King of Kings

Album: Awake (2019)
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Songfacts®:

  • Hillsong Worship leader leader Brooke Ligertwood co-penned this praise anthem with her husband, Scott Ligertwood, and Jason Ingram. The song's simple and repetitive melody enabled its writers to include plenty of words; this gave them the opportunity to summarize the huge story of what Jesus did for us and the implications for today's church. Brooke Ligertwood explained to New Release Today that in leaning towards liturgy with a devotional angle she hoped listeners will get caught up in the song's journey and be stirred to worship.

    "This song is firmly rooted in scripture and packed full of theology," she said. "Theology releases praise. We hope and we pray that the song articulates the heart of the Gospel and the story of the church, starting with the birth of Jesus and through Pentecost essentially and then placing ourselves within that story, with the birth of the Church and our salvation stories."
  • Brooke Ligertwood is also the vocalist on the track. She has been the singer on many of Hillsong Worship's tunes, including the 2017 Dove Song of the Year "What a Beautiful Name."
  • The song was released as a single on July 12, 2019. It became Hillsong Worship's first pop hit in New Zealand, peaking at #29 on the country's official singles chart. Asked by Billboard if she's a chart watcher, Brooke Ligertwood replied:

    "I think we have a great relationship with radio and it's so important what they do, but at the same time, we're creating music that will connect with people at church. We're not trying to record hits. But I also keep up. I get a radio report every week from our label [Capitol Christian]."

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