NEW SINGLE FEATURES AWARD-WINNING PIANIST AND COMPOSER PAUL CARDELL
Herndon’s new Christmas album, Regifted, set for November 27 release
(Nashville, TN – Oct. 23, 2020) GRAMMY® nominated and Dove Award-winning recording artist Ty Herndon has released a duet with Emmy and Tony award-winning actress and singer Kristin Chenoweth, titled, “Orphans of God.” The single, which also features award-winning pianist and composer Paul Cardall on piano will be featured on Herndon’s upcoming Christmas album, Regifted, set for release on Friday, November 27. Both the single and album are released via BFD/The Orchard. “Orphans of God” can be heard here, and Regifted can be heard here.
“I’ve been wanting to record Orphans of God for quite some time, and I’m so honored and humbled that it came together with my friends Kristin Chenoweth and Paul Cardall during this very difficult time in the life of our nation. It’s more important now than it has ever been before to remember that we are all created equally and that God loves us all just the same. I hope this song can be a beacon of hope to anyone who’s feeling lost, overwhelmed, or suffering in any way,” said Herndon.
“To sing with Ty Herndon was a dream. But to sing a song with lyrics that we both believe was so special. I hope as you listen to the song you hear the words and they speak to your heart,” said Chenoweth.
“Ever since receiving a donor heart, it’s been my life’s work to use music to help heal the hearts of others, which is why I’m excited to join with my friends Ty Herndon and Kristin Chenoweth in echoing an important message through this song — a truth that there are no orphans of God. Everyone is welcome at my table and as a Christian, I believe to suggest otherwise undervalues God’s sacrifice,” said Cardall.
Orphans of God was written by Joel Lindsey and Twila LaBar and originally recorded by contemporary Christian group Avalon. Former Avalon band members Melissa Greene and Michael Passons provide backing vocals on the updated track.
“When we were writing Orphans of God, we talked about the fact that many experience the painful sting of rejection and feel as if they don’t belong,” said LaBar.
“To say that there are no orphans of God is our way of saying that everyone is loved, seen, and remembered,” said Lindsey.
Orphans of God will lead the track list for Herndon’s upcoming Christmas Album, entitled Regifted. In addition to the new single, the album features a curated selection of Herndon’s favorite tracks from his holiday catalog.
“It’s been a tough year for so many of us, and I wanted to give my fans a little something special to cheer up this season,” said Herndon, who is currently in the studio preparing an album of all-new material for a 2021 release, his first since 2016’s House On Fire.
ADVANCE PRAISE FOR ORPHANS OF GOD:“It’s so uplifting to hear these two beautiful voices together in an expression of hope and faith. You can feel the love that Ty and Kristin have put into this song. It is a reminder that you’re never alone.” — Rita Wilson
“It gave me chills! The vocals of Ty Herndon and Kristin Chenoweth are impeccable and strong and the lyric draws me right into the center of the message and leaves me with hope to weather this storm we are all in right now in this country! There are no orphans. We are all God’s children and together as brothers and sisters, we will prevail! Sit down and listen to this song and remember, no matter where you are or who you are, He is with you.” — Tanya Tucker
“This is the soaring, inspiring song we need at this very moment! Gonna play it on a loop to drown out all the madness.” — Andy Cohen
“It’s so powerful! It’s profound and deeply moving because it is true! It’s absolutely what the world needs to hear right now.” — Kathie Lee Gifford
“I’m a big fan of songs that help the artist tell a story that mere words can’t. My beautiful friend Kristin Chenoweth along with Ty Herndon have taken a great lyric and through tender artistry, tell the story that reminds us all that we belong.” — Sandi Patty
TRACK LIST + CREDITS | REGIFTED
1. Orphans of God* (Duet with Kristin Chenoweth Feat. Paul Cardall)
2. O Come All Ye Faithful
3. Go Tell It on the Mountain
4. O Come O Come Emmanuel (With Waylon Payne)
5. We Three Kings
6. O Little Town of Bethlehem
7. Little Drummer Boy
8. Silent Night
9. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
10. O Holy Night
11. A Not So Silent Night
12. O Come All Ye Faithful (Acapella) and
Produced by Ty Herndon, Carl Peoples, Kenny Thompson, and Eric Fraley Berdon | *Orphans of God produced by Ty Herndon and Erik Halbig | Kristin Chenoweth appears courtesy of Concord Records | Paul Cardall appears courtesy of Anthem Entertainment
ABOUT TY HERNDON
Ty Herndon is a master of the ties that bind. The Grammy-nominated and Dove award-winning recording artist has the ability to connect with an audience far beyond his onstage performance. More than 20 years into his career, Herndon shows no signs of slowing down.
