For King & Country, stylized as for KING & COUNTRY and formerly known as Joel & Luke, is a Christian rock duo composed of Australian–American brothers Joel & Luke Smallbone. The Nashville-based brothers' 2012 debut record Crave, has received much praise, and they were named by Billboard Magazine as one of the "New Artists To Watch" for 2012. American Songwriter described them as "Australia’s answer to Coldplay." SUSIE Magazine raves, "It takes only one listen to the brothers’ rich, upbeat, alternative sounds and thoughtful lyrics to understand their sudden popularity."
They describe their philosophy as such: "The power of music can impact our mood, emotions, our day. But when you merge the strength of music with the heart, hope and passion of the Gospel... it has the ultimate power not only to change someone's day, but to impact them for eternity. This is why we write music and sing songs - we hope that people will be moved, encouraged and stirred to live a life for Someone greater than themselves."
They cite U2, Mutemath, OneRepublic, The Beatles, The Goo Goo Dolls, and Switchfoot, as well as film scores such as those from Braveheart and Gladiator, as their musical influences.
In 2011, they released For King & Country: The EP. Their song "Busted Heart (Hold On To Me)" was released as a single and peaked at #3 on Billboard's song chart. They described "Busted Heart" as "really a universal cry of humanity for something greater than ourselves...[People] think [they've] got it all sorted out, and life will deal you those blows.
Their debut album Crave was released on February 28, 2012. The album hit #2 on the iTunes top Christian & Gospel albums on its day of release and #42 on the overall chart. It peaked at #4 on Billboard's Christian Albums chart, and has remained on the chart for 26 weeks, as of the August 11, 2012 chart, and also charted on Billboard 200. The album has received rave reviews from critics.
Their first single, "Busted Heart" was the fastest-rising single of 2011 in their genre, climbing the Top 10 for weeks. Shortly after Crave's release, they released "The Proof of Your Love" as a single, remixed and titled "The Proof of Your Love: The Monologue Mix". The single differs from the album version with a monologue spoken by Joel from 1 Corinthians 13:1-7 (The Message) as the bridge instead of the guitar riff on the album version. The single is currently charting on Billboard's Christian Songs chart at #11 with 19 consecutive weeks on the chart as of the September 15, 2012 chart. In October 2012, they released an original Christmas song entitled "Baby Boy"; the single is currently #20 on the chart. –wikipedia.org