I didn't realize that John Berry did O Holy Night - I'll have to get it. His song "She's Taken a Shine" was the song that got me into country music. An optimistic song at the right time.
I took my 12 y/o son to see Clay Aiken's Christmas concert a few weeks ago. Almost everyone dressed up, there were local choirs, an orchestra and a combo. A very Christ-centered second half. Clean, optimistic, CHRISTMAS-centered, a nice, decent show by a young man who's got just an *incredible* voice. It was great, and it was great for the Lad.
I especially liked "Good News" during the encore. A cappella with the choir backing behind the curtain. Mary, Do You Know - beautiful.
And O Holy Night was interspersed with children reading Biblical passages (like Linus did in the last scene of a Charlie Brown Christmas - "Be not afraid"), and at the end, the orchestra wove in the melody of "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring." It was exquisite.
It is refreshing to see a young singer, extremely talented, an unabashedly Christian and decent... and deeply appreciative of and grateful for Jesus Christ.
I had never heard of him before I got his Christmas album. As an "Oh Holy Night" aficionado, I had heard that he did well so I had to get it. Hard to believe that this is a country artist belting out this song like he does.