Herndon made his chart debut in 1995 with “What Mattered Most,” which became his first No. 1 song and garnered a Song of the Year award (Music Row Magazine). It was also the title track to his debut album, which debuted on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and had the biggest first-week shipment in the history of Epic Records’ Nashville.
Between 1995 and 2002, Herndon charted 17 singles, including his three No.1s and numerous top 10 hits, such as “I Want My Goodbye Back,” “Loved Too Much,” “A Man Holding On,” and “Hands of a Working Man.” He topped the charts in 1996 with the single “Living in a Moment” and again in 1998 with “It Must Be Love.”
In 2014, Ty Herndon was the first major male country artist to publicly come out as gay. Shortly after, he made history when he hosted the first-of-its-kind country music event, titled The Concert for Love and Acceptance. The event, designed to bring attention and support to at-risk youth and acceptance, received national attention from Boston Globe, Rolling Stone, Entertainment Tonight, and more. Herndon received an outpouring of support that only strengthened his relationship with fans. Since the launch of the event, Herndon has partnered with GLAAD to produce the event each year and created the Foundation For Love & Acceptance in 2020 to further his work on behalf of LGBTQ acceptance.
ABOUT KRISTIN CHENOWETH
Emmy and Tony Award-winning actress and singer Kristin Chenoweth’s career spans film, television, voiceover and stage. In 2015, Chenoweth received a coveted star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2009, she received an Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role in “Pushing Daisies.” In 1999, she won a Tony Award for “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown” and she was also nominated for her original role of Glinda the Good Witch in “Wicked” in 2004. Chenoweth has been nominated for two Emmy Awards and for a People’s Choice Award for her role on “Glee.” In 2009, she wrote an upliftingly candid, comedic chronicle of her life so far, “A Little Bit Wicked,” which debuted on the New York Times Hardcover Non-Fiction Best Seller List.
Upcoming, Chenoweth will star in the film “Holidate” which will premiere on Netflix in 2020. Her latest album “For The Girls” is a heartfelt tribute to the great female singers throughout history, particularly some of Kristin’s heroes and friends. Guest artists include Ariana Grande, Dolly Parton, Jennifer Hudson and Reba McEntire. The album includes Chenoweth’s personally charged interpretations of classic songs identified with such iconic artists as Barbra Streisand, Lesley Gore, Linda Ronstadt, Dinah Washington, Dolly Parton and more.
ABOUT PAUL CARDALL
It’s a miracle the GMA Dove Award winning artist Paul Cardall is alive. Yet the gifts of music that he brings us add up to something even greater. His story is in fact a testament to the human spirit, to determination and humility, and above all to love, expressed through actions and art.
Born with a profound disability, Cardall would undergo critical surgeries, the first one hours after his birth. Through and beyond his childhood, he lived with essentially just half of his heart. Not surprisingly, he grew up fully aware of mortality, augmented by the shock of losing his closest friend in an auto/pedestrian accident when he was just 16. Grief and existential questions haunted him.
Yet he grew through it all. His convictions and optimistic personality led him onto a path out from despair. And music lit the way down that path. With the piano as his foundation, he created, performed, and recorded original pieces, some of them intimate, others buoyed on orchestral wings. Success came his way: In 1994, author Richard Paul Evans invited him to compose a musical adaptation of his No. 1 New York Times best-selling novel The Christmas Box. The resulting album and Evans’ mentorship essentially helped launch his professional recording career. In 1999, Cardall founded Stone Angel Music. It became the platform from which he would release his albums independently, eventually going on to debut at Number One on eight Billboard charts and solidifying a worldwide enduring following. The pianist has impressively earned over 2 billion streams on Pandora alone.
Cardall’s story is continuing to evolve as an artist, author, and humanitarian. His upcoming album The Broken Miracle, which will be available for pre-order this December, was inspired by j.D. Netto’s biographical fictional novel, based on real events in the artist’s life, from being born with only half a heart, enduring a series of surgeries, which culminated in a heart transplant. While waiting for a donor heart, the pianist’s brother was tragically killed. The album will feature several award-winning guests, including David Archuleta, Ty Herndon, Thompson Square, Neon Tress’ Tyler Glenn, and more.
