Love", "Stand in Your Love", and "There Is a Name". Lyrically, the album explores the theme of triumph and faithfulness.
Artwork
Stephen James Hart, the art director and visual worship leader for Bethel Music, shared on his blog the story of the album artwork for Victory. The artwork is a literal representation of the stories of the songs on the album being captured in the "ideal newspaper"; each issue detailing the stories of God and his goodness through the stories, testimonies, lyrics and photos.
Release and promotion
On December 10, 2018, Hallels reported that Bethel Music would be releasing Victory on January 25, 2019. On January 4, 2019, Bethel Music commenced the album pre-order for Victory, availing "Raise a Hallelujah", "Goodness of God", "Ain't No Grave" and "Victory Is Yours" as promotional singles that were available for digital download and streaming. Bethel Music then released the live music videos of the songs in their respective order, recorded at Bethel Church, on the four days that followed the pre-order, releasing each song per day. The complete album was released on January 25, 2019.
Singles
Fox News first reported in an article that "Stand in Your Love" will be released by Josh Baldwin in July 2018. On 19 July 2018, Bethel Music then released the live music video of the song, recorded Heaven Come Conference 2018, on YouTube. Bethel Music then released a studio rendition of "Stand in Your Love" on August 10, 2018.
On March 8, 2019, "Raise a Hallelujah" was released as the album's second single.